Streaming audio from African‐American oral history collections

Abstract

Listening to oral histories ± the actual voices ± provides a human, intimate link to the past that is much more direct than simply reading a transcript. This article will describe two oral history collections whose analog cassette taped interviews were converted to digital format, cataloged using unqualified Dublin Core metadata in OCLC/DiMeMa's CONTENTdm, and streamed over the Web via a RealSystems Server 8. The two interfaces for accessing the collections, as well as sustainability issues for the project, will be discussed.The creation of digital collections began in earnest at the Manuscripts, Archives, and Special Collections (MASC) unit of the Washington State University Libraries in the fall of 1999, with the purchase of DiMeMa's (then named CISO) CONTENTdm software. Over the subsequent years, MASC has created numerous digital collections of images, maps, texts, some manuscripts, and now, streaming audio and video [1]. Though MASC had considered enhancing the digital collections with audio (and also video), the real opportunity to digitize selected oral history collections came after the receipt by the Washington State University Vancouver Library of a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) for a project titled`E ngaging the public with digital primary sources: a tri-state online history database and learning center''. Part of the IMLS grant was to create a thematic learning environment for the study of ethnic immigrant groups to the Columbia Basin including a database of primary sources drawn from libraries and historical societies in Oregon, Washington, and Idaho. As a partner in the grant, MASC realized that one of the department's key contributions to the IMLS project would be the creation of two digital collections of African-American oral history interviews. The author was surprised (and pleased) to discover that the steps to convert the cassette tape collections into searchable, streaming digital collections was neither overly difficult nor expensive; however, the primary goal for these projects was to provide users with enhanced access to twoThe author

Representation of Black History in Archives: A Collection-Centered Quantitative Analysis of the Billups-Garth Archive

“…Though equal representation in archival collections remains problematic, the literature indicates that the number of Black archival resources and repositories has grown over the course of the last two decades. Bond's (2004) article detailing the digitization of analog Black oral histories not only includes best practices for creating digital audio files, but also highlights the two collections included in the project: The Black Oral History Collection and the Civil Rights Interviews (p. 16). Through this effort, both collections are available to stream online through the Washington State University Library's CONTENTdm-supported platform (Bond, 2004, p. 15).…”

Streaming audio with synchronized transcripts utilizing SMIL

“…After preparing the WAV files for transcription, WSU MASC staff converted the WAV files to RealAudio using the RealAudio Producer so that the sound files could be streamed over the web. In a 2004 article, Trevor Bond provides a detailed discussion of utilizing Real technology for streaming oral history interviews (Bond, 2004, p. 15). As part of the file conversion process, the Real Producer wizard provides the option to add copyright information and other metadata, and the choice to stream the files from a multi‐rate stream or a single stream.…”

Finding access and digital preservation solutions for a digitized oral history project

“…Cultural heritage institutions digitize and build digital collections of oral histories to mitigate the preservation risks and to expand access to these unique resources that give voice to underrepresented groups and preserve historical and social memories (Bond, 2004;Daniels, 2009;Stevens & Latham, 2009;Weig, Terry, & Lybarger, 2007). Many collections have been created by university and audiovisual archives with well-established digital infrastructures or through grant-funded, multi-institutional collaborations (Warren et al, 2013).…”