Oral history
Oral histories are one-time, never-to-be repeated conversations between a narrator (interviewee) and an interviewer, where the interviewer guides the conversation with probing questions related to a specific theme. This theme can be a person and biographical in nature, but it can also be related to an event or experience that the narrator participated in or witnessed, or a place in time or community that the narrator lived within.
Here's some common terminology related to oral histories and this website which may be of interest:
- Audiovisual file: most interviews are accessible in an audio or video format, depending on the wishes of the narrator.
- Copyright: copyright is essentially who the owner of the interview is. At CSUSM, oral history interviews are either owned by the narrator or by the library. Please contact the library's Special Collections department if you have questions about using an oral history.
- Coverage: coverage on Voices of North County refers to the geographical locations that are covered in interviews. Coverage geographical entries on Voices of North County are linked data, which means that multiple interviews can be found by clicking on a coverage heading.
- Finding aid: a finding aid is a written document that provides additional context for an archival collection, often providing detailed notes about resources in an archive. Go here for CSUSM's oral histories finding aid.
- Index: an index is a series of breakpoints, or sections for an oral history, which breaks the oral history into "chapters" which explain what each section is about. Indexes can be found on the audiovisual player for the oral history.
- Interviewee: an individual that guides the oral history conversation with questions geared towards a specific theme.
- Metadata: information about a resource, in this case, the oral history. Metadata can be about the resource, like a description of what the interview is about or who the narrator is, or it can be about how to use a resource, like copyright information.
- Narrator: an individual that participates in an oral history interview as the subject of the interview (the interviewee).
- OHMS: OHMS, or Oral History Metadata Synchronizer, is software developed out of the University of Kentucky's Louis B. Nunn Center for Oral History. OHMS allows for oral histories to be displayed in a package that links together its metadata, audiovisual file, transcript, and index (if applicable). Please see the Using the AV Player web page for more information.
- Subjects: subjects, or subject headings, are controlled vocabulary that describe in at most a few words what an interview is about. Subjects on Voices of North County are linked data, which means that multiple interviews can be found by clicking on a subject heading.
- Transcription: a transcription, or transcript for short, is a written version of an oral history interview. Transcripts are an alternate way to access audiovisual files and can be helpful for auditorily impaired researchers, as well as those that prefer to research via the written word. Transcripts are available for each interview on this website as both a standalone written document in PDF format, and as a companion part of the audiovisual file.