Finding Oral Histories
The Oral History Association defines oral history as: "[A] field of study and a method of gathering, preserving and interpreting the voices and memories of people, communities, and participants in past events. Oral history is both the oldest type of historical inquiry, predating the written word, and one of the most modern, initiated with tape recorders in the 1940s and now using 21st-century digital technologies."
Personal narratives compliment other types of sources by adding an individual's perspective in their own voice. Reading transcripts and, especially, listening to the voices of people speaking about their lives and experiences, gives researchers a powerful connection to their subjects.
Look for collections of oral histories just as you would search for manuscripts and archives. Search individual databases, large online portals, and the websites of repositories that collect materials in your subject area to find oral histories.
And also search library catalogs to find published oral histories. Oral history transcripts are often published as books and you can find them in OneSearch, WorldCat, and other library catalogs.
Search Tools for Oral Histories
- ArchiveGrid - Oral HistoriesArchiveGrid, a database containing more than 7 million collection descriptions, includes more than 125,000 descriptions of individual oral history inteviews and collections of oral histories. To find them, add the words "oral history" (in quotes) to your topic search. For example, the search string -- "oral history" AND "civil rights" -- turns up more than 4,800 results. The "summary view" will allow you to see which archives hold the OH collections.
- Digital Public Library of AmericaContains links to nearly 50 million images, texts, videos, and sounds from across the U.S. Browse by topic or contributing institution, explore primary source sets and online exhibitions or search the collection. Try a search on "oral history" and then use facets to narrow results.
- Oral History AssociationA membership organization for people interested in oral history. The Resources page contains much useful information, including a list of OH centers and collections, links to web guides for doing oral history, and more.
- Oral History Centers and CollectionsA list, with links, of more than fifty collections and repositories of oral histories from the Oral History Association.
- Sound Collections DatabaseThe first release of a database supported by the Radio Preservation Task Force, National Recording Preservation Board of the Library of Congress (RPTF) and Association for Recorded Sound Collections (ARSC). Browse or search nearly 3000 records describing recorded sound collections in repositories around the country. Genres include radio programs, all varieties of music, radio news, oral histories, interviews, drama, educational programs, and more.
- Community ArchivesCommunity-based oral history initiatives often include the voices of people who are under-represented in traditional repositories. Add the phrase "community archive" to your online search to find collections that feature individuals who are often left out of the historical record.
- GooglePut your subject in quotes and add "oral history" to find collections. For example, try a search like this: "peace movements" AND "oral history". Google can be helpful for finding collections in libraries, archives, historical societies and other institutions that may not turn up in searches of databases like WorldCat and ArchiveGrid.
- WorldCat Discovery
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WorldCat Discovery is a catalog and discovery system containing millions of records for print and electronic holdings in thousands of libraries around the world.
OH Collections: A Few Highlights
The oral history collections listed here are just a sampling of the many resources that are available in libraries and archives around the world. Also visit the websites of repositories that collect materials in your subject area to find collections.
- Archives of American ArtEstablished in 1958, the Oral History Program at the Archives of American Art consists of more than 2,300 interviews that chronicle the diversity of the American art scene.
- Center for Brooklyn History Oral History Collections"Begun in 1973, BHS’s oral history collections now include over 1,200 interviews. These interviews bring the voices of history to broad audiences through exhibitions, digital humanities projects, K-12 and post-secondary curricula, public programs, and via the BHS blog and Flatbush + Main podcast."
- Columbia Center for Oral HistoryFounded by historian and journalist Allan Nevins in 1948, the collection includes over 10,000 interviews.
- CUNY Oral History CollectionsMany of the archives and special collections in CUNY libraries contain oral histories. One way to find them is to browse by archive and then search further at the repository level. You can also search across the CUNY Digital Archive to find digitized interviews and transcripts and then narrow search results using subject and other facets.
- Grupo Etnográfico"Manuel Zapata Olivella’s ethnographic collection (Grupo etnográfico) consists of audio and written transcripts of interviews with indigenous and Afro-Colombian groups, including many who were marginalized and living in remote areas. These interviews with ordinary Colombians were conducted by Zapata Olivella and a team of researchers in various regions from 1973 to 1975, and again in La Guajira province during 1985."
- Library of Congress Oral HistoriesThe vast collection of the Library of Congress include more than 180,000 oral histories, most of which are available online. These include both audio recordings and transcripts of interviews from across the library's holdings of personal narratives, newspapers and other periodicals, manuscripts, books and printed materials, web pages, films, and more from the American Folk Life Center and other library divisions.
- NYPL Oral History CollectionsA search of the New York Public Library's archives portal on "oral history" turns up 138 collections containing oral history interviews and transcripts.
- StoryCorpsA nonprofit organization "whose mission is to record, preserve, and share the stories of Americans from all backgrounds and beliefs."