Resources
To assist in the work of connecting oral histories and objects of cultural heritage, the MLN presents links to online projects, bibliographies, professional organizations, and legal forms & information for conducting oral histories and cataloging collections. We welcome suggestions and feedback about these and any resources not included.
Intellectual Property & Related Areas of the Law
- FORMS
- Introduction to Permission Letters prepared by the Copyright Management Center at Indiana University-Purdue University at Indianapolis. Includes sample letters.
- GENERAL LEGAL SITES
- American Law Institute-American Bar Association
- Association of Science-Technology Centers, Proposed Ethical Guidelines on Intellectual Property
- Basic Intellectual Property Primers Berkman Center for Internet and Society, Harvard Law School
- National Humanities Alliance - Basic Principles for Managing Intellectual Property in the Digital Environment
- Coalition for Networked Information(CNI) CNI-Copyright Forum
- Copyright Crash Course.
University of Texas - Copyright and Fair Use.
Stanford University Libraries - Copyright, Intellectual Property Rights, and Licensing Issues
Berkeley Digital Library SunSITE - Copyright law of the United States of America.
Copyright Office, Library of Congress - Digital Primer provided by the Center for Intellectual Property and Copyright in the Digital Environment at University of Maryland, University College. The © Primer is an introduction to issues concerning copyright ownership and use of information. The interactive tutorial overviews the underlying principles behind copyright in the United States, outlines the requirements for copyright protection as well as discusses the parameters of use and access of copyrighted material.
- Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts
- Copyright and Related Rights
World Intellectual Property Organization - Intellectual Property Law
Provides information about intellectual property law including patent, trademark and copyright. Resources include comprehensive links, general information, space for professionals to publish articles and forums for discussing related issues. - A Line in the Sand is a site offered as a place where the debate over where to draw the "Line in the Sand" on the issues of cultural property, Native American sovereignty, Native American identity, ethnic stereotypes, the commodification of Native American culture, and all related issues, can take place. The issue of cultural property includes both real property, the land, the burials, the "ruins", etc., and intellectual property, the writings, the languages, the images, the culture itself.
Technical Equipment & Procedures
- BIBLIOGRAPHY
- Malaro, Marie C. A Legal Primer on Managing Museums Collections. Washington and London: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1998.
- Eds. Charlton, Thomas, Myers, Lois E. Sharpless, M. Rebecca. Handbook of Oral History. Blue Ridge, Summit, PA: Alta Mira Press, forthcoming in 2005.
- Yow, Valerie Raliegh. Recording Oral History, Second Ed.: a Guide for the Humanities and Social Sciences. Alta Mira Press, 2005.
Related titles of interest
- Archibald, Robert R. A Place to Remember: Using History to Build Community. Nashville, TN: American Association of State and Local History, 1999.
- Museum Loan Network, Museum as Catalyst for Interdisciplinary Collaboration: Beginning a Conversation. Cambridge, MA. Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2002.
- Williams, Juan and Marian Wright Edelman. My Soul Look Back in Wonder: Voices of the Civil Rights Experience.
- Calabretta, Fred, Gordinier, Glenn, and Jensen, John. Photography by Mary Anne Stets Fishing Out of Stonington: Voices of the Fishing Families of Stonington, Connecticut. Mystic Seaport, CT: 2004
Resources for Connecting Oral Histories to Collections
Oral history organizations
- Oral History Society
The Oral History Society is a national and international organisation dedicated to the collection and preservation of oral history. It encourages people of all ages to tape, video or write down their own and other people's life stories. - Canadian Oral History Association
- Oral History Association
The Oral History Association, established in 1966, seeks to bring together all persons interested in oral history as a way of collecting human memories. With an international membership, the OHA serves a broad and diverse audience. Local historians, librarians and archivists, students, journalists, teachers, and academic scholars from many fields have found that the OHA provides both professional guidance and a collegial environment for sharing information. - The Center for Oral History
The Center for Oral History at the University of Connecticut began as the Oral History Project in 1968 and later expanded in the late seventies in response to a growing professional interest in oral history. It was designated a Center by the University of Connecticut Board of Trustees in 1981. The Center originates, sponsors, and supports oral history projects dealing with a wide variety of subjects, including the University itself.
More online projects incorporating oral histories
- American Folklife Center
The American Folklife Center aims to be the national center for folklife documentation and research, and this Web site offers a virtual destination for those who cannot visit the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. - BBC Education - History
- Birmingham Civil Rights Institute’s Online Resources
- Can Oral History Make Objects Speak?
This site contains links to papers presented at The International Committee for Museums of Ethnography (ICME)of ICOM Annual Meeting, 2005 held in Napflion, Greece. The Museum Loan Netwaork participated in the conference and shared information about the Collecting Stories: Connecting Objects initiative. - Densho
Densho’s mission is to preserve the testimonies of Japanese Americans who were unjustly incarcerated during World War II before their memories are extinguished. Densho offers these irreplaceable firsthand accounts, coupled with historical images and teacher resources, to explore principles of democracy and promote equal justice for all. - George Catlin Classroom
Take a virtual journey to meet American Indians of the 1830s with artist, ethnologist, and showman George Catlin. This site compiles paintings, historical documents, and commentary from contemporary experts so you can explore the intersections of two cultures, both in Catlin's time and today. Campfire Stories uses art, artifacts, and primary source texts to bridge American history, geography, art appreciation, environmental conservation, and multicultural studies. The site and its lesson plans were developed in consultation with a panel of teachers. - Historical Voices
This site was established to develop both a rich set of exhibits and educational curricula that fully incorporate sound files. - Ours to Fight For: American Jewish Voices from the Second World War
A living Memorial to the Holocaust, this virtual exhibition from the Museum of Jewish Heritage (NY) invites exploration and celebration of the achievements of Jewish men and women who were a part of the American war effort on and off the battlefield. In their own voices and through their artifacts, letters, and photographs the “Greatest Generation” tells the stories of what the war was like for all its participants, and for Jews in particular.” - Civil Rights Special Collection of Teachers Domain
A project of WGBH, this site incorporates multi-media learning objects in curriculum-based modules designed for teachers and students. The Civil Rights Movement material is rich in oral history content. A free account created by providing an e-mail address and contact information is required to access the teaching tools. - United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
- H-Oralhist
H-Oralhist is a network for scholars and professionals active in studies related to oral history. - September 11 Digital Archive
The September 11 Digital Archive uses electronic media to collect, preserve, and present the history of the September 11, 2001 attacks. - Veterans History Project
The Veterans History Project is amassing a collection of interviews and documentary materials spanning much of the twentieth century. Contained in these sources are compelling accounts of wartime service from men and women, civilian and military, representing many ranks, jobs, branches of service, and theaters of war. - Imperial War Museum
The collections online feature of the Imperial War Museum offers access to material covering all aspects of twentieth century conflict. The site now includes detailed catalogue information for over 160,000 items from the Imperial War Museum's collecting departments. You can also view images of over 3,000 highlights from the collection, including photographs, works of art, aircraft, vehicles and objects, and listen to selected 'soundbites' from the Sound Archive.