Community Oral History Toolkit
Like many creative works, the idea for theCommunity Oral History Toolkitwas born over coffee. Left Coast publisher Mitch Allen and I, author Nancy MacKay, met in an outdoor café at the 2007 Oral History Association conference in Oakland, California. We mused about how many filmmakers, educators, community activists, and museum professionals came to learn about oral history to their own work. Their enthusiasm confirmed our hunch about the desire of non-professionals to find best practices for their oral history work at the community level. As I thought out loud, Mitch's eyes lit up. He already had the concept: a "toolkit" for community oral historians.           At this moment public historian and Left Coast author Barbara Sommer walked by and joined us at the table. When we told Barbara about our idea of a "toolkit" for community oral historians, she loved the idea and immediately agreed to join the project.           That very evening we found our third author. Oral History AssociationNewslettereditor Mary Kay Quinlan jumped right on to the project when she heard about it. Mary Kay's fieldwork, teaching, and her thoughtful writing about interviewing, and legal and ethical issues rounded out the expertise needed for this project.           So within 24 hours back in 2007 the idea for this work was born, the team was formed, and we set off on the adventure which resulted in the book you hold in your hands.           As we explored ideas for what a toolkit might cover, we noticed the material fell logically into content areas organized around potential readers--an introductory volume for oral history novices, a volume for planners and administrators, one for project managers, one for interviewers, and finally, a volume for those who attend to all the tasks required once an interview is complete. Since these content areas fall neatly within our own areas of expertise, we decided to each take on the writing of one or two volumes as primary author, and to collaborate on the many details that overlap.           To test our ideas we engaged in several levels of informal research. We started by asking ourselves what we wished we had known when we were beginning our own professional lives in community oral history. Then we reached out to our own networks to determine the most pressing questions in community oral history today. Finally, we used a two-tiered survey to collect real life experiences from those who practice community oral history.           We are pleased with the result of our work and hope you will be too.     Best wishes from Nancy, Barb, and Mary Kay