Blog Posts by Subject: Oral history

Back in 1986 Panasonic thought they had the competitive answer to Sony's Betacam SP format. Their product was smaller, lighter and poised to take over the electronic news gathering (ENG) market. The plan must have looked great on paper, but the MII format was a disaster.

A guest post by Joanne Dillon, interviewer for Visible Lives: Oral Histories of the Disability Experience at Andrew Heiskell Braille and Talking Book Library.

Nine highlights from four distinct oral history projects—stories of the past and present history of these communities.

This is a guest post by Joanne Dillon, interviewer for Visible Lives: Oral Histories of the Disability Experience at Andrew Heiskell Braille and Talking Book Library. Joanne conducted her first interview for the project with storyteller Ann Chiapetta on Saturday, December 20. After you read her post, you can listen to Joanne's interview with Ann.

Family history research often begins with an interview. Speaking with your family to discover names, dates, locations, and important life events is one of the most important steps in delving into the genealogy world.

Voices from East of Bronx Park is the first large scale effort to collect oral histories from people who have lived or worked in the Allerton, Pelham Parkway, Van Nest and Morris Park neighborhoods.

Between 1986 to 1988, Kisseloff traversed the city with a cassette recorder to interview former longshoreman, bootleggers, pickle makers, butchers, community activists, housewives, and writers in an attempt to capture stories of old Manhattan.

This is a guest blog post by Deena Greenberg, interviewer for Visible Lives: Oral Histories of the Disability Experience at Andrew Heiskell Braille and Talking Book Library. Deena conducted her first interview for the project with storyteller Daniel Aronoff on Tuesday, November 18. After you read her post, you can listen to Deena’s interview with Daniel.

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.

Come and show off your knowledge of past and present African-American culture! Fun for all. Ages 10 - adult.

“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.

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!

In 1933, the US government established the first of many New Deal projects and initiatives. Four years later, in September 1937, Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston was published in New York. The connection between the two? While many readers know of the novel's seminal status (it has been one of the most lauded—and banned—books 

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