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University Library DePaul Library

Oral History Repositories

There are many online oral history collections; here are just a few to get you thinking!
  • Southern Oral History Program, a fascinating and respected collection -- documenting a range of experiences from coal mining to civil rights, and much more.
  • U.S. Veterans Oral Histories. This web-ography from the Library of Congress offers inks to oral history collections focusing on war veterans.

How-To Guides

Annotations from: Linda Shopes, “Making Sense of Oral History” 

Southern Oral History Program (SOHP) 

University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, Southern Historical Collection “How To: Resources for Planning and Conducting Oral History Interviews” includes The SOHP Guidebook, SOHP Interview forms, and a bibliography of more than 50 oral history resources. The interview forms include a cover sheet, interview agreement, interview agreement with restrictions, life history form, and proper word form. The SOHP Guidebook includes guidelines on designing an oral history project; advice on conducting, cataloguing, and transcribing interviews; notes on budgets and equipment needs; and ten interviewing tips.http://www.sohp.org/content/resources_outreach/

 

Step-by-Step Guide to Oral History  by Judith Moyer 

Developed by historian and educator Judith Moyer, this thorough guide to oral history offers suggestions and strategies for collecting and preserving oral history. Topics range from an explanation of how and why to collect oral history to guidelines for planning and conducting interviews, including initial research, locating individuals, choosing equipment, and asking productive questions. Moyer also addresses a number of important conceptual and ethical issues related to conducting and using oral histories, including questions of accuracy, the limits of oral history, strategies for overcoming specific interview problems, and twenty questions to help interviewers learn from their experience. http://www.dohistory.org/on_your_own/toolkit/oralHistory.html

Oral History Manual