Lincoln Library, Story Corps hope to begin capturing oral histories

The Lincoln Branch of the Lewis & Clark Library is teaming up with Story Corps to bring awareness and provide resources for The Great Thanksgiving Listen.

According to the Story Corps website, the Great Thanksgiving Listen is "a national movement that empowers young people-and people of all ages-to create an oral history of the contemporary United States by recording an interview with an elder, mentor, friend, or someone they admire using the free StoryCorps App."

"It's a way to start a conversation while families are together and record histories of families, and specifically for the Lincoln area, preserving history and making it more accessible," Kate Radford, librarian at the Lincoln Library said.

While the push comes during the holidays when families are usually getting together, the program is ongoing and uploads can be done at any time.

"The holidays are such a cool opportunity for people to pay attention to their family and listen to some of these stories they may never have the opportunity to listen to again. It's a good opportunity to ask questions of people you don't see all the time and a good way to share and save the information. Then, people have the opportunity to take the extra step to record it and share with their kids, or grandkids." Radford said, and added, "It would be so cool if I had recorded stories from my grandfather."

Radford sees the program as a great resource that brings people together of all ages, and as a way for people and local organizations like the Upper Blackfoot Valley Historical Society, Lincoln School and the Senior Center to collaborate. "Although this is the first year we're participating in this, I'd like to see us continue to use it in the future and build more relationships in town." Radford said.

An iPad with the app is available for use from the library for interviews and handouts provide lists of interview questions, tips for interviewing and recording. There are also resources for technical details like uploading the app and using keywords, hashtags and more. The tools are available anytime and can be obtained by contacting or stopping by the library.

As part of the program, one of the resources to help get conversations going this holidays season is a printable placemat containing questions like "Tell me about a family tradition you have," and "How would you like to be remembered?" The website also provides a long list of suggested questions to ask while interviewing someone.

Radford explained why she thought people should participate. "There are so many good reasons," she said. "First, it's free to use. The app, all of the curriculum and the questions are all free of charge. Then, Story Corps does all the archival work so people just have to record the story. They archive it to the Library of Congress, which means it's basically there forever and accessible by anybody worldwide."

The library also provides access to several genealogy and history sites that work well in conjunction with the Great Listen. Once you've interviewed, you can find out some additional information from resources such as Ancestry.com and Heritage Quest.

The Great Listen is just one of the many resources offered by our local library. To learn more about them, contact the library and they will be happy to assist you. More information regarding the Great Thanksgiving Listen can be found on the insert in your newspaper, by contacting the library at 406-362-4300 or by visiting the Story Cops website at http://www.thegreatlisten.org.