November 2, 2009 Veterans History Project Launches Field Kit Companion Video

The Veterans History Project (VHP) at the Library of Congress American Folklife Center offers a new video to help volunteer interviewers navigate the VHP Field Kit—a “how-to” guide on recording the first-person oral histories of American wartime veterans. Visit www.loc.gov/vets/ to download the video. RealPlayer is required.

“This 15-minute video explains the straightforward steps that volunteer interviewers can follow to record the first-person interviews of American wartime veterans and send them to the Library of Congress. Now it’s easier than ever to participate in the Veterans History Project,” said VHP Director Bob Patrick.

The VHP Field Kit Companion Video offers special interview tips from documentary filmmaker Ken Burns, suggests how volunteer interviewers can get started, demonstrates how to record an interview, instructs how to submit a collection to the Library, and explains how the Library of Congress archives this collection for the general public and researchers.

The Library of Congress, the nation's oldest federal cultural institution, is the world's preeminent reservoir of knowledge, providing unparalleled collections and integrated resources to Congress and the American people. Many of the Library’s rich resources and treasures may also be accessed through the Library’s website, www.loc.gov, and via interactive exhibitions on a personalized website at myLOC.gov.

The Veterans History Project was created in 2000 by Congress as a national documentation program of the American Folklife Center (www.loc.gov/folklife/) to record, preserve and make accessible the first-hand remembrances of American wartime veterans so that future generations may hear directly from veterans and better understand the realities of war. Approximately 66,000 individual stories comprise the collection to date. The project relies on volunteers to record veterans’ remembrances using guidelines accessible at www.loc.gov/vets/. Volunteer interviewers may request information at vohp@loc.gov or the toll-free message line at (888) 371-5848. Subscribe to VHP’s RSS on the VHP home page.