Oral History Projects in Montana
A statewide project of the Montana State Library and the Montana Historical Research Center, the Montana Memory Project provides access to digital collections and items, including oral history interviews, relating to Montana’s cultural heritage and government.
The Gathering: the Oral Histories of the Irish in Montana collects and transmits the memories of the Irish of Montana, to educate and inform contemporary society of the history and culture of the Irish, and to provide access to this material.
Created in 2014 to commemorate the 100th anniversary of women's suffrage in Montana, Women's History Matters is an online resource documenting Montana women's history. Included on this website is information about oral history projects and bibliographies of oral histories conducted with women around the state.
Montana Historical Society. (2018). Women's History Matters: Oral Histories. Retrieved from http://montanawomenshistory.org/oral-history.
The Smokey Generation: A Wildland Fire Oral History Project is a "website dedicated to collecting, preserving, and sharing the stories and oral history of wildland fire." The website features video interviews with hotshots and smokejumpers which can be searched by person or topic. The Smokey Generation was conceived of and founded by Bethany Hannah.
The Angling Oral History Project at Montana State University collects and disseminates the stories of trout anglers from all walks of life. Mothers, journalists, politicians, sports enthusiasts, and others were interviewed for this wide-ranging collection of interviews that documents the history and practice of fishing throughout the world.
Finding Oral History Interviews at Other Libraries
If you are looking for oral history interviews that aren't available at the Mansfield Library, you can search WorldCat.org which is is a global library catalog. There is an advanced search option. If you're looking for oral history print resources, use "sound recordings" as a format filter. If you want oral histories that were recorded as video, you can limit to "visual materials." You may also try limiting your search to "archival materials", as many oral history interviews held in archives will be cataloged as "archival materials".
Other Oral History Projects around the U.S. and the World
To find other oral history projects outside Montana, visit the Oral History in the Digital Age Wiki. Although not comprehensive, this site provides a keyword-searchable list of many online oral history projects. The site also provides links to online best practices guides.