Oral History Collections in the Region
Since the 1960s, the collection and use of oral history has been an important part of historical and archival collections.  Oral history projects can be found in many libraries.  The Library of Congress is leading the way with their Veterans Oral History Project.  That on-going effort advocates the collection, preservation, and use of archived oral histories collected from World War II veterans, in particular.

To promote the collection and use of oral history material, the Rochester Regional Library Council DHP Regional Archivist began a series of workshops for librarians, municipal historians, and historical society members.  Any group interested in hosting an oral history workshop can email RRLC Regional Archivist, Preston Pierce (ppierce@rrlc.org) to schedule a session.

A consolidated list of oral history repositories has been compiled and is available for download.  CLICK HERE to download the Western New York Oral History Collections. While the response from libraries, archives and local historians has been good, we know that there are many oral history collections available.  The repository list will be periodically updated as information is received. Working with the Western New York Library Resources Council (Buffalo), a more comprehensive list of oral history repositories will soon be available for the entire region west to the Niagara Frontier.