The Augusta Historical Society (AHS), in partnership with the AU Libraries Reese Library Special Collections and Institutional Archives, has received a grant from the Porter Fleming Fund to preserve the oral histories of over 1,000 Central Savannah River Area (CSRA) veterans.
A part of the Library of Congress’ Veteran History Project, the AHS Veteran Oral History Project began in 2007, documenting the experiences of veterans from Georgia and the CSRA. The collection, housed in the Reese Library Special Collections and Institutional Archives, contains interviews from veterans who served during World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, and other military conflicts.
Stored on DVDs, the Special Collections Librarian, Courtney Berge, and the Augusta Historical Society were concerned about the loss of these important interviews due to the nature and degradation of the discs they are housed on. Partnering together, they applied for funding from the Porter Fleming Foundation to migrate the interview files from the DVDs using a media transfer company specializing in the migration and recovery of such materials.
The grant will also allow for the enhanced description of the collection by funding a part-time employee to expand on the existing finding aid of the collection, allowing students, faculty, and the broader community to access this valuable resource more easily. You can learn more about this collection from by reading its finding aid.
