Community Oral History Toolkit

1:  About Community Oral History  2:  Project Planning  3:  Project Management  4:  The Interview  5:  After the Interview  6: Giving Back to the Community 

Biography

Mary Kay Quinlan Ph.D. is associate dean emerita at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln College of Journalism and Mass Communications where she taught for more than twenty years and is co-author of several oral history books. She edited the Oral History Association Newsletter for thirty-three years. In 2022 she was inducted into the Marian Andersen Nebraska Women Journalists Hall of Fame, and in 2024 the Oral History in the Mid-Atlantic Region organization presented to her the Forrest C. Pogue Award for Excellence in Oral History.

Barbara W. Sommer M.A. has over fifty years of experience in the public history and oral history. She is a long-time member of the Oral History Association (OHA), and was awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Minnesota Alliance of Local History Museums. Her publications include The Oral History Manual (1st–4th editions), Indigenous Oral History Manual: Canada and the United States (2024), and Practicing Oral History in Historical Organizations (2015). She also is the author of the award-winning book Hard Work and a Good Deal: The Civilian Conservation Corps in Minnesota (2008, re-issued in 2022). She is a member of the Honorary Council of the Minnesota Historical Society, recognized for her work in oral history.

Nancy MacKay MLIS is a California-based oral historian, archivist, author, and educator. As an academic librarian she founded and managed the Oakland Living History Program at Mills College (now Northeastern University), where she worked as a librarian for twenty-two years. She is the author of Curating Oral Histories: From Interview to Archive, 2nd edition (Routledge, 2016) and the editor of the Routledge Practicing Oral History book series, with fourteen titles currently in print.

"Oral history work undertaken by community members is extremely valuable for increasing representation for a richer historical perspective. Focusing on the planning process through a targeted toolkit for community practitioners is key to nurturing this work now and as a lasting effort for future generations."

Sarah Milligan, Hyde Family Endowed Professor and Department Head, Oklahoma Oral History Research Program, Oklahoma State University Libraries, President, Oral History Association

"When a group comes together to embark on a community oral history project wonderful things happen but challenges can also arise! The wealth of knowledge and experience conveyed in this book will help practitioners to plan, carry out, share and celebrate their work alongside navigating any bumps in the road."

Sarah Lowry, oral historian, Oral History Society trainer and mentor, London, UK

 

"After 25 years of being involved in oral history projects in my rural corner of the UK, I’m convinced that it’s one of the best ways of bringing a community together. All those involved learn from each other, discover things they never knew about their locality and  leave a legacy for future generations. As well as the knowledge, stories and intelligible heritage collected, new skills are learnt and new friendships made. One generation is effectively ‘handing over’ its history to the next."

Julia Letts, community oral historian, Oral History Society trainer and mentor, Worcestershire, UK