Oral History Interviews

We add approximately 75-100 new interviews to our collection each year. Interviews range from 45 minutes to 45 hours although 3-5 hours is the average length. Most interviews have been collected as audio-only but we do hold some audio-video oral histories.

• Here’s an updated list (through June 2023) of interviews organized by name. And a list of interviews organized by UW department (last updated in 2016).
• As of August 2025, we have an updated list of oral histories with transcripts!

Browse the Collection

There are two ways to browse the library catalog, either by the list oral histories with library catalog records or by the list of online oral histories. Note: neither is a complete list of narrators.

Search for a Specific Interview

We have over 1,000 interviews into UW’s digital repository, called MINDS@UW. Once at the UW-Madison Oral History Page, click the This Collection button then type either a specific name or topic into the search bar. Then, click the magnifying glass to get the results.

Use the library catalog to discover specific interviews within the collection.

1. Go to: https://www.library.wisc.edu/
2. Click “advanced search”
3. Key word search “oral history” and the individual’s name (e.g. “oral history” and “Birge”)
4. Under Filters, click Formats then choose Sound Recordings
5. In this case, one would get a list of all oral histories where the name “Birge” is the narrator or mentioned in the metadata.

Looking for someone specific? Follow steps 1-4 but keyword search on their name + “oral history”.

Browse the Collection by Series

Some interviews were collected as part of a larger effort to document specific themes related to UW campus history. View the list of currents Series:

Oral History Interviews – Series

For further assistance searching for oral history interviews in the library catalog, contact the Oral History Program Head or call 608-890-1899.