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United States History: Primary Sources by Type: Oral history

Oral histories as primary sources

Oral histories provide a personal angle on history and often give voice to the common person. However it is important to keep in mind that oral histories are subjective and individualistic and that memory is fallible.

Help: Making Sense of Oral History

Find published oral histories

Tips for finding oral history sources in UW Libraries Search:

  • Limit your search by year of publication.
  • Search for books written by key participants and organizations.
  • Use the subject headings "personal narratives," “oral history”, "diaries", "interviews", and/or "correspondence," in conjunction with your search. (Note that "oral histories" is a different subject heading than "oral history.")
  • Browse the shelves in the appropriate subject area (DS 16.14 is the call number for books *about* oral history as a practice).

Examples of “keyword” searches:

  • Trade unions history "personal narratives"
  • "African Americans" interviews
  • "Japanese Americans" diaries

Digitized collections of oral histories

This is just a selected list of digitized oral histories available on the web.

Doing oral history

UW Libraries Oral History projects

Oral history projects from UW Libraries, UW Faculty and Departments, and organizations that have partnered with UW Libraries.

More digitized collections of oral histories

This is just a selected list of digitized oral histories available on the web. Search In the First Person to find other oral history websites.