Enhancing Access to Oral History Interviews

Thanks to a 2014-2015 award through the University Libraries' Innovation and Program Enrichment Program, we are currently working on providing access to audio and enhanced transcripts for the oral history interviews conducted as part of our African American Institutional Memory Project.

These interviews with African American alumni from the 1960s and 1970s, which typically are an hour or more in length, provide in-depth information about an interviewee’s contributions to and viewpoint on their time at WC/UNCG. Often these interviews provide valuable personal insight into history in a way that the official university records cannot. Student researchers in particular find the oral history interviews interesting, as they present a perspective that is often more relatable to them.

Currently, access to these oral histories is provided primarily through the interview transcript (the word-for-word text of the interview). Audio recordings are available on CD if requested, but access to these recordings is not provided online. The transcripts are among the highest ranked downloads from across the University Libraries’ digital collections, yet the process of finding relevant information within the transcripts is often challenging due to their lengthy nature.

With the project funds, a second-year graduate student from the Department of History is working with us to use an open-source tool (the Oral History Metadata Synchronizer, developed by the Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History at the University of Kentucky Libraries) to enhance access to oral history audio recordings online and time-synch the audio recordings to existing transcripts. This will allow researchers to more readily search each oral history recording for relevant information and quickly skip to certain key topics discussed in the interview.

At the conclusion of the project in June 2015, it is anticipated that at least 25 enhanced oral history audio recordings and accompanying transcripts will be made available to researchers online. We also hope to build a web exhibit that highlights some of the key stories told in these interviews.

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October is Archives Month, an annual observance of the agencies and people responsible for maintaining and making available the archival and historical records of our nation, state, communities and people. As part of the month-long celebration, this blog is highlighting some of the innovative and exciting work being done in Special Collections and University Archives.

October is Archives Month!

Celebrate Archives Month!!!

October is North Carolina Archives Month, an annual observance of the agencies and people responsible for maintaining and making available the archival and historical records of our nation, state, communities and people. Throughout October 2014, the Martha Blakeney Hodges Special Collections and University Archives (SCUA) will host numerous exhibits and events aimed at promoting awareness of the importance of our profession to our state’s citizenry and public leaders.

Folks who are not able to attend any of the events or exhibits will still have a chance to join in on the celebration through our various social media outlets. This blog will be used to highlight some of the exciting and innovative work being done to promote archives at UNCG. Additionally, SCUA staff will share additional information and materials via Twitter, Tumblr, and the Spartan Stories blog.

Save the Date(s): October is Archives Month!

October is North Carolina Archives Month, an annual observance of the agencies and people responsible for maintaining and making available the archival and historical records of our nation, state, communities and people. Throughout October 2014, the Martha Blakeney Hodges Special Collections and University Archives (SCUA) will host numerous exhibits and events aimed at promoting awareness of the importance of our profession to our state’s citizenry and public leaders.

Field Day at State Normal, 1914

Beginning October 1, two exhibits focused on the 2014 North Carolina Archives Month theme of “North Carolina at Play: Health and Leisure in Our State” will be displayed in Jackson Library. The first will be housed at the College Avenue entrance and will highlight resources held by SCUA that tell the history of health and leisure in North Carolina. The second exhibit, which will be next to the library's reference desk on the first floor of Jackson Library, will focus on the history of health and leisure at UNCG since its founding as the State Normal and Industrial School in 1891. These exhibits will be available for viewing at any time the building is open.

The Hodges Reading Room in Jackson Library will host a lecture by Dr. Joy Kasson of UNC Chapel Hill on Lois Lenski and her career as a documentary writer for children on October 8 at 4pm. Much of Kasson's research was done using the Lois Lenski Papers in SCUA. You can read more about the talk here: http://uncgfol.blogspot.com/2014/09/getting-books-from-life-lois-lenski.html. 

On October 9 at 10:30am in the Hodges Reading Room, SCUA staff will present a talk on "Interpreting College Scrapbooks as a Microcosm of Institutional and Social History." Archivists Kathelene Smith and Jennifer Motzsko will chart the evolution of the scrapbook, from its origins as a commonplace book to the commercially produced album found on 19th century college campuses. They will also explore the similarities, differences, and overall themes shared by scrapbooks held in SCUA as well as their potential use by scholars, and the importance of preserving them for future generations of historians. A number of scrapbooks related to health and leisure will be displayed.

Stacey Krim, curator for SCUA's Cello Music Collection, will present a biographic overview of Lev Aronson, whose manuscript and annotated music is among the most recent additions to the collection. Lev Aronson (1912-1988) was an established performer and teacher of the violoncello and Jewish survivor of the German and Russian labor camps of World War II. After immigrating to the United States in 1948, Aronson continued his career as principal cellist of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra in addition to holding teaching positions at Baylor University and Southern Methodist University. In addition to the presentation, original works composed by Aronson around the time of his imprisonment during WWII will be displayed.

Students in the South Spencer Gymnasium, 1907

SCUA will also offer two walking tours of campus focused specifically on the history of health and physical education on campus. Tours will be offered at 2pm on Wednesday, October 15 and Wednesday, October 22. Each walking tour will take approximately 45 minutes and will be limited to 15 participants. The tours are open to any UNCG student, faculty, staff, or alumni. To reserve a place on the walking tour, please email SCUA@uncg.edu and indicate which tour you would like to take part in. Specifics on meeting location will be emailed to participants prior to the tour date.

Throughout October, SCUA staff will share additional information and materials via various social media outlets. Follow University Archives on Twitter (http://www.twitter.com/UNCGArchives) or Tumblr (http://UNCGArchives.tumblr.com) for daily features on the topic of health and leisure in North Carolina, links to web exhibits featuring SCUA materials, and details on a temporary "pop up exhibit" that will take place on campus at a time and location to be determined. Additionally, the Spartan Stories blog (http://uncghistory.blogspot.com) will publish weekly posts highlighting the history of health and leisure activities at UNCG.

***** FULL SCHEDULE OF EVENTS *****

Wednesday, October 8, 4pm, Hodges Reading Room, Jackson Library
"Getting Books from Life: Lois Lenski, Documentary Writer for Children" lecture

Thursday, October 9, 10:30am, Hodges Reading Room, Jackson Library
"Interpreting College Scrapbooks as a Microcosm of Institutional and Social History" lecture

Wednesday, October 15, 2pm
Campus Walking Tour (RSVP to SCUA@uncg.edu, limited to 15 participants)

Wednesday, October 22, 2pm
Campus Walking Tour (RSVP to SCUA@uncg.edu, limited to 15 participants)

Tuesday, October 28, 2pm, Hodges Reading Room, Jackson Library
"A Biographic Overview of Lev Aronson" lecture

Ongoing, October 1 through October 31, 1st floor, Jackson Library
Exhibits focused on "North Carolina at Play: Health and Leisure in Our State"