Donating Oral Histories

Oral History Policies

JMU Special Collections welcomes donations of oral history interviews that align with our collecting scope and fulfill our submission requirements, listed below. 

If you’re interested in donating oral histories to JMU Special Collections, please contact us before interviews begin to discuss our submission criteria. Coordinating with us early in the process increases the likelihood that we can accept your donation.

Submission Requirements

Oral histories must be submitted as a complete package, which includes the following components:

• JMU Special Collections Oral History Gift Agreement, completed by both the interviewer and interviewee.
• Finalized transcripts that match the interview recordings without significant edits.
• Audio or video recordings saved in a file format specified by Special Collections. These may be made available for research immediately or at a predetermined date, as stated in the gift agreement.
• Date and location of each interview.
• Description of the project (500 words or less).
• Biographical sketch of each interviewee (200 words or less).
• Biographical sketch of each interviewer (200 words or less).
• Completed Interview Information Form for each interview.

It is the donor’s responsibility to provide a complete, finalized submission package. Special Collections is not responsible for obtaining release forms, redacting interviews, or managing unfinalized transcripts. We are unable to store digital files prior to donation. We encourage oral history donors to research best practices and ethical considerations before beginning a project.

JMU Special Collections prefers to receive documents and recordings in their original format. Digital video files should be donated in their original resolution and frame rate. Please contact Special Collections for information about our preferred file formats or with any questions about this policy.

Conditions Governing Access

Oral histories often contain sensitive information that an interviewee may want to keep private. To ensure their privacy, the interviewee may impose temporary restrictions on access within the guidelines provided by the JMU Special Collections Oral History Gift Agreement. An oral history interview may be conducted using a pseudonym or anonymization of the interviewee. However, the project coordinator is responsible for ensuring this is done before submitting the interviews to the archives.

JMU Special Collections can’t perform redaction or anonymization work on donated interviews. Additionally, we can’t accept oral histories that are closed permanently or indefinitely.