Description
When considering materials to preserve the moments and events of cultural significance, archivists have often focused on physical objects that were used in protests or keepsakes that played a major role in someone's life. Often left out is the story that the actual subject of a collection has to tell. By saving a recording of someone's first hand experiences in their community, the nuance of certain situations and the meaning behind objects stored in archives are able to be preserved as part of the collection for future study. Oral histories ultimately lead to a greater understanding of the cultural shifts around us. This allows first hand accounts to exist alongside the documented facts and records of who someone was and what life was like for them. Historically, there has been a preference shown for physical transcripts over actual audio materials. This bias has led to a lack of digitized original audio sources, which can provide a more holistic experience of someone's story. We are in a race against time to save these oral histories before they are lost to deteriorating conditions. There are also many upsides to an increased presence of audio materials available to users. People who cannot read or have vision impairment can use them to learn and research topics, cultural traditions around the world can be continued, and funding through the audio entertainment industry can broaden the horizons of many archives. By making these materials accessible they can be seen as a method for research equal to that of documents or personal items and worthy of a place in archival collections.