Special Collections Research Center Oral History Program
The Special Collections Research Center’s Oral History Program supports the W.L. Eury Appalachian Collection, the Stock Car Racing Collection, Rare Books & Manuscripts, and University Archives. The program seeks to promote its current collections as well as create and acquire new collections by fostering unique collaborations and educational opportunities with campus, local, and regional communities.
The Oral Historian is available for instructional sessions with University courses or individual consultations with faculty, students, and external researchers on a variety of topics. The Program does not lend equipment for interviews but the University Libraries’ Technology Checkout Desk has audio and video recording equipment available for faculty and student use.
Oral History Collections
The Special Collections Research Center houses recordings and/or transcripts of oral history interviews focused primarily on university history, Western North Carolina, and the Appalachian region. Interviews range in date from the mid-1960s to present day and were mostly conducted by faculty, staff, students, and community members. The collections offer a tapestry of the character and perspectives of the University as well as local and regional communities.
Interviews may only consist of transcripts or recordings and, depending on the consent forms, there may be limitations in usage and access. Researchers should start with the Special Collections Research Center’s Search Tools page for a full list of options and access points or contact Special Collections for assistance. The following information may be useful for locating interviews.
This image from the University Archives shows donor and folklorist Jack Guy seated at a table inside the original Belk Library on February 14, 1972. Standing on the left is Charlotte Ross, librarian of the Appalachian Center and folklorist.
Have a suggestion for an oral history interview?
Interview recommendations are always welcomed! Use our short form to nominate someone (including yourself) whose stories you believe would add value to our collections.
Get in Touch
If you have questions or need assistance, contact Oral Historian, Mark Coltrain, via email, coltrainjm@appstate.edu, or by phone, 828-262-4975.
Digital Collections
Appalachian State University Memory Project
In 2006, Belk Library Archivists Kathy Staley and Pam Mitchem began the Appalachian State University Memory Project to document the physical, economic, social, administrative, and academic development of Appalachian State University and its surrounding community. In 2015 Professor and Librarian Mary Reichel continued the oral histories in order to expand our knowledge of Appalachian State University through the recollections and memories of people who contributed to the daily life of the university.
Appalachian Oral History Project Interviews
In 1973, representatives from Appalachian State University began the process of collecting interviews from Watauga, Avery, Ashe, and Caldwell county citizens to learn about their respective lives and gather stories. The project was known as the “Appalachian Oral History Project,” and developed in a consortium with Alice Lloyd College and Lees Junior College (now Hazard County Community College) both in Kentucky, Emory and Henry College in Virginia, and Appalachian State. Only a selection are available digitally, but over 400 exist in the collection.
Appalachian State University American Military History Course Veterans Oral History Project
Each semester (from 2010 to 2012), the students of the American Military History Course at Appalachian State University conducted interviews with military veterans and record their military experiences in order to create an archive of oral history interviews that are publicly accessible to researchers.