Posts by Alexandra Kelly

On Saturday, November 22 at Andrew Heiskell Braille and Talking Book Library, we celebrated the launch of Visible Lives: Oral Histories of the Disability Experience, The New York Public Library’s community-based initiative to make public and preserve stories of the disability experience.

The Andrew Heiskell Braille and Talking Book Library is launching an oral history project that will be the largest community-based effort of its kind to collect and document stories of the disability experience, and we want you to share your story.

In recognition of the two-year anniversary of Hurricane Sandy, The New York Public Library is partnering with Sandy Storyline to present an opportunity to hear and share first person stories of recovery and remembrance.

As NYPL's oral history projects continue... we've launched our oral history project in Harlem at 115th Street Library!

Jefferson Market Library was alive with the energy of storytelling last Thursday, March 13th as storytellers and interviewers for the Greenwich Village Oral History Project took over the library. It was an evening of Memory Circles, or recorded group oral histories, in which participants talked with each other about their shared recollections on particular Greenwich Village themes.

“Greenwich Village is so steeped in history, there are literally a bazillion stories of this, the most famous neighborhood in the world. Coming together in this tiny spec of real estate, people bounced off each other to become the cultural center of the country and the world. I could have written 6 books on this topic,” said Strausbaugh in his opening remarks at Jefferson Market Library.

Chatham Square Library has 19 iPads available for patrons to record their Lunar New Year memories. These recordings will be available as part of a circulating collection and on The New York Public Library website in the upcoming months.

On Thursday, January 16 a group of storytellers, interviewers and library staff gathered at Jefferson Market Library to celebrate the launch of Your Village, Your Story: Greenwich Village Oral History Project. On Thursday's kick-off event, the room was full of energy and with 30 oral histories collected already, there was plenty to celebrate!

Above, left to right: Everett Cox, Joan Furey, Earl Jacobson, Philip Napoli. Photo credit: Alexandra Kelly, NYPL

The following post was written by guest blogger, Philip F. Napoli. Mr. Napoli moderated our November 5th Vietnam Veterans Panel at the Stephen A. Schwarzman Building's South Court Auditorium. He is the author of Bringing it All Back Home: An Oral History of New York City's Vietnam Veterans.

On Tuesday, 

On Thursday, November 14, twelve volunteer interviewers sat in a circle in the first floor auditorium at Jefferson Market Library having a dynamic conversation about the nature of memory, open interview questions, and the history of Greenwich Village. This was the first of several volunteer interviewer orientations for Your Village, Your Story: Greenwich Village Oral History Project.

"Why are you interested in this project?" I asked everyone in attendance as an introductory question. Some people were there because 

At our first Fall 2013 veterans' program at NYPL, veterans from several different generations and branches of services told their own stories, responding to the mainstream media depiction of veterans and military life. This panel was entitled Our Stories To Tell and is the first event in a series of events this Fall 2013 that are collaboratively produced by veterans around New York City as they tell their own stories to both veterans and civilians as a way to fill in the  

Captain Kristin Rouse describes several news headlines that are problematic in their depiction of veterans and military life.Last Tuesday, October 15th, several generations of American war veterans spoke at the Our Stories to Tell panel at the Stephen A. Schwarzman Building's South Court Auditorium, the first panel in the New York Veteran History Series. The panel was produced in collaboration with StoryCorps Military Voices Initiative and was an opportunity for veterans to share their personal military experiences and discuss how 

Last Saturday, the NYC Veterans Oral History Project was on Staten Island for a morning of interviews with Korean War veterans. Several volunteers made it out to Staten Island to record these stories in the amazing Adult Learning Center at St. George Library.

Volunteer Tom Reichert Interviews Colonel Paul Dietrich"I'm doing this because sometimes the Korean War is left out of history classes. It's important for people of all generations to know what happened," said Dominick Conti, a Korean War 

Alexandria McIntosh tells Herbert Sweat her life story as Mr. Sweat practices his interviewing skills.Last Thursday, six new volunteer interviewers for the NYC Veterans Oral History Project met at Mid-Manhattan Library to learn about the project and discuss best practices. Several volunteers have family members who were in the military and plan to interview them so that their stories are preserved for future generations.

Alexandria McIntosh, entering the 11th grade this upcoming Fall, plans