Oral History Toolkit | Oral History

The UCI Libraries Oral History Toolkit is a free resource designed by the Special Collections and Archives Team for our community members, whether you are interested in conducting a single oral history interview or implementing a large-scale project to document a community or historical event. These six modules can be adapted and scaled to your specific needs. We highlight resources that our community members continue to request, such as sample consent forms, strategies for enhancing access and long-term preservation. Our commitment to fostering community-centered archives (supporting the preservation and access to underrepresented histories) is the driving force behind this Toolkit. This is a living document that we hope to enhance and grow with community feedback. Please contact ocseaa@uci.edu if you would like to get in touch with us.

1. Getting Started

Why do oral history? This module provides a general definition of oral history and explains how it fits into our community-centered archives principles.

2. Designing Your Oral History

Think through issues such as ethics, partnerships, goals, scope, support, audience, and access as you design your project.

3. Preparing to Interview and Checklists

This module will help you prepare for your interview and offer checklists.

4. Interview Day

This module will walk you through the day of your recording - what you need to keep in mind before you start your interview as well as give you pointers during and what to do after your interview.

5. After Your Interview

Now that you've finished recording your oral history, there are a few more steps you can take in order to feel confident that you are stewarding your research well.

Mid-range and long-term care of your oral history project

6. Care for Your Oral History Project

What steps should you take to preserve and publish your oral histories? This module will walk you through next steps.

Acknowledgements

We would like to acknowledge the following people who helped develop and design this Oral History Toolkit: Thuy Vo Dang (Special Collections & Archives), Krystal Tribbett (Special Collections & Archives), Jolene Beiser (Special Collections & Archives), Audra Eagle Yun (Special Collections & Archives), Elvia Arroyo-Ramirez (Special Collections & Archives); Ashley Burke (UCI Libraries IT), Sean Claudio (UCI Libraries IT), Vian Nguyen (Comparative Literature, class of 2021).

Additional thanks to our community reviewers: Haleigh Marcello (History, PhD candidate), Judy Wu (Asian American Studies), Erica Turley-Devilla (Academic and Professional Women of UCI), Tanya Zabalegui (Academic and Professional Women of UCI)

Citation:

When citing material from the Oral History Toolkit, please use the following preferred citation format:

Vo Dang, Thuy, Krystal Tribbett, Jolene Beiser, Elvia Arroyo-Ramirez, and Audra Eagle Yun. Oral History Toolkit. Special Collections and Archives, University of California, Irvine Libraries, date accessed. oralhistory.lib.uci.edu.