College and Research Libraries M A R T H A J A N E K . Z A C H E R T The Implications of Oral History for Librarians The author lists five major implications for research librarians which are arising out of the rapid growth of oral history archives. (1) They create rather than simply acquire primary research material. (2) They offer new possibilities of service and new responsibilities. (3) They present problems of integration into conventional library collections. (4) Librarians must furnish access bibliographically to these newer materials. (5) Problems of bibliographical control should be studied as soon as possible. OR A L HISTORY is no longer an experi- ment; it is a healthy movement. A group of historians, librarians, doctors, psychol- ogists, and lawyers recently met at the Second Oral History Colloquium 1 to dis- cuss techniques and philosophies and to found the Oral History Association.2 The papers and discussions at this meeting showed that, as a movement, oral his- tory has significant implications for re- search librarians, especially those in aca- demic libraries. Oral history is a record of recall. The record is authored by an individual who participated in, or observed at close range, events whose documentation will aid future researchers in understanding some facet of twentieth-century life. The oral author is aided in his recall by an interviewer versed both in the segment of life to be recorded and in appropriate 1 The Second Oral History Colloquium was held at Arden House, November 1 8 - 2 1 , 1 9 6 7 , under the sponsorship of Columbia University. 2 Information may be obtained from James V. Mink, director, Oral History Project, Powell library, University of California at Los Angeles. Mrs. Zachert is Assistant Professor, Li- brary School, Florida State University. techniques for creating this unique rec- ord. To this extent oral history is a col- laboration: the oral author is the con- tributor of substance, the interviewer is the contributor of recording skill. Prac- titioners of the art are currently engaged in formulating techniques to safeguard both the accuracy of the record and con- venience in its use. For accuracy the rec- ord is tape recorded; for convenience it is usually transcribed. Groups of oral history interviewers are usually organ- ized into an oral history "office," "cen- ter," "program," or "archives," although loners are not unknown. Groups or sin- gle interviewers may be an adjunct of a research library or may more usually be autonomous within an academic con- text. In either event, tapes, transcriptions, or both almost always come to rest in a library while awaiting their ultimate users. The alert research librarian will per- ceive at once that there are many impli- cations in this oral history movement for libraries and for librarians. To an ob- server at the colloquium's sessions five implications seem of immediate signifi- cance. 1. Oral history, for a library, is a way of creating primary source materials in / 101 102 / College 6- Research Libraries • March 1968 contrast to its time-honored responsibili- ty of acquiring them. For the librarian, then, building an oral archive becomes a unique opportunity for a creative in- tellectual contribution. Research librari- ans are typically specialists, either through academic accomplishment or through informal but penetrating study of the materials in their collections. Typically also, research librarians have a near-intuitive rapport with other in- dividuals that comes from long and in- tensive public service. To become build- ers of oral archives librarians must add analytic skill to identify what is sig- nificant in our own times in order to define the appropriate scope for each oral history project they undertake. Li- brarians must also learn interviewing and recording techniques. If research librari- ans do not rise to this occasion, a rare creative opportunity will escape them. 2. Oral archives offer new service pos- sibilities for research libraries; they also present new responsibilities. The oral author's product is legally his to de- posit or to assign to the institution which houses and services it. In either c a s e - deposit or assignment—the oral author can stipulate conditions under which his material may be used by research- ers. Under these circumstances the li- brary must fulfill the author's condi- tions or be liable for its failure to do so. If the library chooses to copyright the oral history tapes or transcripts, it has the added responsibility to make sure the copyrighted material is used but not infringed. Libraries now receiving oral archives, whether or not they themselves created the materials, have already had these new responsibilities thrust upon them. Libraries contemplat- ing embarkation on a project of their own or cooperation in a project with an academic department should inform themselves in respect to these new re- sponsibilities and vulnerabilities. 3. A further responsibility for the li- brary housing oral archives is that of integrating tapes and transcripts into the collections of primary research ma- terials, while at the same time observing conditions of housing uniquely required by the unusual formats. Most oral history projects generate series of records rather than single items. The name "oral ar- chives" suggests that these materials may be better handled through the archivist's concepts of provenance and record series than as individual items. 4. The responsibility for bibliographic control follows, and again a solution may derive from the archivist's con- cepts. Oral archives can be, perhaps should be, described as are collections of personal or official papers. But providing intellectual access to primary source ma- terials is only half the battle. Physical access must also be provided for re- searchers. It is not too soon in the oral history movement to recommend the inclusion of oral archives in the National Union Catalog of Manuscript Collec- tions. Lending themselves to the same kind of description as that used for pa- pers, oral archives can be included with- out requiring any modification in the format of NUCMC. Their use along with the kinds of materials already described in NUCMC stipulates their inclusion for the convenience of the researcher. Why should he have to search different tools for such closely related primary ma- terials? The fact that inclusion of oral archives is already under discussion be- tween oral historans and NUCMC sug- gests that all research librarians need to keep an eye on the situation. Even those librarians whose own institutions do not include oral archives will want to be able to direct their patrons to col- lections that can aid research under way. 5. Finally, oral history archives offer librarians opportunity for research into the problems of retrieving information from additional storage media—tapes and transcriptions. All appropriate tech- Implications of Oral Historij for Librarians / 103 niques, including machine techniques, should be investigated while the total body of oral archives is relatively small. The urgency to index in depth may not be apparent with the present volume of material. But one lesson that seems clear is that the body of material is growing rapidly with no endpoint in sight. Les- sons expensively learned from journal and technical report literature seem ap- propriate for modification in the new context. Lest research librarians feel helpless in the face of these implications, the fol- lowing readings are suggested for an ori- entation.3 "Goals and Guidelines for Oral History." Oral History Association, c/o James V. Mink, Director, Oral History Program, Powell Library, University of California at Los Angeles. 1967. Mimeographed. Gottschalk, Louis R., et al. Use of Personal Documents in History, Sociology and Anthropology. Social Science Research Council, 1945. (Paperback) Bingham, Walter and Bruce Moore. How to Interview. 4th ed. Harper, 1959. • • 3 For additional items relating specifically to oral history, see Donald J. Schippers and Adelaide G. Tusler, A Bibliography of Oral History (Oral History Associations, Miscellaneous Publications, No. 1 [Los Angeles: The Association, 1 9 6 7 ] . Available from James V. Mink, Director, Oral History Program, Powell library, University of California at Los Angeles. 5 0 c e n t s . ) .