Doing Oral History on a Shoestring

Oral History Association's Principles and Best Practices

The Oral History Association, in both its national and regional professional organizations, brings together practitioners from a variety of communities, backgrounds, and academic and professional fields, including many who may not label themselves as oral historians. This suite of documents (updated 2018, addendum added 2019) provides the guiding priniciples of oral history, keeping in mind the diverse practices of those involved in the collection, interpretation, use and preservation of oral history.

Oral History in the Digital Age

For small and large organizations who are planning to start an oral history project or already have oral history collections. The site includes a Getting Started section, video essays with leading oral historians, practical advice on equipment, best practices guidelines, and much more.

Oral History Association's Resource List

A thorough list of resources assembled by The Oral History Association to assist anyone interested in oral history.

UCI Oral History Toolkit

The University of California, Irvine (UCI) Libraries Oral History Toolkit is a free resource, consisting of six modules, designed by UCI's Special Collections and Archives Team for those interested in conducting a single oral history interview or implementing a large-scale project to document a community or historical event.

Texas Tech Oral History Guide

A helpful guide to conducting oral history interviews created by the Texas Tech University Libraries. Includes information on how to conduct an oral history interview in person or remote, types of recording equipment, release forms, transcription, and more.

The Veterans History Project at the Library of Congress

The Veterans History Project offers the opportunity for military families to have their veteran's memories preserved for future generations at the Library of Congress. They have step by step guidelines including the VHP Fieldkit Companion Video that anyone can follow: from interviewing the veteran(s) in your life, deciding on supporting materials to include (photos, letters, etc.), and sending it all off to the Library of Congress.

StoryCorps

StoryCorps provides Americans of all backgrounds and beliefs with the opportunity to record, share, and preserve the stories of our lives. Among their projects is the Military Voices Initiative which aims to collect the stories of post-9/11 veterans, active-duty service members, and their families.