TALLAHASSEE CIVIL RIGHTS ORAL HISTORY COLLECTION: ISSUES AND BENEFITS OF COLLABORATION Burt Altman, CA Florida State University Libraries SOCIETY OF AMERICAN ARCHIVISTS ANNUAL MEETING, SAN FRANCISCO AUGUST 30, 2008

Uniqueness of Project An “incomplete” gift Locating interviewees and heirs Reviewing interview transcripts Protecting the Institution Obtaining consent of interviewees/heirs Sit-in at a Woolworth lunch counter in Tallahassee during a civil rights demonstration Courtesy State Archives of Florida.

Dr. Jackson Ice, FSU Professor of Religion,  Active in Tallahassee Civil Rights Activities, 50s and 60s  Supported rights of African-Americans to demonstrate  Realized importance of recording these events and enlightening his religion students  Interviewed wide variety of local leaders About the Project Director: Dr. Jackson Ice

About the Collection Taped interviews and transcripts Interviewees Topics include: –Tallahassee Bus Boycott of 1956 –Lunch counter sit-ins –Theatre demonstrations –School desegregation –Voter registration –Race relations Florida A&M University students on a protest march : Tallahassee, Courtesy, State Archives of Florida.

Processing The Collection Brief finding aid originally created in 1990 and updated in 2003 Transcripts checked against the recordings for accuracy. Original recordings repaired, cleaned, noise-reduced, and digitally reformatted. EAD finding aid created in Summer Digital objects to be linked to finding aid in Summer African American preachers who protested segregated bus seating : Tallahassee, Florida (1956). Courtesy, State Archives of Florida.

Data Entry into EAD Template EAD Template Created for Authoring in NoteTab

Finding Aid:

Preservation Repairing recordings Reformatting to MP3 In-house collaboration Working with vendors

Consent and Institutional Protection Incomplete Gift: No evidence of project paperwork Tracking project personnel Institutional Review Board in Human Subjects Review Determination that oral history doesn’t fit definition of “research” re: protection of research subjects.

Digital Rights Management Tracking down interviewees/heirs Reviewing interview transcripts and audio excerpts for potentially “objectionable” material Drafting cover letters and oral consent forms for interviewees and heirs. Contacting interviewees/heirs for final review

Access Selecting portions of audio and transcripts Converting content to suitable formats for finding aid access Linking digital objects to finding aid Long-term preservation

Future Goals Create FSU Civil Rights website with link to finding aid Usability Study Outreach initiatives

CONCLUSIONS Collaborate with appropriate parties in producing oral history Obtain consent and copyright permission Collaborate with your institution or outside parties to process, preserve, make accessible, and publicize BUT REMEMBER………….

THANK YOU…………QUESTIONS??