Practicing Oral History in Historical Organizations by Barbara W Sommer

Author:Barbara W Sommer [Sommer, Barbara W]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: History, General, Historiography, Social Science, Anthropology
ISBN: 9781315422190
Google: TLpmDAAAQBAJ
Publisher: Routledge
Published: 2016-06-16T16:17:16+00:00

Text Box 9.9: Maria Rogers Oral History Program

Maria Rogers Oral History Program

Carnegie Branch Library for Local History

Organization: Library/Archive

The Maria Rogers Oral History Program, at the Carnegie Branch Library for Local History, is a collection of audio and video interviews with long-time residents and other people knowledgeable about the history of the city and county of Boulder, Colorado. (http://oralhistory.boulderlibrary.org/)

This example highlights an oral history program in a public library system and describes its collaborative approach with other agencies that share its mission.

The Carnegie Branch Library for Local History began collecting oral histories during the U.S. Bicentennial in 1976. In the early 1980s, the program was led by volunteer manager Maria Rogers. After her death, her family endowed the program and funded a management position in her name; the program manager is now a city employee. The Boulder Public Library supports the Maria Rogers Oral History Program (MROHP) by providing physical space along with administrative and technical assistance. The Boulder Public Library Foundation offers project grants.

Oral history is one way the library fulfills its mission of helping people acquire information that can make a difference in their lives. Interviews help fill gaps in the historical record; researchers use the material to create new kinds of documentation or experiential information such as books, films, and exhibits. MROHP projects include both county-wide events of large impact and volunteer-driven projects that focus on topics, locations, or communities. In one project, as an example, trained volunteers conducted research in the branch library collections, recorded interviews, assembled a database, and helped make resources available to local educators.

Through its library mission, MROHP supports a commitment to public history by helping to make history relevant and useful and providing opportunities for public-audience participation. The branch library networks with other local historical organizations that meet regularly to discuss and support common historical and preservation projects and goals. One such project was the Museum of Boulder’s “Flood of 2013” exhibition, which incorporated oral histories from the MROHP collection. The program’s work is guided by the standards of the Oral History Association.

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