Oral histories are a fascinating and important source of information. The Mineral Point Library Archives has been collecting oral histories since our founding. Today we have several recordings in our holdings. As time and money allows, the Archives is digitizing the older magnetic tape recordings and transcribing each one. As we digitize, we are selecting a few to download.
As fascinating as Oral Histories are, researchers should be be prepared to verify statements with documents wherever possible. But oral histories can give an important context for historical events.