Seminar-Workshop
on Asia-Pacific Forum for Library and Achives Management
Training
Bangalore,
India, UTC- June 18, 2004
Preservation
of Oral Tradition
A Practical Experience
Aileen
Hooi-Ai Khoo
Why
We Do It!
Why
Oral History Project:
People are
frail and dying – documents can wait to be preserved.
Facts are
cold. Stories are warm. Facts are less important
than stories.
Every time
a church member, and especially a church leader dies,
a library of information dies too.
In a perpetual
race against the clock we at the Archives strive to
record the stories before time catches up with us.
1994, Bishop
Emeritus Rev. Dr. Denis Dutton, when he was the presiding
Bishop, encouraged all churches to record the oral history
of senior members “before their memories fade away.”
Luke 1:1-4
Many have
undertaken to draw up an account of the things that
have been fulfilled among us, just as they were handed
down to us by those who from the first were eyewitnesses
and servants fo the word. Therefore, since I myself
have carefully investigated everything from the beginning,
it seemed good also to me to write an orderly account
for you, most excellent Theophilus, so that you may
know the certainty of the things you have been taught.
I
John 1:1
That
which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which
we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at
and our hands have touched – this we proclaim concerning
the Word of life.
“Once
upon a time….”
Lang-ting-tang
man
Griot
Heilsgeschichte
Salvation
history
Psalm
105
v. 5
Remember the wonders God has done,
his miracles, and the judgments he
pronounced.
v.
8 God remembers his covenant forever,
the word he commanded, for a thousand
generations.
The
Story of a Saving Nation
Psalms 106
and 136
Psalm
145:4, 11-12
One generation
will commend your works to another;
They will
tell of your mighty acts.
They
will tell of the glory of your kingdom
and speak of your might,
so that all
men may know of your mighty acts
and the glorious splendor of your kingdom.
Psalm
48:12-14
Walk about
Zion, go around her,
Count her
towers,
Consider
well her ramparts,
View her
citadels,
That you
may tell of them to the next generation.
For this
God is our God for ever and ever;
He will be
our guide even to the end.
Deuteronomy
32:7
Remember
the days of old;
Consider
the generations long past.
Ask your
father and he will tell you,
Your elders,
and they will explain to you.
Exodus
13 – the priestly writers define the ordinance for
remembering
v. 14
In days to come, when your son asks
you, “What does this mean?” say to
him…..
Exodus
15:1-21
A memory
that sustained the people of Israel
“Gratitude
is born in hearts that take time to count up past mercies.”
C.E. Jefferson
“Gratitude
is the memory of the heart.”
E. Pelletier
“Our gladness is complete when we show our gratitude.
It is expressed verbally, through correspondence and
by readiness to return kindness. Remembrance of
God’s mercies to us makes us grateful people…but gratitude
to the Almighty when things go wrong is worth more than
a thousand thanks when things are agreeable to our inclination
or favorable to us. It reveals our maturity to
accept the pleasant and unpleasant situations in life.”
Dominic Mathews
If
I live to be a hundred, I’ll never forget…..
Personal
or family histories
Shared heritage
Moves the
family has made, pets, interesting members
Funny and
embarrassing moments
Successes
and achievements
Who
Are We?
Board of
Archives & History
Trinity Annual
Conference
Methodist
Church in Malaysia
When
Did We Start?
4 years ago,
in 2000
How
We Did It!
Boon Lin
and May Lian coordinated
Oral History
Project
Churches
identified interested and suitable persons for training
Sent
SOS via email
Books
and Resources from:
- Singapore
National Archives, Malaysian National Archives
Planned
a training workshop from scratch.
- Obtained
help from Dr. Jean-Paul Weist
in Hong Kong through email.
Workshop
on Oral History31 August 2002Trinity Methodist Church
Petaling Jaya
Purpose
- To inform
local church representatives of the importance of Oral
History
- To conduct
interviews
- To process
and disseminate
information collected
Identified
some key persons / leaders and assigned the members
of the Board of Archives & History to do the interview.
What
We Did!
Pre-interview
Preparation:
Research
on the background of the interviewee if not familiar.
Prepare questions.
Make appointment
for first visit to explain what Oral History Interview
is all about.
Fix location
of interview
Visits:
Initial:
Introduce
self
Explain what
Oral History is about and how the taped interview will
be used.
Go through
questions that will be asked at interview.
Talk about
transcript
Go through
the contents of Gift Certificate.
Set dates
for oral interview and timeline
Equipment
The tape
recorder:
Set the counter
at 0
Allow
for 5-10 counts before taping
Speed control
– set as neutral
Record time
set at normal unless running out of
tape, then set at double.
VOR – voice
activated recording set at L (Low)
or H (High)
Volume is
for play back only
Use Pause
button instead of Stop button to
decrease noise.
Battery light
will flicker when weak
Carry enough
batteries and tapes
Use 90-minute
tape.
Interview(s)
Oral Interview
– 2-3 one-hour time frame.
Setting:
Home is best –
Informal and relaxed
Familiar surroundings
Have a sound
proof or semi-sound proof room with comfortable chairs.
Have a glass
of water on hand
No dogs,
no phones, no visitors, no cooking.
Data
Sheet Interview Agreement
Filling in
of data
Signing
Processing
of Recorded Tape
Duplicate
taped interview for Researchers
Break tab
of tape
Label tape
Transcribe
the interview.
Go through
transcript with interviewee.
Editing by
interviewee.
Check for
spelling of proper names, towns, etc. with interviewee.
Leave a copy
of transcript with interviewee.
Correct transcript
for final draft.
Send interviewee
a copy for final approval.
Gift
certificate
Go through
content of Gift Certificate again.
Sign the
certificate
Documenting
and Disseminating
Complete
cataloging data sheet
Introduction
(Synopsis)
Interview
History
Index
Contents
Cataloging
Registering
accession
Transcript
bound
Duplication
of the copy to be given to the interviewee.
Binding of
the transcript and document items.
Example:
TRANSCRIPT
BINDING FORMAT
The
Cover:
AN
INTERVIEW WITH THE
REVEREND
(DR.) PETER SIMON
The
Title Page:
TRANSCRIPT
OF
AN
INTERVIEW WITH
REVEREND
(DR.) PETER SIMON, B.A., M.A., Ph D.
Conducted
by
David Low
The Archives,
TRAC of the Methodist Church, Malaysia
Obstacles
Interviewee
– fearful
Interviewer
– anxious
Interviewee’s
Fear
Things recorded
cannot be undone.
What he/she
tells is going to be in tomorrow’s news.
Doesn’t want
to offend
Afraid of
one’s own voice (too husky)
Language
inadequate
Not a public
speaker
Nervous about
speaking into a tape recorder
Memory lapses
Interviewer’s
Anxiety
Afraid to
ask wrong questions
Doesn’t know
how to phrase questions
Clumsy with
electronics
Interviewee
goes off, hard to bring him/her back
Jumbling
up orderly sequences of questions prepared
So…
Explain purpose
and assure interviewee of confidentiality
Statutes
of limitation
Play back
the recording after 5 minutes to check
Have interviewee
write down thoughts in point form
Have lots
of patience
Plan for
unrushed interview
For
Interviewer
Formulate
questions
Look at CNN
Talk Asia
Have check-list
ready and set everything in order before interview
Have pencil
ready to tick off questions answered by interviewee
Conclusion
You need
a team, a support group
Start small,
do not be ambitious
It is possible
to start cheap
Start now
– don’t wait – learn and improve as you go.
We made a lot of mistakes.
We broke a lot of rules.
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