Volunteer Oral History Interviewer - Neighborhood Stories Project

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The Neighborhood Stories Project is a storytelling initiative by the NYC Department of Records and Information Services (DORIS) with the mission of recording the memories of New York City residents through a series of oral history interviews. These interviews will be preserved in perpetuity at DORIS - connecting local history with the records of City government maintained in the collections of the Municipal Archives and Library. The interviews will reflect people’s unique experiences of life in New York City and will be available for researchers, teachers, students, activists, and residents interested in discovering the history of their city from the perspective of its community members.

We are looking for volunteers to interview participants for the Neighborhood Stories Project. Volunteers will interview participants about their lives and communities in New York City. Once recorded, the interview is preserved in perpetuity at the Municipal Archives with the goal of documenting the personal histories of local residents and changes in their communities from a personal perspective. Interviewers should have access to a phone (including landline), computer, or the internet.

Volunteers can also assist the project in recruiting other participants in their families and communities by spreading the word about the Neighborhood Stories project and sharing informational materials (which can be provided).

Volunteers will primarily serve remotely but there are also opportunities to conduct in-person interviews at partner locations and participate in community outreach events as an ambassador for the project. Training will be provided.

Responsibilities:

• Perform outreach to organizations, groups and individuals to engage them in the Neighborhood Stories project. Outreach to include; making phone calls, sending emails, attending virtual community engagement events, etc.

• Develop interview questions, guide participants through the interview process, and conduct interviews

• Manage technical aspects of recording the interviews.

• Maintain reports documenting outreach and interviews

• Perform other duties to support the Neighborhood Stories Project, as assigned

Requirements:

• Candidates must possess strong written and verbal communication skills;

• Strong research and organizational skills are helpful;

• Volunteers must be able to work well with people of diverse backgrounds;

• Candidates must be Internet proficient;

• Proficiency with audio editing software would be helpful;

• Candidates must be comfortable learning new equipment and programs (e.g., audio recording equipment, online communications platforms such as Zoom, etc.);

• Bilingual abilities are a plus.

• Candidates with experience conducting oral history interviews are a plus

If you are interested in participating in this project, please fill out this form: https://forms.office.com/g/pKSp8ACX6j

After you have submitted your responses, we will provide training for conducting your interviews. If you have any questions, please email  stories@records.nyc.gov.