An Oral History of Irvington

The launch of a new digital collection featuring an oral history of the Irvington neighborhood will highlight the 10th anniversary celebration of the Irvington Branch of the Indianapolis-Marion County Public Library, 5625 East Washington Street, Indianapolis, set for 5 November.


Visitors can hear interviews of Irvington residents recorded from the late 1970′s through the mid 1980′s, conducted as part of an Indiana State Library-sponsored oral history project, and view written transcripts of the interviews that have been digitized and added to the library's online digital collection.

Throughout the afternoon, individuals can participate in a current oral history activity by recording a 15-minute interview with a family member, friend or neighbor at the "Hear a Story" station. Staff from Big Car will record the interviews and produce a CD copy to take home.

Lectures on the value of oral histories will be presented by David G. Vanderstel, Ph.D., a Marion County historian and assistant editor of the Encyclopedia of Indianapolis (11 a.m.), and Steve Haller, Senior Director of Collections & Library at the Indiana Historical Society. (1 p.m.).

From 1 – 4 p.m., book sales and signings by Bookmamas Book Shop will feature local authors William Gulde (Irvington in 1910: A Year in the Life of an Indianapolis Neighborhood), Julie Young (Historic Irvington), Christine Johnson (Nocturne: A Claire de Lune Novel) and Sherri Wood Emmons (Prayers and Lies).

(And, a tip of the hat to Provocate.org for alerting this Indianapolis Observer about the event.)