ABOUT THE PROGRAM

Oral History is, at the same time, the most ancient way humanity has preserved history through the ages, combined with the most modern of technologies. It is, in essence, the sharing of stories — preserving the first-hand accounts of people who have lived eventful lives. Accordingly, our goal for this Oral History program is to capture the stories of Illinois citizens, and in the process, preserve the lessons contained within, told in the narrator's own voice. "Oral history," says oral historian Stetson Kennedy, is the "democratization of the history-telling process." It gives voice to those who traditional historians too often overlook, and allows us to record stories and experiences too rarely preserved.

Our aim is to develop high-quality historical documents that will illuminate the past, and to do so using the most modern of digital technologies. To achieve this goal, we emphasize quality over quantity, and aim to create interviews conducted by well trained and thoroughly knowledgeable interviewers who have a passion for their subject, and who conduct in-depth interviews with people who have important and compelling stories to tell.

Oral histories should never be the only source of history on which we rely; they are, after all, an individual's recollection of events, and may therefore be flawed in either fact or perception. But used in conjunction with conventional documentary sources of history, they can provide invaluable insights into an event. They open a window to the narrator's motivations and personal experiences, and reveal fascinating details that otherwise might be lost to the ages. We leave it to our patrons to judge the value and veracity of the interviews.

We hope you enjoy the ever expanding oral history collection here at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library. More importantly, we hope these interviews enrich your understanding of history and your appreciation for those who have made Illinois' history. They certainly have enriched ours.