Articles, book and film reviews, and bibliographies deal with the documentation of human experience and findings of research in oral history. This journal considers a broad spectrum of different social groups, cultures, and countries through the use of interviews, songs, photos, diagrams, and storytelling. The very best evaluative review source I have found is the Evaluation Guidelines on the Oral History Association web page. Videotape life is estimated at 15 years. Film has a life span of 50-100 years.
Transcripts can yellow and fade.
Poor cataloging, intellectual property, security, obsolete equipment, and staffing and maintenance are the main concerns with regard to management of oral history. Some of the weight of concern over cataloging problems have been lifted with the advancement of Digital Archiving and the availability of oral histories online. However, cataloging problems do still exist in the context of the library setting, with a lack of standards in MARC formatting and proper indexing. Circulation of oral histories for the purposes of making them available to the community brings about concerns about the care and maintenance of these materials as well as security. A system of copying originals to make available for public use would be best, while leaving the original copy as a non-circulating item that is securely held and cared for within the library.