LibGuides: Oral history: Getting Started

Online oral history projects

This site provides links to oral history projects that have been placed online. The first link is to a source that has attempted to index several online projects.

History Matters
Designed for high school and college teachers and students of U.S. history survey courses, this site serves as a gateway to web resources and offers unique teaching materials, first-person primary documents, and guides to analyzing historical evidence. It emphasizes materials that focus on the lives of ordinary Americans and actively involve students in analyzing and interpreting evidence.
American Life Histories Project- WPA
These life histories were compiled and transcribed by the staff of the Folklore Project of the Federal Writers' Project for the U.S. Works Progress (later Work Projects) Administration (WPA) from 1936-1940. The Library of Congress collection includes 2,900 documents representing the work of over 300 writers from 24 states. Typically 2,000-15,000 words in length, the documents consist of drafts and revisions, varying in form from narrative to dialogue to report to case history.
Library of Congress- American Memory Project
It is a digital record of American history and creativity. These materials, from the collections of the Library of Congress and other institutions, chronicle historical events, people, places, and ideas that continue to shape America, serving the public as a resource for education and lifelong learning.
Michigan State University- Vincent Voice Library.
The G. Robert Vincent Voice Library is a collection of over 40,000 hours of spoken word recordings, dating back to 1888. The collection includes the voices of over 100,000 persons from all walks of life. Political and cultural leaders and minor players in the human drama are captured and cataloged to serve the research needs of a local, national and international user base. Clients include students and faculty of Michigan State University, other scholars and researchers, broadcasting networks, news agencies and film, video, and Web production companies.
Nevada Test Site Oral History Collection
This is is a comprehensive program dedicated to documenting, preserving and disseminating the remembered past of persons affiliated with and affected by the Nevada Test Site during the era of Cold War nuclear testing
Rutgers Oral History Collection
This is is a comprehensive program dedicated to documenting, preserving and disseminating the remembered past of persons affiliated with and affected by the Nevada Test Site during the era of Cold War nuclear testing
Southern Oral History Collection
This is a collection of oral histories about Southern life as collected by the University of North Carolina.
StoryCorps
Since 2003, StoryCorps has collected and archived more than 45,000 interviews with nearly 90,000 participants. Each conversation is recorded on a free CD to share, and is preserved at the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress. StoryCorps is one of the largest oral history projects of its kind, and millions listen to our broadcasts on our Listen page and on public radio.

University Archives Oral History Collections

The University Archives does collect oral histories relating to its goals as listed in the collection development policy. This includes local and university history. Some materials have been processed and are available for use such as the Ferris Heritage Lecture Collection. The University History Task Force has also had a project since the early 2000s to collect selected oral history interviews. For more information about this, please contact University Archvies staff.

Where to start

Oral history is defined by Wikipedia as "the collection and study of historical information about individuals, families, important events, or everyday life using audiotapes, videotapes, or transcriptions of planned interviews."

There are a number of secondary sources available in FLITE about the uses and techniques of oral history. In addition to these peer-reviewed sources, there are a number of online sources which also provide excellent information. And there are always new sources that FLITE may not be aware of yet, so please let us know about those.

Some useful websites

American Association for State and Local History

This site provides an online bookstore of publications relating to the topics of oral history and its uses. They also provide training program.s

Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History- University of Kentucky Libraries

This site gives sample forms, equipment and project management suggestions.

National Park Service Guide to Oral History

This site helps to detail the process of conducting an oral history program. It provides a link to best practices and successful projects.

Oral History Assocation

This is an official organization for oral historians. The stide includes wikis, listservs and a variety of digital resources.

Step by Step Guide to Oral History

This provides a detailed listing of the activities needed to create and sustain an oral history project.

University Archivist/ Special Collections Librarian

Melinda Isler

Email Me

Contact:

University Archives
Alumni 101
410 Oak Street
Big Rapids MI 49307

(231) 591-3731

Subjects: Astronomy, Chemistry, Geology, Physical Sciences, Physics, Sociology

Using the University Archives

The University Archives and Records Management Reading Room is located in Alumni 101, in the heart of the oldest building on campus. Because of the unique materials and the program mandate to preserve those materials, there are special rules concerning use that do not apply to the general library collection.

We are here to assist you in your research to the best of our ability. Limited reference materials are available in the reading room. All other materials are retrieved on an on-call basis and used in the reading room facility. Materials are non-circulating and may only be used under direct supervision of UARMP (University Archives and Records Management Program) staff. Photocopying is done by staff. For further information on using the University Archives, please review the Guidelines for Use of the Ferris State University Archives.

The University Archives typically provides reference service from 8:00 - 12:00 p.m; 1:00 - 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday and by appointment