Oral histories can be useful resources for research because they are a direct source for the lived experience of library workers. Especially when oral histories feature the stories of librarians from various communities and backgrounds, they can provide unique perspectives that may be hard for researchers to gather directly; they are also a great repository for voices from the history of libraries.
There are downsides to using oral histories. Some interviews are of poor quality, or the interviewer has asked inappropriate questions. Oral history subjects can also be biased, which means their responses will reflect those biases. Whenever possible, the facts presented in oral histories should be verified in other sources, to account for errors in memory. It is important to understand the subjective nature of oral histories, and to use them accordingly in research.
Example 2: Oral Histories at the ALA Archives: this blog post lists two collections of interviews with librarians held at the American Library Association archives. Interviews are labeled by interviewer, subject, and date, but at this time the transscripts are only available if you visit the archives.
