Convinced of the potential of oral history, we have gathered together information on oral history resources that exist in the United States that deal with German history, German-American relations, and American policy toward Germany since 1945. This guide also incorporates information about and from the Oral History Association, a useful starting point for learning about good oral history practice and procedures.
From the outset, we wanted to cast a wide net in the search for information about available oral history resources. We sought scholars working on topics in the Cold War era who have conducted interviewsor have used them. We consulted oral history practitioners about the work of colleagues. In talking with librarians and archivists we learned that most interviews, because they are unpublished and unbound, fall administratively within the purview of archivists in the "manuscripts" or "special collections" area of libraries. That fact is essential to remember when searching for oral history material.
To encourage responses to our inquiries, we developed a one-page survey form that we mailed, with a cover letter and return envelope, to more than 2,700 persons on the German Historical Institute's mailing list and to several hundred members of the Oral History Association, the National Council on Public History, and the Society of American Archivists. A brief "Research Announcement" about the project ran in the newsletters of almost a dozen associations for historians, oral historians, public historians, and archivists. Colleagues distributed copies of the project description and survey form at national meetings of the Organization of American Historians, Society for the History of American Foreign Relations, and the Oral History Association. We made additional personal contacts, and we posted notices on appropriate bulletin boards on the Internet.
In recent years the Internet has emerged as a source of scholarly information, and the field of oral history has already established a presence on-line. The relationship of oral history with the Internet and the World Wide Web will undoubtedly continue to mature, providing researchers, scholars, and oral historians with access to and information about oral history methodology, projects, and collections around the world.
A growing number of institutions and repositories are posting information on the Internet about their oral history programs and oral history as a discipline. Web pages range in scope from brief descriptions of oral history programs to more substantive catalogue listings and finding aids. Some institutions, such as the University of Kentucky, have even begun to post full-text transcripts of interviews on the Internet. Many sites also include photographs, sound and video clips, and supporting materials.
Numerous oral history-related sites can be found on the Internet through any of several search engines, such as Yahoo, Lycos, WebCrawler, or Infoseek®. A simple search with the keywords "oral history" reveals a range of results with varying degrees of relevance, depending on the search engine used. Use of these engines can be profitable, although oftentimes search results are vague or include listings for irrelevant sites.
Although navigating the Internet can be confusing as well as time consuming, several oral history web sites are good points from which to begin. The Oral History Association (OHA) web site should be visited first. The OHA pages provide general information about the field of oral history, the association, and its activities. They also include the OHA's Evaluation Guidelines. In the future, the OHA will post a valuable page of links to other oral history-related sites on the Internet. (This page had yet to be completed and posted as of December 1, 1996.)
Another important Internet site is that of the Michigan Oral History Association. The MOHA pages include a page of links to other oral history resources on the Internet.
The links at the MOHA site connect the user to a variety of sites offering information on oral history methods and guides, oral history organizations, collections of oral history interviews, and oral history centers and projects. Oral history workshops and conferences and oral history for college credit are also categories included on this page, but, as of December 1, 1996, no links had been listed under these headings.
The compilation of links to other oral history-related pages on one site reduces search time and effort. The brief descriptions of institutions, programs, and projects provided on the site allow for a narrower and more focused search by providing the researcher with enough information on which links to follow and which links are secondary or off-subject.
The web pages of most institutions provide links to other oral history sites, thus interconnecting sites around the country and the world. For example, the MOHA pages include a link to the New England Association for Oral History. The NEAOH page is also tied to oral history sites, not all of which are listed in the MOHA pages.
Sites with links to oral history sites include the Indiana University Oral History Research Center and the University of North Carolina Southern Oral History Program. The University of Idaho Library provides a substantial list of repositories of primary source material.
In addition to web sites, the Internet provides forums for scholarly discussion of oral history. The Oral History Association Discussion List, a "listserv," allows historians to exchange information, make announcements, and pose questions to colleagues. To review the listserv, send an e-mail message with "review OHA-L" in the body of the message to listserv@lsv.uky.edu. To subscribe, write "sub OHA-L yourname" in the message body. An administrator at oha-l-request@lsv.uky.edu is also available to answer questions. For information on the Oral Traditions Discussion List, write "review ORTRAD-L" in the body of an e-mail message to listserv@ mizzou1.missouri.edu.
In this guide's list of repositories, we have provided an Internet address (URL), when known, as the last paragraph in the Holdings section for each institution.
The Research Libraries Information Network, RLIN®, is an on-line catalogue created and maintained by not-for-profit libraries and other institutions. RLIN contains bibliographic records and information on collections for a wide range of source materials. Members of The Research Libraries Group, Inc. contribute daily to the millions of records in RLIN.
The data base is divided into three parts: Bibliographic files, Authority files, and Special data bases. The eight Bibliographic files include records on printed materials (books, periodicals, archival documents), visual materials (maps, photographs, motion pictures), and recordings (musical, nonmusical, oral histories).
Within the Bibliographic section, the Books file (BKS) contains records for individually catalogued items, including published finding aids or catalogues of oral history collections. The Recordings file (REC) includes entries for recordings of oral histories, speeches, and interviews. The Archival and Manuscripts Control file (AMC) describes collections held by various institutionscollections which may include oral history interviews.
Researchers looking for information on oral history interviews should use at least these three RLIN files. Searches can be made by titles, subjects, corporate names, or personal names. The search results include bibliographic data, the locations of each item found, and information on interlibrary loans.
While many libraries and other research institutions have access to RLIN, it is possible for an individual to use RLIN by establishing an individual prepaid account. Connections to the RLG's host computer are made by direct dial or through CompuServe® or the Internet, with different associated costs.
For more information, consult with the reference librarian at an RLIN member institution, or contact:
The RLIN Information Center
The Research Libraries Group, Inc.
1200 Villa Street
Mountain View, CA 94041-1100
USA
Telephone: (800) 537-7546
Fax: (415) 964-0943
E-mail: bl.ric@rlg.org
The OCLC Online Computer Library Center, Inc. is a not-for-profit, self-supporting membership organization and the largest international library information network. It strives to broaden the availability of information by providing on-line products and services related to cataloging, interlibrary loan, collection development, and reference searching.
OCLC has maintained a bibliographic database, the Online Union Catalog (OLUC), since 1971. As of July 1995, the database contained over thirty-one million records, with nearly two million more added each year. OCLC provides search services through EPIC® and FirstSearch®.
The EPIC service is tailored to professional searchers and reference librarians. As of December 1, 1996, it provided access to over fifty-five databases, including the OLUC. EPIC includes extensive indexing and searching by subject or keyword.
The FirstSearch Catalog, also with access to fifty-five databases, provides library patrons with an easy-to-use search process and access to interlibrary loan and document delivery. It provides holdings informationbibliographic, abstract, and full-textabout books, periodicals, manuscripts, archival materials, sound and video recordings, and Internet resources. Over six thousand libraries are subscribers to FirstSearch.
OCLC does not sell its services to individuals, only to libraries. OCLC has posted a list of its subscribing members on its Internet homepage.
For more information, consult with the reference librarian at an OCLC member institution, or contact:
OCLC Online Computer Library Center, Inc.
6565 Frantz Road
Dublin, OH 43017-3395
USA
Telephone: (800) 848-5878
Fax: (614) 764-0155
The information in this guide on each repository and its holdings has been compiled from material submitted by scholars and the repositories. The information is current as of December 1996. As the number of oral history practitioners increases, many of the repositories will acquire additional interviews. For practical reasons the guide is a compilation of information about oral history resources located only in repositories in the United States. We received scattered information about resources in Europe, particularly Germany, and in Canada. Both areas deserve a more systematic survey.
The guide lists repositories alphabetically within states, which are also in alphabetical order. All permit researchers access to the interviews. However, institutions, donors, or interviewees may impose restrictions on use, publication, and/or photocopying of interviews.
We received a number of responses from individuals who hold their own oral histories. Since access for others to these materials is far more complicated than to materials held by institutions, we have not included these holdings. We strongly encourage any individual scholars possessing interview tapes or transcripts to deposit them where researchers will have access to them.
Because of the large number of repositories in the metropolitan Washington, D.C., area (which includes the District of Columbia and portions of Maryland and Virginia), we have compiled a separate list of those repositories.1
We initially defined the project as looking for interviews on "German history, German-American relations, and American policy toward Germany since 1945." In responding to inquiries and reviewing the responses we received, we interpreted this very broadly. Hence, in addition to interviews with American diplomats and army officers who served in Germany, the guide includes repositories holding interviews with German immigrants to the United States, German-born scientists and American scientists who worked in Germany, and Holocaust survivors.
Some repositories have facilities for researchers to listen to tapes or view videotapes, but often special arrangements must be made. In general that information is not included because it was difficult for us to interpret the responses and to present them succinctly.
In instances where a repository requires a researcher to make an appointment or meet special requirements, we have noted that in the description of the repository's holdings. Some of the government repositories, such as the U.S. Army Center of Military History and the Office of History of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, require non-American citizens to obtain clearance prior to using their historical collections. In all cases, it is good research practice to confirm the repository's business hours and to contact the staff well in advance concerning your plans to use the materials.
We have attempted to be as complete as possible in noting the business hours for each repository. Even when not noted specifically, most repositories are closed on holidays, though the declaration of a holiday may vary among federal, state, local, and private institutions.
One of the objectives of this guide is to make the canons and guidelines developed by oral historians more broadly known among historians of contemporary Germany and German-American relations. We hope that the appended Principles and Standards of the Oral History Association and an introductory bibliography of theoretical and practical works on oral history will serve that end. Additionally, we hope that this guide will give researchers a starting point for exploring the oral history resources related to contemporary Germany and German-American relations that already exist in the United States. If the guide contributes to improved methodology and increased efficiency in research, our work will have served the profession well.
Washington, D.C., December 1996
Robert P. Grathwol, Donita M. Moorhus, Douglas J. Wilson