Indexing the Iowa Labor History Oral Project

FAIN: PW-259083-18

University of Iowa (Iowa City, IA 52242-1320)
Jennifer K. Sherer (Project Director: July 2017 to January 2022)

Transcription of 363 oral history interviews from the Iowa Labor History Oral Project and completion of a comprehensive digital index.

Indexing the Iowa Labor History Oral Project is a two-year initiative to transcribe and index oral history interviews from the Iowa Labor History Oral Project, an over forty-year-old statewide oral history collaboration that has to date produced more than one thousand audio interviews with Iowa workers. The grant will fund the transcription and auditing of 363 interviews and the creation of individual (transcript-level) indexes for 326 of these same 363 (excluding those interviews without releases). The grant will also provide for the digitization of an existing print index to over 750 interviews and integrate the 326 new interview indexes to create a complete and expandable ILHOP Digital Index (IDI). Building off an ongoing digitization initiative funded by the National Historical Preservation and Records Commission (NHPRC), the grant will set the stage for future growth, dissemination, and access opportunities for one of the most important resources in twentieth-century Midwestern history.

Associated Products

ILHOP Soundcloud stream (Web Resource)
Title: ILHOP Soundcloud stream
Author: John McKerley
Abstract: Soundcloud stream hosting clips (and soon podcast episodes) from select interviews from the Iowa Labor History Oral Project collection, especially clips used frequently in teaching or public outreach.
Year: 2019
Primary URL: http://https://soundcloud.com/ilhop
Primary URL Description: Soundcloud page hosting clips (and soon podcast episodes) from the collection, especially clips used frequently in teaching or public outreach.

Iowa Digital Library ILHOP collection page (Database/Archive/Digital Edition)
Title: Iowa Digital Library ILHOP collection page
Author: Justin Baumgardner
Abstract: Digital archive of Iowa Labor History Oral Project interview recordings and transcripts.
Year: 2018
Primary URL: http://https://digital.lib.uiowa.edu/islandora/object/ui%3Ailhop
Primary URL Description: Digital archive of Iowa Labor History Oral Project interview recordings and transcripts.
Access Model: Open access

The Iowa Labor History Oral Project: History From The Ground Up (Radio/Audio Broadcast or Recording)
Title: The Iowa Labor History Oral Project: History From The Ground Up
Director: Ben Kieffer
Producer: Rick Brewer
Abstract: Since the late 1970s, the Iowa Labor History Oral Project has been collecting interviews from the working class across Iowa. They are collecting history from the ground up, as opposed to leaders or people with power. "We have access to new kinds of sources, including those of the Iowa Labor History Oral Project, that enable us to get at the experience of ordinary people, of everyday working people," said Shelton Stromquist, Professor of History Emeritus at the University of Iowa, "whose work lives, whose organizing, whose building of unions in many cases is really an integral part of the fabric of our state and of the nation." On this edition of River to River, host Ben Kieffer speaks with Stromquist and the Oral and Public Historian at the Iowa Labor Center, John McKerly, about Iowa's rich labor history. During this conversation Kieffer, Stromquist and McKerly highlight six individuals from the collection whose stories, when put together, help best tell Iowa's labor history. "There are interviews that touch literally every town and city in the state and every realm of work and labor union acitivity," said Stromquist, "I don't know of another collection in the country that has that character." Guests include: John McKerley, Oral and Public Historian at the Iowa Labor Center Shelton Stromquist, Professor of History Emeritus at the University of Iowa
Date: 9/5/19
Primary URL: http://https://www.iowapublicradio.org/show/river-to-river/2020-03-30/the-iowa-labor-history-oral-project-history-from-the-ground-up
Primary URL Description: Iowa Public Radio "River to River" one-hour talk show broadcast featuring the Iowa Labor History Oral Project, September 5, 2019.
Access Model: Open access
Format: Radio

Speaking of Work (Exhibition)
Title: Speaking of Work
Curator: John McKerley
Abstract: Speaking of Work is a traveling exhibit developed by Iowa Labor History Society with the support of Humanities Iowa, the state affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities. It uses six voices from the Iowa Labor History Oral Project to tell the story of the Iowa labor movement. The exhibit is now available for loan. It includes six banner stands and six accompanying audio stands with excerpts from the interviews.
Year: 2019
Primary URL: http://https://www.iowalaborhistory.org/speaking-of-work-exhibit#:~:text=Speaking%20of%20Work%20is%20a%20traveling%20exhibit%20developed,tell%20the%20story%20of%20the%20Iowa%20labor%20movement.
Primary URL Description: Iowa Labor History Society Speaking of Work exhibit landing page.

ILHOP: Iowa History As Told By the Workers Who Made It (Web Resource)
Title: ILHOP: Iowa History As Told By the Workers Who Made It
Author: ILHOP staff
Abstract: The site provides a comprehensive hub for project deliverables. They include a home page introducing the project, a Collection Guide (with collection overview and information regarding interview structure, metadata, and format; transcription policy; access, copyright, and conditions of use; preferred citation style for digital materials; a sensitive materials statement; and brief descriptions of various, overlapping search strategies enabled through the site [i.e., the ILHOP Digital Finding Aid, searching audio, transcripts, and metadata through the Iowa Digital Library, and the Master Transcript Index (formerly ILHOP Digital Index)]. Likewise, it provides information for users seeking access to the physical/analog materials at the State Historical State of Iowa, a page linking to other digital projects drawing on the ILHOP collection, a page describing the project's history and development over time, a contact page to facilitate interaction with users (including future interviewees), and an acknowledgments page.
Year: 2021
Primary URL: https://dsps.lib.uiowa.edu/ilhop/

Speaking of Work (podcast) (Web Resource)
Title: Speaking of Work (podcast)
Author: John McKerley (producer)
Author: Iowa Labor History Society
Abstract: Homepage for podcast that draws on project resources to tell stories from the ILHOP collection.
Year: 2020
Primary URL: https://www.iowalaborhistory.org/speaking-of-work-podcast

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