Resources

Memory Joggers
A list of questions to get you started. You’re sure to think of more! More info...

This I Believe
This website is particularly helpful for individuals who would like to write an ethical will, or an essay about their beliefs. This I Believe is a national media project engaging people in writing, sharing, and discussing the core values and beliefs that guide their daily lives. National Public Radio airs these three-minute essays on Morning Edition and All Things Considered. The project is based on the popular 1950s radio series of the same name hosted by Edward R. Murrow. The web site includes tips for writing an essay about your beliefs. http://thisibelieve.org/

Story Corps
StoryCorps is a national oral history project to instruct and inspire people to record each others' stories in sound. At the StoryCorps Booth in New York City, people record short interviews with the help of a trained facilitator. The recordings are given to the participants and also added to the StoryCorps Archive at the Library of Congress. Excerpts from the interviews are broadcast on NPR’s Morning Edition each Friday. At the StoryCorps website, you can listen to many of the recordings, download a free Do-It-Yourself recording guide and learn more about how you might participate. http://www.storycorps.net

The Veterans History Project of the American Folklife Center
Congress created this project in 2000. Its primary purpose is to archive the personal narratives, correspondence and visual materials of U.S. veterans who served in World Wars I and II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, the Persian Gulf War and the Afghanistan and Iraq Wars. The project relies on volunteers to collect and preserve the stories of veterans, war industry workers, USO workers, flight instructors, medical volunteers and others supporting the wars’ efforts. A memoir guide and an interviewing guide can be downloaded from the site, as well as suggestions for how interviewers might find local funding for the interviews. The collected materials are housed in the Library of Congress. Some of the stories and photos have been digitized and can be viewed online. http://www.loc.gov/

Association of Personal Historians
The Association of Personal Historians, Inc. is a not-for-profit international trade association. The purpose of the Association is to advance the profession of assisting individuals, organizations, and communities to preserve their histories, life stories and memories. In the “Getting Started” section of the website, APH offers tips for interviewing and interview questions, information about self-publishing and inspiration and wisdom from APH members about why preserving life stories is so important. http://www.personalhistorians.org

Archival Preservation
The Library of Congress web site offers free advice on care, handling and storage of your historical assets. http://www.loc.gov/preserv/careothr.html

Genealogy Sites

If you’re researching your family tree, you might find one or more of these sites helpful. Some of the sites require a membership fee for full access.

Helpful Books