Prov. Community Library chosen for national oral history project

PROVIDENCE COMMUNITY Library has been chosen to participate in a national oral history project: StoryCorps @ your library  is a project of the American Library Association Public Programs Office and StoryCorps, with support from the Institute of Museum and Library Services. / COURTESY STORYCORPS
PROVIDENCE COMMUNITY Library has been chosen to participate in a national oral history project: StoryCorps @ your library is a project of the American Library Association Public Programs Office and StoryCorps, with support from the Institute of Museum and Library Services. / COURTESY STORYCORPS

PROVIDENCE – Providence Community Library has been chosen to participate in a national oral history project.
The library will receive equipment, training and resources, in addition to a $2,500 stipend, to develop the community documentation project based on the Storycorps @ your library model.
The Providence library was one of 10 libraries nationwide to receive the grant to pilot Storycorps, a program of the American Library Association Public Programs Office and Storycorps, a national oral history project, with support from the Institute of Museum and Library Services.
Through the project, the library will record more than 40 interviews with patrons, staff, program providers and volunteers, who will describe what the library means to them and how it has changed their lives.

According to a news release from the library, it was selected for the award following a competitive application process that emphasized not only interest and an ability to complete the project, but also geographic and demographic diversity.
Librarians leading the project will receive special training next month directly from New York-based Storycorps.
All nine branches of the community library will participate between May and October. All interview participants will receive a copy of their recording and, based upon a written agreement with StoryCorps, PCL will retain copies of fully released interviews, which will be archived at the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress.

“ ‘Storycorps @your library’ is a really exciting project for PCL, which will reveal not only the incredible diversity of the city but also the many different reasons why people need a library,” Laura Marlane, PCL’s executive director, said in a statement. “PCL is at the heart of the community and we want to learn more about the people who attend our programs and use our services. We relish the challenge of documenting the lives of the people of Providence.”

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