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Oral History

A guide to oral history resources at the Southwest Collection and beyond.

Southwest Collection Oral History Program

Southwest Collection by the Numbers (as of Spring 2022)

  • 6,715 oral history interviews (all digital or digitized and available to listen in our reading room)
    • 5,260 analog recordings (mostly open reel or audio cassette)
    • 1,455 born-digital recordings
  • 1,650 interviews have been transcribed
    • 415 transcripts currently on dspace
  • On average, 110 interviews conducted per year
    • Three full-time staff members devoted to oral history work
    • Four part-time students devoted to transcription

Current Interview Projects

Some of our current ongoing projects include:

  • American Agriculture Movement
  • City of Lubbock employees
  • Fort Stockton area
  • Hispanic Heritage
  • Southwest Music Archive
  • Texas Tech Centennial/University Archives
  • Wind Energy 
  • Women's History

 

Other Projects Conducted in the Last Decade

  • College Baseball Hall of Fame
  • Texas Cowboys' Christmas Ball

Community Partnerships

In 2022, the Southwest Collection began actively reaching out to community heritage groups to assist with their oral history projects. More on our community partnerships can be found here.