COLORADO VOICE PRESERVE: A library for oral history.
ORAL HISTORY is the process of recording and preserving memories that reflect individual
experiences being offered for historical consideration. An oral history involves an interviewer
and interviewee (a.k.a. narrator), with the interviewer posing questions meant to elicit
thoughtful and honest replies from the narrator. “Oral sources tell us not just what people did, but
what they wanted to do, what they believed they were doing, and what they now think they did.”
(Historian and author Alessandro Portelli; emphasis added.) The product of the recorded
conversation is the oral history, which enlightens public awareness of people and topics.
OPPORTUNITY
Oral-history interviews can target individuals and social groups whose experiences have not
been thoroughly or accurately conveyed through existing documentation. Projects may arise in
response to a single event; to facilitate community conversation; or to grasp a living knowledge
that otherwise would be lost. In March 2012, a Colorado assessment showed that 96% of the
state’s oral histories are not fully accessible. Individual libraries, museums, cultural agencies,
and community groups want to expose these stories but lack the capacity to carry out projects
and adhere to standards of accessibility. A statewide library, with a mission dedicated to oral
history, would put 100% of its resources toward making 100% of interviews discoverable,
available, understandable, and usable.
LIBRARY GOALS AND OBJECTIVES: Voice Preserve goals are threefold: 1) Change the landscape
of oral-history practice in Colorado, 2) Change the national landscape of oral-history practice,
promoting Colorado as the lead example of a Voice Preserve model, and 3) Create a culture
where individual stories are valued, captured, and transformed into shareable knowledge.
1. Colorado has no statewide oral-history agency and no coordinated means for personal
narratives to be preserved and disseminated. Our objective is to increase the capacity for
libraries, museums, community groups, and stewards of cultural heritage to engage in oralhistory projects and share the results. Oral histories must be correlated with other types of
information, and interviews must be linkable to other data sets on the World Wide Web.
2. Archivists, librarians, and educators from across the nation are excited by a Voice Preserve
model that could be “exported” beyond the borders of Colorado. Our objective is to spread
the concepts undergirding our effort and to offer a template that can be replicated
elsewhere.
3. While oral history is the oldest and most enduring means of information transfer, no public
library has dedicated its purpose to the delivery of this knowledge. Our objective is to
expand awareness for oral-history’s power and potential, working with educators and
cultural stewards to engage our broad citizenry in purposeful listening and telling; our
further objective is to elevate the way society thinks about personal knowledge and the
way libraries treat this knowledge, making oral histories prevalent, relevant, contextual, and
shareable.
LIBRARY ACTIVITIES
Colorado Voice Preserve (CVP) will work with libraries, museums, and community groups to
develop oral-history content: identifying projects, loaning equipment, and supplying interview
guidelines and protocols that ensure placement in the repository. We will develop standard
metadata elements and a schema created for oral history, to see that each interview can be
linked to other information sources that are part of the public domain. Trained volunteers will
assist with interview processing: transcribing audio; creating abstracts, key-word listings, and
subject headings; integrating surrogates into Online Public Access Catalogs; and posting
interviews for Web dissemination. As an oral-history library, we also will be a clearinghouse for
educational materials that advance oral-historical theory and practice, and we will promote
public discourse around the archived narratives.
FUTURE IMPACT
Information is the most powerful change agent. Oral history is uniquely informative and can
move people from awareness to understanding and to empathy. The process of recording a
person’s story validates that person’s experience and elevates his/her self worth. But none of
this happens while oral history is a marginalized source of content, under-prioritized in library
settings, and not functional with online search utilities that connect people and ideas. We can
do better. With CVP, we establish a foundation for bringing oral histories into useful life, so the
captured voice fulfills its prophecy of informing public thought and action.
MULTIDISCIPLINARY COLLABORATION
Colorado Voice Preserve is supported by History Colorado, Colorado Humanities, and the
Colorado State Library.
 History Colorado operates 12 historic sites and museums in 10 locations around the state.
The functional purpose of History Colorado is to collect, preserve, and interpret the state’s
history for present and future generations. The larger ambition is to engage citizens in
Colorado’s tradition and legacy.
 The humanities provide tools for examining the human experience and asking fundamental
questions of purpose and meaning. Colorado Humanities brings these tools to
communities—particularly young people—via literary, cultural, and historical programs.
 The Colorado State Library provides leadership and expertise in developing library-related
standards, activities, and services for school, public, academic, and special libraries. The
State library improves the ability of libraries to provide services to all Coloradans.
Each of these institutions has specific interest in oral history and has invested in the long-term
sustainability of the Colorado Voice Preserve. During 2012, representatives forged partner
agreements and shaped CVP’s organizational profile. While CVP is best described as an
independent library, functional contributions from these agencies make the infrastructure
collaborative, durable, and alchemical.