Barbara W Sommer: 9 books

It has been half a century since the last book that addressed how historical societies can utilize oral history. In this brief, practical guide, internationally known oral historian Barbara W. Sommer applies the best practices of contemporary oral historians to the projects that historical organizations...

The Civilian Conservation Corps—born out of Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal at the height of the Great Depression—supplied jobs to more than 77,000 Minnesotans in need. Their work left a lasting legacy, visible today in Minnesota's thriving forests, state park amenities, and soil conservation...

The Oral History Manualis designed to help anyone interested in doing oral history research to think like an oral historian. Recognizing that oral history is a research methodology, the authors define oral history and then discuss the methodology in the context of the oral history life cycle – the...

The first book of the five-volume Community Oral History Toolkit sets the stage for an oral history project by placing community projects into a larger context of related fields and laying a sound theoretical foundation. It introduces the field of oral history to newcomers, with discussions of the...

Oral history is a widespread and well-developed research method in many fields—but the conduct of oral histories of and by American Indian peoples has unique issues and concerns that are too rarely addressed. This essential guide begins by differentiating between the practice of oral history and...

Community projects often falter after the interviews are completed. This final book of the five-volume Community Oral History Toolkit explains the importance of processing and archiving oral histories and takes the reader through all the steps required for good archiving and for concluding the oral...

The second book in the five-volume Community Oral History Toolkit walks you through all the planning steps to travel from an idea to a completed collection of oral history interviews. Informed by an extensive survey of oral historians from across the country, this guide will get you started on firm...

The interview is the anchor of an oral history project. The fourth book in the five-volume Community Oral History Toolkit guides the interviewer through all the steps from interview preparation through follow-up. It includes guidance on selecting interviewees, training interviewers, using recording...

The third book in the five-volume Community Oral History Toolkit takes the planning steps outlined in Volume 2 and puts them into action. It provides the practical details for turning your plans into reality and establishes the basis for guiding your project through the interviews to a successful...