ABSTRACT
People follow many paths to oral history. It usually begins with an idea: perhaps an individual or community group who wishes to document their past, or a university-based oral history program with a staff of experts and a trusted archive to process and keep the oral histories. Possibly, a family get-together sparks an interest in preserving oral histories for future generations, or a high school teacher encourages civics students to explore a local controversy by interviewing community members. Maybe a writer wants to base a new book on the multiple voices in a social movement, or perhaps an employee wants to capture their company’s institutional history. Or it could be members of a fraternity or sorority who want to document the history of their organization’s local chapter. No matter the purpose of the oral history project, a lot of planning should take place and steps followed to achieve the best results. Project design is the first step for any oral history endeavor.
