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HomeMy WebLinkAbout03 Oral History Team Report 03.01.2007 PROJECT HOLD ORAL HISTORY TEAM REPORT & 2007 TASKS March 1, 2007 BACKGROUND: Since January of 2006, the oral history team originally consisted of Anne Boykin, Mary Hamlin, Jim Boone and Ann Steen. Jim's schedule became a bit tough for him to continue. Ann Steen has helped with the African- American oral histories. Mary Hamlin has been the spearhead of the group. She has attended to at least twelve oral histories in the last year. At the moment, the team is waiting for the arrival of a new piece of equipment that will take the existing oral histories that were recorded on cassette tapes and transfer them to CDs that can then be transferred into the online files of Project HOLD. More recently, we have been using digital recorders to record the interviews. Jim Boone's son, donated one digital recorder and I donated the other to the team. I have not yet had the time to spend figuring out the transfer process to get the recordings edited and placed into Project HOLD. At the moment, we are at a standstill. My time has been very limited. I am hesitant to continue the oral histories until we get caught up with placing the interviews online. ACQUIRING A LIST OF PROSPECTIVE INTERVIEWEES: Our list of prospective interviews resides in several pages of suggestions given to us by a variety of people in the community. I have not taken the time to put all of the names on a list or pursue more names. CRITERIA FOR INTERVIEW SELECTION: 1. Knowledge of or contribution of significant historical data that is of value to the community places interviewees at the top of the list. 2. The most elderly are considered first for obvious reasons. (We were fortunate to be able to interview J. O. Alexander just months before he died.) 3. We strive to gather as much information as possible from African- Americans and Hispanics since historical data from these groups is scarce in Project HOLD. TASK LIST FOR 2007 1. Compile a comprehensive list of prospective interviews with emphasis on those interviews that would be deemed critical over the next five years. 2. Contact prospective interviewees to see if they are agreeable to the interview. 3. Assign a team member to do the interview. 4. Utilize our free intern, for as long as she will be available, to be a liaison to the Oral History Team. Her duties will include: learning to use the new equipment and software, recording the interviews, and placing them on Project HOLD. 5. Edit existing oral histories that were part of the Oral History Project. 6. Continue searching for those members of the community who have significant historical data to contribute that cannot be gathered by any other means other than digital recording. CONDUCTING AN INTERVIEW: 1. Prepare a list of questions pertinent to the topic of the interview. This short list should be combined with our existing standard list of questions. It may be helpful to give the client the question list and biographical information questionnaire ahead of time so that some answers could be written out prior to the interview. 2. Schedule a 1 to 1 -1/2 hour interview with the client. 3. Arrive at interview with a digital camera, digital recorder, list of questions, and biographical information questionnaire. 4. Refrain from making comments during the interview other than to encourage the client to continue the story. Interviewer's comments will need to be removed later. Nodding, positive facial expressions, and good eye contact will help. 5. Photograph the individual and memorabilia that cannot be loaned to us. 6. Fill out the Project HOLD loan agreement and ask the client to sign, leaving their copy as a receipt for any materials loaned for scanning. 7. Follow up by returning the scanning materials, as soon as possible, with a hand written thank you note. 8. Edit and enter the recording in the Project HOLD files under People. 9. When appropriate, copy the interview to a CD for the client.