CATALOGING ORAL HISTORIES
Workshop
Alaska Library AssociationMarch 4, 2010
CATALOGING ORAL HISTORIES
OVERVIEW
Introduction to Oral History
Oral History from a Catalogers Perspective
WHAT IS ORAL HISTORY?
My favorite definition
Oral history is a methodology for documenting recent history
through the eyes of those who have lived through it.
More About Oral History
Refers to both a methodology and the final product;
Often used to document underdocumented communities groups with
an oral tradition, groups outside the mainstream, groups whose
voice has been silenced;
Used to balance the viewpoint in the written record; to give a
behind scenes story to a well documented person or event; to
document everyday life in families, neighborhoods, cultural groups
that would not otherwise be documented
What Makes It Oral History?
Interview format
Always recorded audio or video
Interviewer has subject expertise
Shared authorship, with narrator having control over content
Interview given with intent to enter historical record (i.e.
deposited in a repository)
Follows professional guidelines for oral histories,
http://www.oralhistory.org/do-oral-history/oral-history-evaluation-guidelines/
How are Oral Histories Used?
By researchers in libraries and archives
In performances
In museum exhibitions
In online exhibitions
In curricula at all levels
In community building
In family research
In bridging generation gap, cultural gap
What Does Oral History Look Like?
Audio tape (reel-to-reel, audiocassette, DAT, microcassette)
Multiple tapes
Tape + Transcript
Transcript only (sometimes bound, sometimes not)
MiniDisc, CD, Flash drive, sound file
Videocassette
DVD with Video
Any combination of the above
EXAMPLES
Oral History from a catalogers point of view
Oral history methodologies have changed, but archivists and
catalogers deal with past, present, and future
in format and recording medium,
in definition of the primary document,
From reel-to-reel tape
To portable cassette recorders.
To mini-disc, microcassettes, CDs, flash drives, sound files
And always the transcript
And so it goes .
Catalogers must accommodate to these changes in oral history
practice and recording technologies, while at the same time manage
collections of older, often endangered materials.
What Catalogers Need to Know
Format audio/video, analog/digital, sound file
Recording medium Cassette, disc, sound file, or combination
Transcript
Physical components of the oral history
Accompanying materials
CATALOGING REFRESHER
Why Catalog?
Principles of Cataloging
Cataloging Steps
Coding Standards and Rules
Container for Catalog Records
Why Catalog?
Organize materials
Link related items
Link description to physical item
Describe physical content
Describe intellectual content
Provide multiple access points
Record administrative, preservation, rights data
Share information across institutions
Some Cataloging Principles
Follow established standards and rules to achieve
Accuracy
Consistency
Precision
Context
In order to provide .
Desired results
Cataloging Tasks
Physical description
Subject/content analysis
Access points
Authority control
Standards for Description
AACR
FRBR (not really a standard)
RDA (in-process)
FRBR Model
WORK distinct intellectual or artistic creation,
THE ORAL HISTORY
EXPRESSION- the artistic or intellectual form the work takes in
this instance NOT RELEVANT
MANIFESTATION the physical embodiment of that expression. THE
RECORDING + TRANSCRIPT
ITEM - the actual physical item catalogued.
PHYSICAL ITEM IN HAND
Less relevant since oral histories are one of a kind items
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RDA (Resource Description & Access)
New standard to replace AACR, based on FRBR model
More flexibility, replaces print bias of AACR, accommodates for
relationships
Will be helpful for cataloging oral histories, because it
accommodates for multiple media, parent/child relationships.
Standards for Data Exchange
These are metadata standards for entering data in a form that
computers understand. They can be mapped from one to another. For
example if you catalog in MARC21, it can be turned into Dublin
Core
MARC21
Dublin Core
METS, EAD, TEI
Container for Cataloging
Single access point: Inventory, Finding Aid, Stand alone
catalog
Traditional library model: OPAC
Internet model: Digital repository
Notes on pros and cons of all these
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Single Access Point
EXAMPLES:
Inventory,
Finding Aid,
Stand alone catalog
Advantages
Low tech
Low expense
Easy to understand
Disadvantages
Limited access points
Limited viewability
OPAC
Traditional Library Model Based on card catalog and print
standard
Advantages
Standard: many oral histories already catalogued in OPAC
Most librarians understand this model
Serves local community very well
Most libraries share cataloging on WorldCat.org
Disadvantages
Needs extra step to share data
Hard to accommodate for multimedia of oral histories
Digital Repository
EXAMPLES
Bracero History Archive, http://braceroarchive.org/
Hurricane Digital Memory Bank, http://hurricanearchive.org/
Veterans History Project, http://www.loc.gov/vets/
Advantages
Internet access (many retrieved through Google)
Colocates like materials
Multimedia capabilities
Disadvantages
Unfamiliar to librarians
Rights management issues not clear
Protocols not clear. Not available to many
Final notes for Catalogers
Be clear about physical items: Oral histories come to in a
variety of formats, including multiple versions
Relationships matter: Oral histories may be included in a
collection of papers, as part of an oral history project
Non-cataloging issues should be resolved first: proper labeling,
rights issues, preservation issues
And when all is said and done.
There are only two rules:
Dont lose the tape,
The patron always comes first
William Schneider, reported by Robyn Russell, UAF
PUTTING THEORY INTO PRACTICE
My Mantra
ORAL HISTORIAN IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE CONTENT
CATALOGER IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE PROCESS
Getting Started
Develop a protocol for the oral history cataloging needs of your
own institution
Before cataloging begins
Cataloging template
Cataloging Protocol
Container for catalog records
Finding Aid
OPAC/WorldCat
Digital Repository
Standard for data exchange
MARC
Dublin Core
Authority Control plan
Homegrown thesaurus
LCA
Other, more specialized
Cataloging Protocol
Legal consent form must accompany oral history and be approved
by library
Are all preservation issues resolved?
Restrictions on access?
Any other orphaned documents?
Are all physical items properly labeled?
Are copies of recordings made and logged?
Is contact information for donor, narrator and interviewer
available?
Is oral history transcribed?
Lets look at the handouts
Incoming Oral History Collection for the receipt of a
collection
Oral History Data Template -- To be filled out by the oral
history project for each oral history. Pushes responsibility for
accuracy of data to the oral history project.
Cataloging Template Much data transferred from oral history
template, but adapted for cataloging
Important Data Elements
Title of oral history (may or may not be provided)
Physical description and format (including MARC 007)
Creator interviewer and narrator
Time and date of interview
Title of oral history project
Institutional affiliation
Biographical summary
Historical summary
Contents
Subject headings or keywords
ADDITIONAL METADATA
Copyright information
Restrictions
Location of archive
Copy information
Preservation information
Subject analysis
Proper names personal, corporate, geographic very useful access
points to oral histories
Topical headings also useful can colocate related items within a
collection or within the repository
Authority control very important for oral histories especially
personal names. Be sure to get accurate spellings on incoming data
sheets. Because of the local nature of oral histories, most need a
local thesaurus for authority control, to supplement larger
vocabularies.
IMPT NOTE TO CATALOGERS: You should not be responsible for
analyzing content, oral history project should provide this
information for you
