These keys ... written personal narrative as family lore and folk object

THIS ARTICLE EXPLORES THE IDEA that written family stories-although not str ictly a part of the oral storytelling tradition-are akin to folk objects. T hese stories convey information about a specific family but, in a sense, mi ght be considered more universal. Such stories may have the power to "deliv er" information that they do not actually contain by triggering personal me mories in the reader. An analysis of these stories also suggests that folkl ore is a powerful medium for transmitting information and should be incorpo rated more fully into the curricula of schools of library and information s cience.