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Searching the directory
This directory provides access to information about oral history collections held around Australia - where they are, what's in them and what they're called, who to contact and when you can access them.
Leaving any search option blank, or selecting 'All' will return an alphabetical listing of collections, 10 at a time, which match the rest of your search criteria. You may change the default result set size in multiples of 10 to a maximum of 100.
Search by collection name
- You can use the directory to locate an oral history collection within a specific
organisation's or individual's collection, or one which you know of by name (eg ACT Heritage Collection). Use the 'Search by name' option to do this - try searching by organisation name in the first place.
* Tips to remember
- Name searching is keyword;
- Truncate your search term by using the percentage (%) symbol, eg "hist%" will find 'history', 'historical', 'historians' etc.;
- Personal collections are listed but names may not always be expressed in full, eg 'C.N. Govett Collection', 'Sue Rossen Collection' or the 'Ball Family Oral History Collection';
- Organisation and collection names can include personal names, eg 'Gladys Moncrieff Library of the Performing Arts', or the 'Naomi England Tapes'.
You may limit your search to a particular
Australian state or territory, for example; search for oral
history collections held in institutions in New South Wales. To limit by state or territory, change the default setting on the search screen from 'All of Australia' by clicking in the box.
Use the maps to search for collections held within a state/territory, regional area, or within the metropolitan regions of Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, Perth or Brisbane.
- You can 'Search by subject'
within the
Directory for oral history collections - by keyword or phrase.
Keyword is more flexible than phrase searching - it allows you to do a general search and includes all proper names, place names and acronymns in the descriptions for each of the collections in the Directory. Select keyword or phrase searching (the default is keyword) from the search screen.
* Tips to remember
- Look at the list of standard subjects used - a useful guide to the terminologies used to describe the collections listed in the original printed directory;
- Try searching for personal or company names;
- Search for places names - Australian or overseas.
The subject search option queries the "Subjects included", "Australian places covered", "Overseas coverage", "Collection strengths" and "Notable holdings" fields of the database.
Search by date
- Search the
Directory for oral history collections by year or decade of recording.
If you are interested in recordings made in a particular year, for example 1975, select the year from the drop down box. To locate recordings that may discuss the events of this year, but were recorded in later years chose the decade from the drop down box.
* Tip to remember
- When selecting and searching by date (year or decade), you will retrieve collections that span that date, but which may not include recordings for a specific year.
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