Most of these are small, but some are significant in content or size. Some are simply interesting, such as the 6 oral history interviews that constitute the Courtship and Dating Collection held by a private collector in Adelaide. Much of the material listed in the Directory was collected in the 1980s and 90s, and many projects are ongoing. Most of what we would recognise as oral history and folklore recording has happened since the introduction of the portable tape recorder following its adoption by historians in the late 1940s. So, Australia's recorded oral heritage is diverse in content, collected in truly diverse circumstances at different times, with a range of expectations and expertise, in a range of formats and standards.
Some material has national significance, some mainly regional, local, or family value.
While this diversity has many positives, it means safeguarding of that heritage material is very problematical. And we do know that there are diverse approaches to preservation, often the subject of debate and disagreement about what is needed. Most of the materials used to document oral heritage are unstable by nature, subject to the deterioration of carriers such as cellulose acetate and PVC tapes and polyurethane binders. Their chemical and physical instability is exacerbated by unsuitable storage conditions such as high or fluctuating humidity, high temperatures, polluted air and exposure to magnetic fields. Field collecting has often been done in just such circumstances.