Oral History: Interviewing for Families

Join librarian and genealogist, April Lynne Earle and Aimee Lusty, the Montauk Library’s archivist, for a library program at 2:30 p.m. on Sunday, December 4, exploring oral history interview techniques for families.

Oral history interviews preserve and document family stories, personal accounts of historical events, and shared community history. Recorded oral histories can become a keepsake passed down for generations, helping families to connect with their family history. This program is suitable for all ages, so come with parents, grandparents, kids or grandkids and learn how to prepare for and conduct an oral history interview. The program will cover the basics of oral history interviewing, including interviewing and recording techniques, writing questions and how to use oral histories as a tool for genealogy. After the talk, patrons can reserve the library’s new Sound Studio where they can record oral histories.

April Lynne Earle is a member of the Library Faculty at Farmingdale State College. In addition to her primary role as the cataloger, she provides reference service and information literacy instruction. She received both her Masters in Library Science and Master of Arts in Public History from St. John’s University, where she now teaches as an adjunct. With over 30 years of genealogy research experience, her real joy is helping others discover their family history.

The program is free and open to the public. To sign up, call 631-668-3377. The Montauk Library is located at 871 Montauk Highway in Montauk.