Some of the people responsible for that are still around, and it's important to capture for history their memories and impressions of those events. Ms. Sniffin-Marinoff and Ms. Pickering believe oral histories will strengthen MIT's resources in the study of the history and wider culture of the Institute. Other institutions have also completed extensive interviews with MIT people, including the Smithsonian Institutions' study on the early development of computing at MIT, and the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers' project on the Rad Lab. The group will advise departments and other groups who are considering such projects and also encourage departments and other MIT groups to consider undertaking an oral history project. It's important that oral histories are done well to be truly useful and valued historical records, said Ms. Sniffin-Marinoff.
Members welcome ideas and input from the community.