A selected bibliography of books on oral history practice,
use, and theoretical issues. Addresses and prices have been listed for less
accessible materials. Other excellent books on oral history are now out
of print, but look for them in your local library under "oral history"
or "interviewing."
* Available from Regional Oral History Office plus $2 shipping
Oral History Manuals
* Baum, Willa K. Oral History for the Local Historical Society. 1987,
68 pp.
Nashville: American Association for State and Local History (530
Church Street, Suite 600, Nashville, TN 37219). $10.95
* Baum, Willa K. Transcribing and Editing Oral History. 1977, 127
pp.
Nashville: American Association for State and Local History (530
Church Street, Suite 600, Nashville, TN 37219). $13.95
Comprehensive advice and examples on each step from the tape to
the written record.
Dunaway, David K. and Willa K. Baum. Oral History: An Interdisciplinary
Anthology. Second Edition. 1996. 439 pp. Alta Mira Press (1630
North Main St., Suite 367, Walnut Creek, CA 94596).
A collection of the best scholarly writing on oral history, its uses,
promise and problems.
Not a manual, but full bibliographies following each chapter are a key to
all the writings on oral history up to 1995.
Frisch, Michael. A Shared Authority. Albany, NY: State University
of
New York Press, 1990. State University of New York Press, State
University Plaza, Albany, NY 12246.
Gluck, Sherna and Daphne Patai, ed. Womens Words: The Feminist Practice
of Oral History. Routledge: New York and London, 1991, 234 pp. A
collection of 13 essays on interviewing technique, interpretation,
and advocacy issues by two generations of feminist oral historians.
Havlice, Patricia Pate. Oral History: A Reference Guide and Annotated
Bibliography. 1985, 140 pp. Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland and Co., Inc.
(Box 611, Jefferson, NC 28640). $29.95 This 1985 bibliography gives
annotated entries on manuals, articles about oral history, guides to
collections, and books based on oral history. A well-done
subject index enables users to find publications on their topics.
Holstein, James A. and Jaber F. Gubrium. The Active Interview. Thousand
Oaks, CA: 1995. $9.95 Sage Publications, Inc., P.O. Box 5084,
Thousand Oaks, CA 91359-9924. Addresses general interview techniques
for qualitative research.
Ives, Edward D. The Tape-Recorded Interview: A Manual For Field Workers
in
Folklore and Oral History. Second Edition, 1995. 130 pp.
Knoxville: The University of Tennessee Press (Knoxville, TN 37996-0325).
$16.95 cloth, $6.95 paper. A full and readable manual by leading
folklorist, especially strong on recording techniques. Includes
sample of form letters, agreements, accession forms.
Jackson, Bruce. Fieldwork. University of Illinois Press, 1987.
Comprehensive guide to doing oral history, strong on equipment,
including videotape and film.
Mercier, Laurie and Madeline Buckendorf. Using Oral History in Community
History Projects. Oral History Association, 1992. Pamphlet Series #4.
*Nathan, Harriet. Critical Choices in Interviews. Conduct, Use, and Research
Role. University of California, Berkeley: Institute of Governmental
Studies, 1986. Treats interviews of all kinds. "Essential reading
for the serious oral historian"--W.K. Baum.
Neuenschwander, John H. Oral History and the Law. Oral History Association,
1993. Pamphlet Series #1. See attached order form.
Oblinger, Carl. Interviewing the People of Pennsylvania. 1978, 84
pp.
Harrisburg: Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission (Box 1026,
Harrisburg, PA 17120.) $6.95 A thoughtful book that combines theory
and method with many clear examples.
Oral History Evaluation Guidelines. Oral History Association, 1992.
Pamphlet
Series #3. See attached order form.
Perks, Robert and Alistair Thomson, eds., Oral History Reader , Routledge:
New York, 1998.
Reimer, Derek, David Mattison and Allen W. Specht. Voices, A Guide
to Oral
History. 1984, 74 pp. Victoria: Provincial Archives, British Columbia
(Crown Publications, 546 Yates Street, Victoria, BC, Canada V8W 1K8).
$8. An excellent manual aimed at radio broadcast quality interviews.
Detailed information on equipment and recording methods.
Good examples of cataloging. A best buy.
Ritchie, Donald A., Doing Oral History. Twayne Publishers, New York,
1995, 265 pp. Practical advice on oral history--planning,
conducting, videotaping, preserving, teaching, presenting, and using
in research and writing. Simon Schuster Macmillan, 866 Third Avenue,
New York 10022
Rubin, Herbert J. and Irene S. Rubin. Qualitative Interviewing. The
Art of Hearing Data. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, 1995. $22.95
Sage Publications, Inc., P.O. Box 5084, Thousand Oaks, CA 91359-9924.
For qualitative researchers, including oral historians, linking
techniques with theories of how people communicate meaning.
Schorzman, Terri A., A Practical Introduction to Videohistory: The
Smithsonian Institution and Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Experiment.
Krieger Publishing, Malabar, Florida, 1994.
Thompson, Paul. The Voice of the Past: Oral History. 1988 2d
ed.,expanded, 257 pp. New York: Oxford University Press (2001 Evans Road,
Cary, NC 27513). $16.95
A theoretical and practical guide by England's leading oral historian.
This is the best book so far on oral historiography from a grassroots
perspective. "For academics who already are historians but want to
master oral history"--C. Morrissey
Yow, Valerie Raleigh. Recording Oral History: A Practical Guide for Social
Scientists. Sage Publications (2455 Teller Road, Thousand Oaks,
CA 91320), 1994, 283 pp. Discusses oral history as a
qualitative research method in social science, with practical advice and
sample forms and guides as well as theoretical considerations.