Do It Yourself! An Oral History Kit for Idaho

Updated 11/11/2009

Oral history is a method of creating unique historical sources by recording interviews and saving them for future generations. You can make the past come alive for your community or family. Interview your grandmother, your neighbors, professionals and business people, or customers at the local truck stop. The possibilities are as varied as human beings themselves.

Over the years, oral historians have settled on some practices that make the interviewing process easier. Download the information below, order a Field Notebook from us, arrange an oral history workshop for your community or group, or simply call and tell us about your project. We'll do our best to help, and to connect you with other oral historians in the region and around the state.

Add Your Voice

The oral history collection grows through interviewing projects conducted by staff, students, interns, and community volunteers. If you would like to conduct interviews and donate them to the collection, please read Our Criteria for Accepting an Oral History from You, and then contact us to work out the details. We'd love to hear from you!

A Field Notebook for Oral History

The 5th edition of the manual, A Field Notebook for Oral History, is now available from the IOHC! The sections on digital technology and post-interview processing have been completely rewritten, and examples and references have all been updated. Call (208) 334-3863, email kathy.hodges@ishs.idaho.gov, or send in the order form below to get your copy. Published by the Idaho Oral History Center since 1981, the manual is a useful outline guide to the basic steps involved in designing and carrying out an oral history project. It has been used for thirty years by countless volunteers and local groups. Chapters cover:

• Pre-interview
• Interview
• Post-interview
• Creating & Preserving Recordings
• Special Topics in Oral History

Appendices include sample letters and forms, and an updated bibliography.

Order A Field Notebook for Oral History ($10 plus tax and shipping)

Forms and basic information

Oral History Project Tracking Worksheet

IOHC Legal Release Form

Personal Data Sheet

Some Thoughts on Oral History

Idaho Oral History Center Workshops

Workshops usually take a full day, and touch on the following aspects of oral history:

• Oral history, narrative, and story
• Organizing a project
• Doing background research
• Developing topics and questions
• Finding or selecting narrators
• Interviewing techniques
• Recording equipment
• Transcribing and indexing
• Archiving the results of your project
• Legal aspects of oral history
• Public access and creative uses of oral history

There will be plenty of time for discussion. Download and read the handouts, and come prepared to share your ideas and questions. Please feel free to email or call the oral historian in advance of the workshop, to share your concerns and questions. Each teaching and learning experience is unique, and works best if everyone is open about what they need to know.

We offer one or two workshops a year in Boise, at the Public Archives and Research Library. The entrance fee includes beverages and snacks, and a copy of the Field Notebook for Oral History. Funds raised help to support IOHC programs. Watch this space for information about the next workshop, or contact the oral historian.

You can also contact us to arrange a workshop in your own community. Costs of these out-of-Boise workshops may be paid by the Idaho Humanities Council, if certain guidelines are followed.

Who We Are and What We Do: Idaho Oral History Center

Oral History Projects Available at the Public Archives & Research Library

Listen to Interviews and Read Transcripts

Contact the Idaho Oral History Center

Links to Other Oral History Sites