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.

• Click here to view an updated list (through June 2023) of interviews organized by name.
• Click here to view a list of interviews organized by UW department. Note: this list was last updated in 2016.
• As of May 2024, we have a list of oral histories with transcripts!

Browse the Collection

Click here to browse the collection of oral histories with library catalog records. Note: this list is a not a complete list of narrators.

Search for a Specific Interview

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

1. Go to: https://cms.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.