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This paper aims to examine how an open-source information management system was developed to manage a collection of more than 10,000 oral history interviews at the University of Kentucky Libraries’ Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History.

Digital library architects at the University of Kentucky Libraries built an open-source information management system for oral history using the open-source tools Omeka and Blacklight. Additional open-source code was developed to facilitate interaction between these tools.

Information management systems that address needs of libraries and archives can be built by combining existing open-source tools in complementary ways.

This work at the University of Kentucky Libraries serves as a proof of concept for other institutions to examine as a potential model to follow or adapt for their own local needs. The SPOKEdb framework can be replicated elsewhere, as the major and minor components are open-source. SPOKEdb at its conceptual level is a unique information management system based on its tailored approach to serving the needs of oral history management at various user levels including both administrative and public.

The purpose of this study is to examine how the University of Wisconsin Law School Library sought to create easily searchable oral histories by partnering with the University of Kentucky and the University of Wisconsin Oral History Program. Through this partnership, a digital archive of fully searchable and indexed oral histories with links to relevant articles, Library of Congress keywords, summaries and maps is being created, giving users the ability to delve into the Law School’s history more deeply and with more historical perspective than ever before.

The implementation of the Oral History Metadata Synchronizer (OHMS) and the development of a daily workflow for adding University of Wisconsin Law School oral histories to the program is closely examined. The pros and cons of the program are discussed as well as the future of the Law School oral histories.

The OHMS program is a powerful tool that allows researchers to quickly and easily locate relevant portions of an oral history, saving the time required to review hours of an interview. OHMS also allows archivists and librarians to better organize and catalog each oral history by providing important metadata tools that provide context and background on each unique oral history.

The University of Wisconsin Law School is the first law school to implement the OHMS program in concert with an institutional repository. The program, which is free and open source, may be of great value to historians, archivists and non-profits who wish to make their content more visible and more searchable.

-- The purpose of this paper is to identify unique oral history centres and collections which provide users with training and research methodology techniques necessary to planning an effective oral history programme

-- This article provides a list of oral history centres and collections with unique oral history programmes. Most centres listed also offer the user detailed instructions on planning oral history programmes and use of the collection in research methodology courses. The bibliography is an international list of oral history programmes and collections.

-- There are numerous oral history programmes within university departments, museums, and as part of state and regional organizations.

-- This bibliography includes international as well as programmes in the USA. The annotations describe the oral history programmes' subject content, and will be of interest to scholars looking to start and expand on research with an oral history methodology component.