Oral History Resources
Some additional resources to help you with your oral history project.
Guides
These guides explain how to plan an oral history and conduct an interview.
How to Do Oral History - Smithsonian Institution Archives
https://siarchives.si.edu/history/how-do-oral-history
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Oral History Best Practices - Oral History Association
https://oralhistory.org/best-practices/
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Oral History for Beginners - Oral History Society
https://www.ohs.org.uk/for-beginners/
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Guidelines for Conducting Oral History Interviews - National History Day
https://nhd.org/en/resources/guidelines-for-conducting-oral-history-interviews/
From the New York Times
The New York Times publishes weekly profiles of individuals around the world and held a Student Profile Contest in 2022. Many of their resources for writing profiles can be applied to oral history.
Interview, Edit, and Shape: A Step-by-Step Guide to Participating in our Profile Contest
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Annotated Profile - By Chris Colin, a freelance writer for the New York Times
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Photographing Interesting People in Your Community: A Guide to Taking Portraits
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The Saturday Profile - mentor texts