How Public is Public? Issues and Solutions for Oral History on the Internet

University Of Alaska Fairbanks Campus, Fairbanks AK

Investigators

Abstract

The University of Alaska has a collection of oral history recordings, made over several decades, of Native American (Inuit and Athabaskan) individuals. Although prototypes of Web access to such collections exist, research is needed to explore the opinions and preferences of the native communities to the wider distribution of these materials. This project will explore how they would like to see the Web used to benefit them, what use they can make of online access to the materials, and what kinds of improvements in interfaces and in policy would best suit the communities. The project involves both design of computer systems and travel and interviewing the communities. It will result in knowledge that may help ameliorate the "digital divide" between the majority US society and the generally poorer Native American communities, as well as presenting challenges to computer science research to learn how to build systems that support the policies needed by these communities.