Are there any pitfalls?

The rewards are great, and make no mistake about that. So, if you run up against a few difficulties, take it in your stride. Nothing in life ever runs smoothly all the time and community and oral history projects don’t either.

Pitfalls, dos and don'ts:

Personal disagreements, antipathies and local politics are all possible pitfalls. Few societies, however small, exist without certain inter-personal difficulties whether they date back generations or only occurred last week. You just have to work around them!

Do take time to understand a little of the structure and personalities involved in your community. That understanding can go a long way in smoothing your project’s progress.

Do work on involving as many people as possible and extending a welcome to everyone - whatever they bring to a community history project it will be of benefit.

Do try to involve all age groups, all ethnic backgrounds and all abilities. It’s people that make a community and so they all play a part in it and its heritage.

Don’t exclude anyone because there’s a belief that their testimony or skills have little to offer your project. Everyone has something to say and sometimes there can be pure gold lurking among some otherwise quite commonplace material.

Don’t be too ambitious but build solid foundations for your project. With a good base you can build and expand your collection and your work.

Lack of sufficient funding is, of course, another pitfall. It is surprising just how much cash can be needed if only to pay for paper, envelopes and stamps let alone CDs or even computers, scanners and so on.

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