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How to organize an oral history program On the surface, oral history ap- pears to be uncomplicated and very easy to do. But, in fact, you must do a great deal of planning beforehand if you want good results. Remember that “quality. not quantity” of inter- views counts. especially if your tapes are ever to be used by researchers. or for school or radio programs. I. The first thing you have to decide is the specific areas You want to explore in your oral history pro- gram. While it is possible to interview older residents just for their reminis- cences, a better interview can be created if you consider the informa- tion the interviewee can contribute to a specific t0pic. For example. if you want to interview the pioneers of your district, you should decide what aspect of their life you want to cover. Do you want them to talk about their life before they came to your area, or do you want them to discuss their early life in Ontario? Or, maybe you will want to trace the establishment. growth and development of your town. In that case, you will have to interview businessmen and former mayors. Whatever area you decide to pur- sue. remember to have a definite sub- ject matter in mind. 2. The next step is to thoroughly research your topic. This is very im- portant. It will be difficult to conduct a good interview unless you are familiar with the topic being dis- cussed. Depending upon your subject matter, this research may take as long as three or four weeks. To research your area. a trip to the library is necessary. Read general history books. old newspaper clippâ€" ings (most libraries have a clippings file section), diaries and specific books on your topic. From the infor- mation you have read, make notes. This will help during the actual interview. 3. Now you can prepare a list of questions or headings based on your 6 research. You will want to cover these areas when you are interviewing. On the next page there are sample questions for pioneers who immi- grated to Ontario at the turn of the century. 4, This accomplished, you now prepare a list of people who might serve as potential interviewees. Then, contact these people by letter or telephone. arranging a time and place to meet with them. This preliminary contact is known as the pre-interview. THE PREâ€"INTERVIEW 1. One of the reasons for this plan» ning session is to determine whether or not the person has anything worth- while to say. So. at the pre»interview, talk with the person about his background and about the subject on which he will be interviewed. Tell him that you are thinking of interviewing people on a specific area, but keep this indefinite as you may decide later that the person is not a suitable sub- ject. Also. inquire if he knows other people who might be useful interviewees. 2. Once you have determined that the interviewee is a suitable person to interview, talk with him about very specific areas in order to get more information. After the pre-interview, write up a list of questions that you will be ask- ing during the actual interview. The questions should be kept short, so you can adjust the emphasis of your query to suit the individual. THE INTERVIEW 1. Meet at a conveniently pre- arranged time and loeation. Choose a quiet place away from noise and inâ€" terruption. 1f the interview is con- ducted in the person’s home, do not set up the equipment in the kitchen. Hums made by the refrigerator and other appliances will be picked up by the microphones. The best room for the interview is the living room. This is usuall the quietest room in the house. B. I _ wure that the televrsion and radio a no, turned on. Place the recorder in a solid base. but be sure that l“ air vents of your machine are not bi ted if the tape recorder is placed it a carpet. Place the microphOnt- n a table between the two of you 2. If. for one reason or an let, you found that you could not a: nge a preâ€"interview session, all a minimum of 15 minutes pit to recording the interview to tail vith the interviewee about the top 3. While setting up the equip :nt, chat casually to help relax the cry viewee. Test the recorder v. i a "trial" run, by turning it on an in- ning the tape for a few mil es. Make sure that the match is threaded properly and tha the machine is set to “record”. Th re- wind the tape to the beginnin 4. Start the interview by askii for such information as the name,« in. age, education, occupation an m- bitions of the interviewee. his “identifying data" is llTiDOl'IEle I' a tape is to be of lasting value 5‘ ‘ll provides factual information. 5. As the session moves ahea he interviewee will begin to relax, l :n attentively and quietly. Remt er that the interviewee is your in point of interest so do not givt it Own opinion on tape. Also, ud arguing with the facts as the He viewee presents them. How a p in perceives events may be histor l|_\‘ incorrect but his interpretation : lie facts may be more important. lit interviewee confuses dates and e .its perhaps it would be an idea to He at note on the outline to this e: -:l. then any future user of the 0| int and tape will realize these incom. ‘n- cies. Do try to have the interv: SE give as many dates as possible. a his helps to give the future listener: 'ete ter chronological view of even- Rather than interrupt the ' err