How to use this portal

How to find an interview

There are four methods to begin your research:

Keyword Search: Simply type a name or keyword into the search bar at the top of this page and hit the “Search” button. Or use Advanced Search to search specific fields.

Collections: The Collections page provides an overview of various oral history projects and allows you to browse interview abstracts by collection.

Subject Index: Check out the Subjects page to see an alphabetical list of organizations, schools, occupations, and themes mentioned in the oral histories.

Browse Names and Affiliations: Use the People page to browse all interviews by name. This page allows you to filter interviews by the following criteria: 

  • Collection, i.e. the project that collected and preserved the interview.
  • Group, such as Rutgers alumni, faculty, administration, or non-affiliated interviewees. (Non-affiliated interviewees are African Americans who did not study or work at Rutgers University, but who granted interviews to Rutgers historians; they are typically past or present New Jersey residents who share their perspectives on Black life in New Jersey.)
  • Graduating classrelevant for alumni.
  • Rutgers campus (New Brunswick, Newark, Camden) or Rutgers school, such as Douglass College, Graduate School of Education, School of Engineering, and so on.

A sorting feature at the top of the People page allows you to arrange the results by last name, graduating class, or birth year.

How to access the transcript or recording

Once you find the interview you want, click on the interview title or portrait to access interview details in our catalog. Below the interview description, you will see a section marked Transcript, Audio, or Video with a link. Click the link to access the transcript or recording of the interview. Some interviews provide both a recording and a transcript, while others only provide one or the other.