Oral history of the library
Questions about the changes the Butler Area Public Library has gone through in its 130 years prompted some of the longest responses from library administrators and appreciators in interviews conducted over the past several months.
Staff members largely talked about the changing technology and resources available through the library, which was made even more evident because they were being recorded on newly acquired equipment that is now available to cardholders.
Anita Bowser, the library’s information services manager, compiled an oral history of the Butler Area Public Library using a recorder obtained through a Pennsylvania State Archives minigrant — a piece of equipment that can now be rented from the library. The oral history is available for listening on the library’s website, and the interviews also have been transcribed for a book, which is available to be checked out from the library.
The grant application was broad — Bowser said the $300-some could be used for different archival purposes. But buying recording equipment for public use appealed to Bowser because the devices could be used to document history by the people living through it.
“This was our pilot project, and because we had our 130th anniversary last year, we thought collecting library histories would go along with that,” Bowser said. “The grant was pretty broad, it was just anything that made the community more empowered to do historical activities. In our mind, helping people do oral histories fit that.”
For the project, Bowser teamed up with a library volunteer, tech-savvy 15-year-old Butler resident Zephan Samuel, to host, record and edit the interviews. Most of the interviews use the same or similar questions to illicit responses from their subjects — “How long have you lived in this community?,” “What are some of your earliest memories of the library?” and “What are some of the most striking changes to the library?,” for example.
Hearing about how the library has changed over time sparked a lot of discussion, especially with the staff members who have worked at the Butler library for decades.
Lori Hinderliter, executive director of the Butler Area Public Library, said in her interview that she has worked there for 23 years, during which she has watched the role of the library shift to provide resources other than books.
“I think the way that we distribute information has changed somewhat,” Hinderliter said. “We have a lot of electronic resources now. Not that we’ve replaced everything as far as print information, but we can provide a lot of relevant, up-to-date information with the electronic platforms that we couldn’t do with print.”
Tiffany Harkleroad, youth services librarian, called the library a “vibrant, living place and that has been exciting to see that change.”
“The library continues to fulfill needs that aren’t really easily addressed anywhere else in the community or society,” Harkleroad said. “Things like being a location where unhoused people can come to have a safe place to stay during the day to keep warm or to have a place where people can go to charge their electronic devices, to have a place where people can just come and stay all day and read a book.”
One of the first interviews Bowser conducted with administrative assistant Sandy Hays, who has worked at Butler Area Public Library for 50 years. Hays commented on the library’s physical changes, brought about by four renovations that took place in her time there. Additionally, the “people person” in her has enjoyed working with and getting to know the five library directors who have been through the library in her time.
“Learning their ways and then learning the staff, which is my family now, and just meeting people when they come in the front doors,” Hays said, “there’s still a lot of nice people out there.”
Bowser said her interview with Hays also was enlightening about Hays’ childhood memories of the library, when she would walk there whenever she wanted to.
“She talked about how she would come in with her girlfriends and they were worried they would get kicked out for giggling,” Bowser said. “I just thought it was funny that Sandy and her friends would worry about getting kicked out.”
Bowser also commented that she enjoyed seeing Zephan learn about the library, and what it was like before he was even born. Zephan said he enjoyed being part of the interview process.
“I learned a lot about how to do an oral history,” Zephan said. “The full process of recording, planning, videoing, interviewing — I got to learn a lot about that. I also got to learn a lot about the history, as well.”
Although cardholders are free to check out one of the two Zoom H1n Handy Recorders from the library to use for their own purposes, Bowser said she hopes to see them used to record oral histories, which the library can host on its website.
For example, Bowser said the library is looking for people who are part of the Greatest Generation — people born from 1901 to 1927 — because she would like to hear about their personal memories from the mid-20th century, before it is too late.
“We really want to invite people to share their memories of the Great Depression and World War II to share their memories with us,” Bowser said. “They can just share their memories in general; it doesn’t have to be about the library.”
Bowser added that she and the library staff may have trainings on how to use not only the new recorder, but how to use sound-editing software on those recordings.
Hinderliter said in her interview with Bowser that providing equipment for community members to use helps fill a need which many public libraries have taken on recently.
“I don’t think they are going to become irrelevant,” Hinderliter said of public libraries. “I think they’re a really important part of helping people, whatever it is that they need, to empower them to find information, entertainment, whatever it is that is their passion or their need.”
Bowser said she also is open to suggestions on what to use the recorders for.
“I’m hoping that we’re going to end up with a very broad number of different types of oral history collections,” Bowser said. “We would really like to invite people to borrow the equipment, to share their ideas on what we could collect and to share their stories. That’s what we really need are the stories.”
To listen to the Butler Area Public Library’s Oral History Collection, visit its website, butlerlibrary.info, and follow the under the “Genealogy” tab.
