From the Chair

Hello,

First of all, I want to extend my appreciation to Jen Eidson for working hard in a short period of time to produce this newsletter.  Jen took over the project at the last minute, but I know that she and the Steering Committee are looking for volunteers to take over the newsletter and the website since Margaret Fraser stepped down.  Please contact me or anyone on the Steering Committee if you are interested in this responsibility.

Last year, the Oral History Section did a wonderful job engaging many people in the Belfast/ Oral History Case, including conducting a live web chat on the topic.  The live web chat was coordinated by Jen Eidson, Rachel Telford and Lauren Kata.  Telford and Kata even wrote a great piece about the live chat in the latest issue of Archival Outlook.

This year, I am working with specific members of the section on post-processing issues related to the Oral History Project that began on the 75^th anniversary of SAA. As you know, we have been conducting oral history interviews of SAA leaders during the SAA Annual Meeting. We will conduct one or two interviews this year, but in the meantime, we want to address the post-processing of all the interviews.  I will be sure to update you on that.

There was a suggestion that we create a website that will gather oral history projects that have been conducted.  This sounds like an interesting project, and I would like to know if there are enough people who would form a subcommittee to carry on the project.  Please let me know if you are interested.  In the meantime, the Steering Committee will begin working on creating a searchable database of past issues of Dialogue. We have published some interesting stories in our own newsletter, and it will be good for those stories to be easily accessible. If you are interested in getting involved in this project, please let me know.

If you have any other ideas for the Oral History Section, please do not hesitate to contact me or any member of the Steering Committee.

Cordially,

Cecilia

Dialogue: Winter 2014 | Next: Keeping Stories: Archiving Oral Histories in Troubled Times >>