Transcript CATALOGING ORAL HISTORIES

CATALOGING ORAL HISTORIES
Workshop
Alaska Library Association
March 4, 2010
OVERVIEW
1. Introduction to Oral History
2. Oral History from a Cataloger’s Perspective
WHAT IS ORAL HISTORY?
My favorite definition
“Oral history is a methodology for documenting
recent history through the eyes of those who have
lived through it.”
More About Oral History
 Refers to both a methodology and the final product;
 Often used to document underdocumented communities –
groups with an oral tradition, groups outside the
mainstream, groups whose voice has been silenced;
 Used to balance the viewpoint in the written record; to give
a behind scenes story to a well documented person or event;
to document everyday life in families, neighborhoods,
cultural groups that would not otherwise be documented
What Makes It Oral History?
 Interview format
 Always recorded – audio or video
 Interviewer has subject expertise
 Shared authorship, with narrator having control over content
 Interview given with intent to enter historical record (i.e.
deposited in a repository)
 Follows professional guidelines for oral histories,
http://www.oralhistory.org/do-oral-history/oral-historyevaluation-guidelines/
How are Oral Histories Used?
 By researchers in libraries and archives
 In performances
 In museum exhibitions
 In online exhibitions
 In curricula at all levels
 In community building
 In family research
 In bridging generation gap, cultural gap
What Does Oral History Look Like?
 Audio tape (reel-to-reel, audiocassette, DAT, microcassette)
 Multiple tapes
 Tape + Transcript
 Transcript only (sometimes bound, sometimes not)
 MiniDisc, CD, Flash drive, sound file
 Videocassette
 DVD with Video
 Any combination of the above
 EXAMPLES
Oral History from a
cataloger’s point of view
Oral history methodologies have changed, but archivists
and catalogers deal with past, present, and future
in format and recording medium,
in definition of the primary document,
 From reel-to-reel tape
 To portable cassette recorders.
 To mini-disc, microcassettes, CDs, flash drives, sound files
 And always … the transcript
And so it goes ….
Catalogers must accommodate to these changes in
oral history practice and recording technologies,
while at the same time manage collections of
older, often endangered materials.
The Result:
What Catalogers Need to Know
 Format – audio/video, analog/digital, sound file
 Recording medium – Cassette, disc, sound file, or
combination
 Transcript
 Physical components of the oral history
 Accompanying materials
CATALOGING REFRESHER
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Why Catalog?
Principles of Cataloging
Cataloging Steps
Coding Standards and Rules
Container for Catalog Records
Why Catalog?
 Organize materials
 Link related items
 Link description to physical item
 Describe physical content
 Describe intellectual content
 Provide multiple access points
 Record administrative, preservation, rights data
 Share information across institutions
Some Cataloging Principles
Follow established standards and rules to achieve
 Accuracy
 Consistency
 Precision
 Context
In order to provide ….
Desired results
Cataloging Tasks
 Physical description
 Subject/content analysis
 Access points
 Authority control
Standards and Rules
Standards for Description
AACR
FRBR (not really a standard)
RDA (in-process)
FRBR Model
 WORK – distinct intellectual or artistic creation,
THE ORAL HISTORY
 EXPRESSION- the artistic or intellectual form the work takes in
this instance – NOT RELEVANT
 MANIFESTATION – the physical embodiment of that expression.
THE RECORDING + TRANSCRIPT
 ITEM - the actual physical item catalogued. –
PHYSICAL ITEM IN HAND
RDA (Resource Description & Access)
 New standard to replace AACR, based on FRBR model
 More flexibility, replaces print bias of AACR, accommodates
for relationships
 Will be helpful for cataloging oral histories, because it
accommodates for multiple media, parent/child
relationships.
Standards for Data Exchange
These are metadata standards for entering data in a form that
computers understand. They can be mapped from one to
another. For example if you catalog in MARC21, it can be
turned into Dublin Core
 MARC21
 Dublin Core
 METS, EAD, TEI
Container for Cataloging
 Single access point: Inventory, Finding Aid, Stand alone
catalog
 Traditional library model: OPAC
 Internet model: Digital repository
Digital Repository
 EXAMPLES
 Bracero History Archive, http://braceroarchive.org/
 Hurricane Digital Memory Bank, http://hurricanearchive.org/
 Veterans History Project, http://www.loc.gov/vets/
 Advantages
 Internet access (many retrieved through Google)
 Colocates like materials
 Multimedia capabilities
 Disadvantages
 Unfamiliar to librarians
 Rights management issues not clear
 Protocols not clear. Not available to many
Final notes for Catalogers
 Be clear about physical items: Oral histories come to in a
variety of formats, including multiple versions
 Relationships matter: Oral histories may be included in a
collection of papers, as part of an oral history project
 Non-cataloging issues should be resolved first: proper
labeling, rights issues, preservation issues
And when all is said and done….
There are only two rules:
a) Don’t lose the tape,
b) The patron always comes first
William Schneider, reported by Robyn Russell, UAF
PUTTING THEORY INTO PRACTICE
My Mantra
 ORAL HISTORIAN IS
RESPONSIBLE FOR THE
CONTENT
 CATALOGER IS RESPONSIBLE
FOR THE PROCESS
Getting Started
Develop a protocol for the oral history cataloging needs of your
own institution
 Before cataloging begins
 Cataloging template
Cataloging Protocol
 Container for catalog records
 Finding Aid
 OPAC/WorldCat
 Digital Repository
 Standard for data exchange


MARC
Dublin Core
 Authority Control plan



Homegrown thesaurus
LCA
Other, more specialized
Cataloging Protocol
 Legal consent form must accompany oral history and be
approved by library
 Are all preservation issues resolved?
 Restrictions on access?
 Any other orphaned documents?
 Are all physical items properly labeled?
 Are copies of recordings made and logged?
 Is contact information for donor, narrator and interviewer
available?
 Is oral history transcribed?
Let’s look at the handouts
 Incoming Oral History Collection – for the receipt of a
collection
 Oral History Data Template -- To be filled out by the oral
history project for each oral history. Pushes responsibility for
accuracy of data to the oral history project.
 Cataloging Template – Much data transferred from oral
history template, but adapted for cataloging
Important Data Elements
 Title of oral history (may or may not be provided)
 Physical description and format (including MARC 007)
 Creator – interviewer and narrator
 Time and date of interview
 Title of oral history project
 Institutional affiliation
 Biographical summary
 Historical summary
 Contents
 Subject headings or keywords
ADDITIONAL METADATA
 Copyright information
 Restrictions
 Location of archive
 Copy information
 Preservation information
Subject analysis
 Proper names – personal, corporate, geographic very useful
access points to oral histories
 Topical headings also useful – can colocate related items within a
collection or within the repository
 Authority control very important for oral histories – especially
personal names. Be sure to get accurate spellings on incoming data
sheets. Because of the local nature of oral histories, most need a
local thesaurus for authority control, to supplement larger
vocabularies.
IMPT NOTE TO CATALOGERS: You should not be responsible for
analyzing content, oral history project should provide this
information for you
EXAMPLES
PRACTICE