Practical and ethical guidance for oral history, digital projects, and community-based archives.
Original guides and finding aids produced by or in partnership with the Collaboratory.
Prepared by the Collaboratory and The ArQuives, this guide supports researchers and community members exploring trans histories in archival collections. It provides collection overviews, access information, and context for navigating archival systems shaped by cisnormative and gay and lesbian frameworks.
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Developed by Elspeth Brown between 2013–2015, this finding aid documents the papers of trans activist Rupert Raj held at The ArQuives. It includes detailed collection descriptions to support in-person research.
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Prepared by Cait McKinney and Al-Stanton Hagan, this resource offers practical guidance for designing digitization workflows for analog audio materials.
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Prepared by Cait McKinney and Jordon Colosi, this guide offers support for planning and executing digitization workflows for video tapes.
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Prepared by Zohar Freeman, this guide offers practical instructions for making digital versions of textual and visual materials screen-readable and accessible.
AccessExternal resources selected to support ethical, sustainable, and community-centered oral history, digitization, and preservation practices.
An introduction to audio preservation practices, including formats and risks, appraisal, copyright, and disaster preparedness.
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Guidance for planning audio digitization projects, including appraisal, preservation standards, and vendor selection.
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A curated overview of software and technologies for conducting, archiving, and preserving oral histories.
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Resources and guidance to support community-driven digitization projects in Indigenous contexts.
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A free, open-source tool that enhances access to and discoverability of online oral history interviews.
AccessA selection of scholarly works and case studies that inform contemporary queer and digital oral history practice.
Boyd, Nan Alamilla. “Who Is the Subject?: Queer Theory Meets Oral History.” Journal of the History of Sexuality 17, no. 2 (2008): 177-189.
Boyd, Nan Alamilla, and Horacio N Roque Ramírez. Bodies of Evidence : The Practice of Queer Oral History. Oxford University Press, 2012.
Fobear, Katherine. “Telling Our Truths: Oral History, Social Justice, and Queer Refugees.” Oral History Forum d’histoire orale 34 (2014). Special issue, “Human Rights and Oral History.”
Oral History Review. Vol. 40, no. 1 (2013). Special issue, Oral History in the Digital Age.
UC Santa Cruz Library. “Selected Bibliography of Books on Oral History.” Accessed January 22, 2026.
Weig, Eric, Kopana Terry, and Kathryn Lybarger. “Large Scale Digitization of Oral History: A Case Study.” D-Lib Magazine 13, no. 5/6 (May/June 2007).