
Readers of the library’s blog may not be aware that the library supports an oral history initiative called Voices of Princeton. Conceived in partnership with the Historical Society of Princeton, the Witherspoon-Jackson Historical and Cultural Society and the Arts Council of Princeton, Voices of Princeton aims “to collect, share, and archive stories and memories of Princetonians”—and “Princetonians” here should be understood inclusively to mean not only those who have resided in Princeton for many years, but also those who work in town or on campus, students at the University or the Seminary, and anyone else who have had a meaningful relationship with the town of Princeton at some period of their lives. Readers can learn more from the “About Us” page on the Voices of Princeton website.
There are three ways in which Voices of Princeton operates that differentiate the project from otherwise similar projects (some of these can be discovered on the “Related Projects” list at the Voices of Princeton website). The most straightforward way in which oral histories are collected for the archive at the Historical Society of Princeton and the website hosted by the library is through volunteerism: community members with a Princeton history they wish to share are welcome at any time to schedule an interview. The process is relatively straightforward, but library staff are happy to walk anyone through the steps involved. A second way in which Voices of Princeton collects stories is through a “Partner Project,” an arrangement through which organizations and groups define terms of collaboration with Voices of Princeton, so that they can secure support from Voices of Princeton for an oral history project of value to their own organization or group. Successful past Partner Projects include “UNow & Then” and the “Jewish Community Foundation of Greater Mercer County Collection,” while current partnerships are working on one collection for “the ‘Voces de la Diáspora’ Oral History Project” and another for the “Let Freedom Ring” oral history project. The last way in which Voices of Princeton gathers community storytelling is through special initiatives, such as when Voices of Princeton issued a call for contributions to the “Covid-19 Collection.”
A couple of projects on the horizon for Voices of Princeton have been frequently on my mind this month, as the core team has been planning with its collaborators. The first of these is a new special initiative designed to explore how young people in Princeton experienced a historic national election and the now complete administrative transition. The “2024 Election Collection” aims to give young people who may not have had a voice in the election itself a chance to share their thoughts for the historical record. For this reason, Voices of Princeton is especially interested in hearing from young people who were under the voting age at the time of the election. (There is no intention of excluding Princetonians who may be older, though; they may share interviews exploring this topic among other historic events through our regular process for scheduling interviews.) By bringing together a collection focused on young people who could not vote in 2024 or who voted for the first time in that election, the intention is to highlight the voices of groups for whom the impact of this election cycle will be the most significant, since they will live the majority of their lives in the world that emerges from the coming changes. The library and the Voices of Princeton project are strictly non-partisan and their interest in these issues is only historical and informative: partisan statements made by interviewed subjects should not be understood to represent the views of the library, the Voices of Princeton project or of any of the staff involved in the project.
Meanwhile, separately from the Voices of Princeton project and in partnership with Princeton University’s Program for Community-Engaged Scholarship (ProCES), the library is hosting an “Oral History Workshop” on Feb. 1, through which “aspiring and experienced oral history practitioners” will have the opportunity to “participate in a daylong event exploring the complexities of oral history projects and their community-based and institutional stakeholders.” The activities planned for the day include: panel presentations on “Oral History 101: Community- and University-based Collaborations for Oral History Projects” and on “Public Library Partnerships for Sustainable Oral History Projects;” small-group discussions devoted to the nitty-gritty of specific areas of practice, such as storytelling or the consent process; tabling opportunities for oral history projects trying to get the word out about their work; and opportunities for networking with other oral historians. Interested persons can register for this program using this Google Form; by answering the questions there they can help the organizers to make a more successful event.
Photo credit: Alan Levine (CC Attribution 2.0 Generic license)