**The following blog post presents a hypothetical Innovation Roadmap for a possible library program and service. I would like to make it known that while I have utilized my personal library branch for this assignment, no such program has been officially presented to any Santa Clara County Librarian or Executive.
I would also like to have it known that even though there are other platforms where patrons and nonpatrons can record and publish their oral stories, this idea is focused on patrons being the owners of their stories and the data that can be associated with such recordings, without corporate interference or roadblocks. **
Innovation Roadmap
Idea:
Cupertino County Library will provide oral history recording and documentation services to patrons. Under the guidance and direction of library staff, patrons will be able to record oral histories for themselves and their families. Patrons who choose to participate in this service will have the option to make their oral history available to the general public or researchers.
The Cupertino County Library is one of eight branch libraries within the Santa Clara County Library System, which also has two bookmobiles and four GoGo Biblio vehicles. The county library system is available to patrons online 24/7. SCCL currently boasts 551,623 library cardholders (Fast Facts, n.d.).
The oral history service will only enhance the library system’s mission. According to the latest Strategic Plan, the current mission is as follows: “ The Santa Clara County Library District aspires to be an inclusive space where everyone feels welcomed, supported in their lifelong learning, and energized to help us evolve as a community. We will work to create a world in which access to knowledge, resources, and opportunities is guaranteed to all” (Strategic Plan 2023-2028, n.d.).
By passing down patrons’ stories and experiences, the community within the library system will only grow. The oral history service is a self-checking and self-evolving service model that will only continue to develop and become more refined with experience and time. Participatory service is built within the service model itself.
Goals:
- To connect families
- To connect community
- To document forgotten or missed history
- To share stories
Objective:
To record and document oral histories of community members without being connected to a corporation.
Action Brief:
Convince Cupertino County Library’s patrons and nonpatrons that by recording and documenting their oral stories, they will pass down historical and personal information, which will engage and build community because our library’s vision supports lifelong learning.
Community Description:
As of 2022, Cupertino’s population was listed at 57,856 residents. Residents under five years of age are listed as making up 4.6 percent of the population, and children under the age of eighteen are 24.2 percent of the population. Persons over sixty-five make up 13.6 percent of the population. Women make up 47.4 percent of the population. The largest ethnic demographic is listed as 70.1 percent Asian, and the second largest ethnic demographic is listed as White 22.7 percent (United States Census Bureau QuickFacts, n.d.).
Inspiration:
My personal inspiration for the project was conveyed in a blog post on WordPress, which you can view here: How Libraries Can Bear Witness To History Through Participatory Service
Other examples of oral history libraries can be found here:
New York Public Library Community Oral History Project
UCLA Center for Oral History Research
Guidelines and Policies:
Several different librarians and various library staff will be responsible for setting and implementing the policies for this program. Since this program will be running in a county library, it will be subjected to adhering to specific county policies that will have to be set by at least the head County Librarian, the Deputy County Librarian, and the Deputy County Librarian for Strategy and Staff Development. After policies are set at the county level, our branch Community Librarian will be in charge of facilitating policy development with the other librarians within the branch.
Possible policies that may be necessary are as follows:
- Consultation Policy
- Time Recording Policy
- Time Editing Policy
- Location Filming Policy
- Patient Confidentiality
- Release of Information Policy
- Interview Question Development Policy
- Age Policy
- Hiring Policy
- Training Policy
Timeline:
The projected timeline for this endeavor could be rather lengthy, considering all the steps that will be involved. Santa Clara County takes a considerable amount of time to develop a policy. All the policies listed above could take at least three years to fully develop since multiple county executives will have to be a part of the process. This project will also require a specific library manager to oversee the department, as well as multiple librarians who work within the oral history department. The biggest roadblock will be finalizing policies. Hiring appropriate staff could take at least another year since hiring through the county is also a lengthy process. Once all the staff are hired, training could also take another six months. In total, the project could take at least five years to start operating after funding approval.
Marketing:
The program may initially be marketed by word of mouth. Since recording, editing, transcribing, and cataloging can take a considerable amount of time, I don’t want the librarians to feel overwhelmed with the initial patrons we document. After we have at least five patrons’ oral histories recorded and documented to completion, we can hold a small event at the library for recruitment.
Staff Training Requirements:
Initially, information about the upcoming project will be shared with current library staff via email. After policy development, the current staff will be notified of the upcoming positions by email and external/internal job postings. As the project comes to fruition, current staff will be notified of any physical changes that will happen to the library branch and on what dates that will happen.
Since this project will contain sensitive information and is highly personal in nature, only librarians in the oral history department will undergo the necessary training. The training will predominantly be conducted by the branch community librarian and the oral history library manager. Other training may need to take place at the county level due to legal and ethical reasons.
Evaluation & Expansion:
The initial benchmark that will be celebrated will be when we are able to obtain at least ten oral histories. After that, staff can celebrate each numerical milestone as they please. Patrons will be given a follow-up survey that will be evaluated using quantitative and qualitative metrics. A follow-up phone call may also be needed to gather more information from the patron about their experience. Since the project will most likely have to start at only one branch within the library district, expansion would start by having multiple branches open their own oral history libraries.
References:
Fast Facts. (n.d.). Santa Clara County Library District. https://sccld.org/fast-facts/
Strategic Plan 2023-2028. (n.d.). Santa Clara County Library District. https://sccld.org/strategic-plan/
United States Census Bureau QuickFacts. (n.d.). U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts: Cupertino city, California. Census Bureau QuickFacts. https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/cupertinocitycalifornia/PST045222
Hi Melissa,
I love the idea of having an oral history at the community library! Personal stories can be such a powerful community building tool. I had a similar idea for my innovation road map where I proposed the bringing together of seniors and youth in an intergeneration multimedia storytelling initiative.