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What is the UNT Oral History Program?
The UNT Oral History Program is a research initiative at the University of North Texas that records, transcribes, and archives oral history interviews to preserve local, state, and U.S. history. It is affiliated with the UNT Department of History and supported by the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences and UNT Libraries, with offices in the General Academic Building on the Denton campus.
What the program does
- Conducts and preserves interviews, with nearly all recordings transcribed.
- Edits, binds, and archives transcripts in Willis Library, where researchers and the public can view them through UNT Special Collections.
- Trains UNT students in oral history theory and methods, and runs workshops for community members preserving their own histories.
- Partners with local history societies, museums, and local, state, and national agencies.
Collection strengths
- World War II history, including over 1,000 interviews with veterans
- Texas political and business history
- The New Deal in Texas
- Civil rights history
- Immigration history
Who it serves and how to use it
Students and scholars can search or browse the collections by last name and order interview transcripts; members of the public can do the same or visit the office in person. Community historians may be most interested in the workshops, while partner organizations can explore collaboration.
A practical first step is to search the collection for a topic or name, then check the FAQ before ordering a transcript or planning a visit to the Oral History office. The program's site is Oral History.
How can I search or browse the oral history collections?
You can search the collection directly, or browse it by last name; transcripts can also be ordered if you cannot visit in person.
Ways to use the site
- Search the Collections: Best when you know a name, event, place or topic (for example, a veteran's unit, a Texas political figure, or a civil rights organization).
- Browse by last name: Best when you want to see what exists for a particular interviewee, or to scan a family name across the collection.
- Digital Projects: Useful for material that has been digitized and can be reviewed online.
- Order interview transcripts: The route for researchers who cannot come to Denton; the Program states that nearly all recordings are transcribed, and bound transcripts are held in Willis Library through UNT Special Collections.
- FAQ and Contact: Worth checking for access rules, duplication questions or help locating a specific interview.
Practical search advice
Start broad, then narrow. A surname alone may return many unrelated interviews; adding an affiliation, city or decade usually separates them. If a search comes up empty, try variant spellings and maiden names, since oral history records often preserve the name used at the time of the interview.
If you plan to visit
The office is in the General Academic Building (GAB), Suite 107, lower level, on the UNT campus in Denton. Transcripts are consulted in Willis Library rather than in the office itself, so confirm arrangements before travelling.
Strengths worth searching first
The Program describes particular depth in World War II history (over 1,000 interviews with veterans), Texas political and business history, the New Deal in Texas, civil rights history, and immigration history. The collection is also listed in the Texas Oral History Locator Database (TOLD), which is useful for finding related interviews held elsewhere in the state.
For context on the university and its special collections, see University of North Texas and UNT Libraries.
What are the major subject strengths of the collection?
The collection is strongest in 20th-century U.S. history with a Texas focus. According to the program's own description, its major subject strengths are:
- World War II — the largest single area, with more than 1,000 interviews with WWII veterans.
- Texas political history
- Texas business history
- The New Deal in Texas
- Civil rights history
- Immigration history
The program notes that these strengths are not exhaustive, so topical searches can still turn up relevant interviews outside these areas.
Matching a research need to the collection
| If your interest is… | This collection is likely to help because… |
|---|---|
| Military service and home-front life in the 1940s | The WWII veteran interviews are its deepest single holding |
| Texas government, campaigns or policy | Texas political history is a named strength |
| Companies, industries and economic development in Texas | Texas business history is a named strength |
| Depression-era programs and their local effects | The New Deal in Texas is a named strength |
| Desegregation, activism and grassroots organizing | Civil rights history is a named strength |
| Migration, settlement and ethnic communities | Immigration history is a named strength |
A practical next step
Start with the collection search and browse options on Oral History, then narrow by subject terms tied to the strengths above. Because nearly all recordings are transcribed, you can often judge relevance from the transcript before committing to a visit. Transcripts are edited, bound and archived in Willis Library, where they are consulted through UNT Special Collections; the program also provides a way to order transcripts. If you are planning archival work, confirm access details and any transcript ordering process in advance, and consider pairing this collection with the Texas Oral History Locator Database the program says it is listed in.
How do I order transcripts or visit the Oral History office?
Ordering a transcript and visiting the office are two separate processes, both handled through the UNT Oral History Program at the University of North Texas.
Ordering interview transcripts
Use the program's Search the Collections or Browse by last name tools to identify the interview you want. Once you have the collection details, the order transcripts option is the route for requesting copies. Nearly all recordings in the collection are transcribed, and transcripts are edited, bound, and archived in Willis Library, where researchers and the public can view them through UNT Special Collections.
If you are unsure which interview fits your topic, start broad: the collection is particularly strong in World War II history (over 1,000 veteran interviews), Texas political and business history, the New Deal in Texas, civil rights, and immigration.
Visiting the Oral History office
The office is in the General Academic Building (GAB), Suite 107, lower level, on UNT's main campus in Denton, Texas. The mailing address is 1155 Union Circle #305430, Denton, TX 76203, and the phone number is 940-565-2549. Because staff availability and appointment practices can change, call ahead to confirm hours and whether a visit needs to be scheduled.
Which route fits your situation
- You want a copy to keep or cite: order the transcript through the collection page.
- You want to read archived transcripts on site: plan a visit to Willis Library and UNT Special Collections.
- You want to discuss a specific interview or the collection directly: contact the Oral History office before traveling.
For broader context on oral history collections in the state, the program's collection is listed in the Texas Oral History Locator Database, and the program also partners with local history societies, museums, and other institutions. If your interest extends to related archival holdings, the UNT Libraries site covers Special Collections access, and University of North Texas provides campus visitor information.
How can I get involved with the Oral History Program through workshops or donations?
You can take part in two main ways: learn the craft through the Program's community workshops, or support its work financially through a donation.
Workshops
The Program runs workshops for members of the wider community who want to preserve their own histories. These are aimed at people outside the university—family historians, local society volunteers, museum staff—rather than only enrolled students. If you have recordings, letters or relatives you want to interview properly, a workshop is the practical starting point: it covers the theory and methods behind doing an oral history interview well.
The Program also trains UNT students in oral history theory and methods, so if you are a student, ask within the Department of History about course-based or program-based training rather than the community workshop route.
Donations
Donations are what keep the recording, transcribing and archiving work going. The Program states plainly that donations make its work possible. To give, contact the office directly to ask about the current giving process and any designated funds:
- Phone: 940-565-2549
- Office: General Academic Building (GAB), Suite 107, lower level, UNT campus, Denton, Texas
- Mailing address: UNT Oral History Program, 1155 Union Circle #305430, Denton, TX 76203
A practical next step
Before you call, decide which you actually want:
| Your goal | Best route | What to prepare |
|---|---|---|
| Interview a family member or community figure yourself | Community workshop | A rough idea of who you want to record and why |
| Use the collection for research or a project | Visit or order transcripts via UNT Oral History Program | Names, dates or subjects to search |
| Fund preservation work | Donation | Whether you want it unrestricted or tied to a subject area such as WWII or civil rights |
If your interest is in the collection itself—more than 1,000 WWII veteran interviews, plus Texas political, business, New Deal, civil rights and immigration material—the transcripts are edited, bound and held in Willis Library, viewable through UNT Special Collections. You can also search the collections and order transcripts through the Program's site, and the collection is listed in the Texas Oral History Locator Database. For related holdings elsewhere in the state, see Texas State Library and Archives Commission.
What interview collections are available, such as World War II veterans or Texas history?
The UNT Oral History Program centers on recorded, transcribed interviews that are archived in Willis Library and available through UNT Special Collections. According to the program's own description, its collection strengths include:
- World War II history — over 1,000 interviews with WWII veterans, the largest named strength.
- Texas political history
- Texas business history
- The New Deal in Texas
- Civil rights history
- Immigration history
These are described as strengths rather than a complete inventory, so the collection likely extends beyond this list.
How to find and use specific interviews
Use the site's Search the Collections or Browse by last name tools to check whether a particular person, unit, or topic is covered. Transcripts can be ordered, and the program also notes that in-person viewing is possible at the Oral History office in the General Academic Building, Suite 107 (lower level), with archival copies held in Willis Library.
Who this suits
- Scholarly researchers working on 20th-century U.S. history, Texas politics, or military history.
- Students at UNT, who receive training in oral history theory and methods.
- Local historians, museums, and community groups — the program partners with historical societies and museums and runs workshops for people preserving their own histories.
- Members of the public seeking first-person accounts, including family historians.
Practical next step
Start with a name search if you already know whose account you want; otherwise browse by topic area such as World War II or civil rights to see what exists before requesting a transcript. For broader discovery across the state, the program notes its collection is listed in the Texas Oral History Locator Database (TOLD), and the UNT program itself is at UNT Oral History.
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