"Let us from point to point this story know" - All's well that ends well, William ShakespeareDo you have a family or local history story you would like to have a permanent record of? Maybe you have an elderly relative with a story to tell, or know a local character whose story you think ought to be preserved?
It's not as hard as you think - at the Wagga Wagga City Library we have some guides to help you get started.
How to write and publish your family story is a short and practical guide to preserving your family's story. Noeline Kyle starts with basic issues like what practical items you will need, how to arrange your information in an interesting and coherent narrative, through the legalities of copyright and publishing options.
Recording a person's history or story in their own voice in an interview is called oral history. The Oral History Handbook by Beth M Robertson covers all aspects of how to set about recording interviews , though technology has come a long way since this 4th edition was published, so anyone with a smart phone, tablet or ipad can make a very high quality recording without buying expensive equipment. This guide covers how to structure oral history projects, what kind of questions to ask, ethical considerations, how to write usage agreements, copyright, permission to publish, even the setup or arrangement of the location for the interview.
There are also lots of Oral History associations and organisations you can access online for help and guidance. Here is a link to Oral History NSW organisation :
The New South Wales State Library has some excellent resources available online :
And if you would like to listen to some oral history recordings to give you some inspiration, New South Wales State Library hosts Amplify , which makes available a vast array of oral history recordings from various library and other organisations across New South Wales :
Lastly, if you are super keen, the library has a copy of Keep it for the future, published by the National Archives of Australia. This book has all the information you need to set up a small community archive, clearly and plainly set out, starting with why you might want to set up an archive, creating a policy for your collection, through to practical aspects like storage, preserving different types of records like tapes, CDs, and photographs, and what to do if flood or fire affects your collection.
This book is a part of the local studies collection, so can only be viewed within the library. Just ask the friendly staff to help you. And, if you have any other questions about collecting or recording local or family history, we can show you how to find resources that will help you along the way.
