Interview | telling family tales

I’m finally admitting to myself that my allergies have spawned a cold, but I don’t want to miss another post of doing story projects. So here is a link to some detailed information on doing an oral history project on the Library of Congress’s American Folklife Center.

Here is a brief outline of the planning part:

Determine the goals of the project.
Learn about the work that is required for a typical oral history project.
Determine the scope of the project.
Conduct preliminary research.
Determine who will work on the project.
Determine what will happen to the recordings and other documentary materials after the project comes to an end.
Create a release form.
Determine what equipment, supplies and other resources are needed.
Develop a timetable for the project.
Develop a budget.
Identify sources of funds.
Publicity.

How about recording an interview with one of the members of your family (usually an older family member) and then share that interview with your family on a cd or dvd? To me the hardest part of this is coming up with a good set of questions for the interview. Well StoryCorps.org has the answer. They have a list of great questions or you can use their Question Generator to create a customized list of questions based on your circumstances.

With today’s computers it is so much easier to edit an interview and make copies than it was even 10 or 15 years ago. What a precious thing to have some of your families stories recorded in the voice of a beloved family member. It will be well worth the effort. Besides you don’t have to get their whole life history recorded in one sitting. Just a story or two would be great. Sometimes we think we have to do it all but we don’t. Getting something recorded and shared is the most important thing.