Oral History Project

Betty Bright with Paulette Myers-Rich, artist and former MCBA Board Member

Betty Bright with Paulette Myers-Rich, artist and former MCBA Board Member

Betty Bright with Paulette Myers-Rich, artist and former MCBA Board Member

Betty Bright with Paulette Myers-Rich, artist and former MCBA Board Member

Betty Bright with Jim Sitter, MCBA Founding Executive Director

Betty Bright with Jim Sitter, MCBA Founding Executive Director

Just as oral history captures one individual’s story, several oral histories bring to life the story of a place, period or event. When combined with transcriptions, related historical documentation, photos, and other scanned materials, they capture a period of time for present and future visitors and researchers.

With support from a Minnesota Historical Society grant, I created, managed and produced Minnesota Center for Book Arts’ 30th Anniversary Oral History project. Working with a videographer, I conducted nineteen conversations with individuals who helped to start and nurture MCBA through its first thirty years.

The videotaped conversations are accompanied by my transcriptions and extensive related background. MCBA has devoted a webpage to the project, found at mnbookarts.org/oralhistory.