Oral history and the medical librarian.

In recent years there has been an increasing interest in the "oral history," as a technique for creating records or source materials for medical historians. The unique aspects of this technique include the ability to supplement the written record with candid commentary, to create a record or collection of information about an individual or a specific subject area in those instances where a prior record does not exist, and to capture a sample of the personality of the person being interviewed by preservation of the tape recording. There is a lack of unanimity regarding the definition, limits, and goals of oral history. Some individuals insist that the oral historian must in fact be a trained historian and deplore the thought of librarians utilizing this technique. It is the feeling of the author that the interviewer's professional "label" is frequently unimportant, if that individual has prepared himself adequately for the interview. The ideal set of circumstances which combines the oral history memoir with the acquisition and review of the respondent's papers can be handled well by the librarian with the interest and time to conduct such a program. There is general agreement that the time has come when reasonable standards for this technique must be developed if the various programs are to command the interest and respect of those who will use these increasing collections of data. On a more practical level, it is only natural that those who are asked to provide financial support for oral history programs will demand evidence of attention to some sort of standards.