Revised Edition Precious Legacies: Documenting Family Folklore and Community Traditions We hope that the Smithsonian Folklife and Oral History Interviewing Guide inspires you to turn to members of your own family and community as key sources of history, culture, and tradition. But where does one start?
Oral history listens to these stories. Oral history is the systematic collection of living people's testimony about their own experiences. Historians have finally recognized that the everyday memories of everyday people, not just the rich and famous, have historical importance. If we do not collect and preserve those memories, those stories, then one day they will disappear forever.
Encyclopedia of American Cultural and Intellectual History by 
The Oxford Companion to American History by 
