Appalachian Oral History Project records
Scope and Contents
This collection consists of approximately 600 audiocassette tape recordings, interview files and transcriptions, administrative files, photographs, and video. Interviewees include Alfred Adams, Patricia Beaver, Wade Brown, Richard Chase, James Council, Robert Guy, Stanley Harris, Buna Hicks, Stanley Hicks, Mrs. Grover Robins, Willard Watson, and Cratis Williams. Student workers served primarily as interviewers and transcribers. Over 500 individuals were interviewed for the project, which focused on historical and cultural activities, including family life, farming, and marriage in Appalachia. The collection includes a card index to the interviews and photographs. Release forms are included in administrative files when available. Some audio recordings are of poor quality and there are several gaps in the collection. Approximately 60 identified original audio tapes are missing.
Dates
- 1850-1989
- Majority of material found within 1965 - 1989
Creator
- Appalachian State University (Organization)
Language
The materials are in English.
Conditions Governing Access
No interlibrary loan.
The collection is protected by the Copyright Law of the United States (Title 17, U. S. C.). Reproductions are made only for use as personal study or research. It is the user's responsibility to verify copyright ownership and to obtain all necessary permissions prior to the reproduction, publication, or other use of any portion of these materials. The Appalachian Oral History Project reserves copyright of the collection; interviews without release forms are the property of the interviewer and interviewee. Written permission is required for publication. Patrons may quote only from interviews with written permission of the Appalachian Oral History Project. For more information, contact Special Collections.
Access Restrictions
This collection is open for use in the Dougherty Reading Room without restrictions. The collection is protected by the Copyright Law of the United States (Title 17, U. S. C.). Reproductions are made only for use as personal study or research. It is the user's responsibility to verify copyright ownership and to obtain all necessary permissions prior to the reproduction, publication, or other use of any portion of these materials. The Appalachian Oral History Project reserves copyright of the collection; interviews without release forms are the property of the interviewer and interviewee. Written permission is required for publication. Patrons may quote only from interviews with written permission of the Appalachian Oral History Project. For more information, contact Special Collections.
Historical Note
The Appalachian Oral History Project (AOHP) was an oral history project was conducted by four regional universities in the southeast United States, which focused on collecting stories of folklore and cultural history of the Central Appalachian mountain region. It was funded by grants from the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Rockerfeller Foundation, and the Johnson Foundation, and started by Alice Lloyd College and Lees Junior College in Kentucky in 1970. It later included Appalachian State University in North Carolina and Emory and Henry College in Virginia. The Project created more than three thousand interview recordings, one-fourth of which have been transcribed, and an edition of the transcriptions have been published in microfilm. A selection of interviews have been published in the book Our Appalachia, and a union catalog of the Project interviews was published in 1977. The Appalachian State University branch of the Oral History Project was conducted in Watauga County, North Carolina, between 1973 and 1980, and consisted of approximately five hundred interviews.
Extent
25 Linear Feet (17 boxes, 1 half-sized manuscript box, 1 CD box, 26 large audiocassette boxes, 2 small audiocassette boxes, 3 shoeboxes, 1 oversize box, 4 boxes in cold storage)
Abstract
This collection includes records for the Appalachian Oral History Project, a combined effort of Appalachian State University, Alice Lloyd College, Emory and Henry College, and Lees Junior College to document oral histories of the history and folklore of the central Appalachian region. Materials in this collection consist of interviews and records generated by Appalachian State University interviewers between 1973 and 1975. Records include audio interviews, administrative files, photographs, and video.
Arrangement
The collection is arranged in three series: Series I: Interviews, Series II: Administrative Files, and Series III: Audiovisual Materials. Each collection is arranged alphabetically, with the exception of the Administrative files which includes a additional box of legal agreements. Please note that some descrepancies exist in numbering and subject between tapes and corresponding files.
Acquisitions Information
The donors and the donation date are unknown. In March 2001, a brochure about the Appalachian Oral History Project was transferred from the Appalachian Regional Brochure Collection to the Appalachian Oral History Project Records. In February 2003, the University Archives transferred signed legal agreements to the Appalachian Oral History Project Records. In January 2006, Nik Hay recovered one box of Oral History Project slides, photographs, and audio cassettes from the recently vacated Whitener Hall and gave them to the W.L. Eury Appalachian Collection.
Processing Information
Processed in 2001. This collection was opened to the public in 2001. Reprocessed and finding aid updated by Trevor McKenzie, December 2012. This collection was reprocessed as part of a grant from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission. The grant funded extensive processing of the backlog within the W. L. Eury Appalachian Collection between 2012 and 2014.
- Oral histories Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Watauga County (N.C.) Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Title
- AC.111: Appalachian Oral History Project Records, 1850-1989 (bulk, 1965-1989)
- Status
- Completed
- Author
- Processed by: Kathryn Staley; machine-readable finding aid created by: Kathryn Staley, Rachel Critzer
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- Undetermined
- Script of description
- Code for undetermined script
- Language of description note
- Description is in English
Repository Details
Part of the Special Collections Research Center Repository
