Oral History Handbook

This Oral History Handbook provides practical advice for anyone new to oral history and for participants in the Oral History Kit program in Archives and Special Collections (ASC) at the MSU Library.

Oral History Kits and training are available through Archives and Special Collections (ASC) at the MSU Library. The kits provide professional audio and video recording equipment that MSU students, faculty, and staff can check out for one or two weeks to record oral histories in the field. In addition to equipment, ASC also provides in-person training in oral history best practices and equipment setup.

For more information about oral history services at MSU Archives and Special Collections or to check out a kit visit the Oral History Kit page on the MSU Library's Website.

Oral History is a method of collecting memories and personal commentaries of historical significance through recorded interviews. These interview are conducted by a well-prepared interviewer who records the exchange in either audio or video format. Recordings are then transcribed, summarized, or indexed and then preserved in a library or archives.

Oral history is a research strategy for gathering, preserving, and interpreting the first-hand experiences of people, communities, and participants in past events. Oral history is both the oldest type of historical inquiry and one of the most modern. Oral recordkeeping traditions predate the written word, but oral history in the modern sense was not initiated until the availability of tape recorders in the 1940s. As digital recording technologies have become widespread throughout the 21st-century, the creation of oral histories has become a vital tool for expanding the historical record. 

Oral history creates a personalized account of the past that can expand on information provided by public records, statistical data, photographs, maps, letters, diaries, and other historical materials. Oral histories are valuable for the eyewitness perspective they contribute historical events, which provided details and nuances often missed by official accounts. They also bring a wider range of viewpoints and perspectives that fill in the gaps in documented history, and even correct or contradict established narratives.

Interviewers have an opportunity to ask questions left out of other records and uncover experiences of people whose stories have been untold or forgotten. These stories bring depth to our understanding of the past by focusing on experiences at the individual level. Like a diary or private letter, oral history sheds light on the personal experience of historical events, however, unlike letters or diaries, they can be thoughtfully focused on a specific area of inquiry.