HISTORY OF THE PROGRAM

The Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library's Oral History program is still in its infancy, having been launched in September, 2006 with the arrival of Dr. Mark DePue. After laying the foundations for the program, formal interviewing began in Spring, 2007. This is not to say that nothing happened before 2006. For decades, institutions and organizations throughout Illinois donated oral histories to the Illinois State Historical Library, the predecessor to the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library.

The ALPL Audio-Visual Department includes over 2000 cassette tapes on a variety of topics. Those interviews are highlighted within our Other Collections.