NOTICE: THE ARCHIVES' ABILITY TO FURNISH REPRODUCTIONS AS DIGITAL COPIES OF ORAL HISTORY INTERVIEWS IS DEPENDENT ON THE ARCHIVES' SPECIFIC AGREEMENTS WITH NARRATORS.
As responsible stewards of decades of oral histories and narrators’ life stories, we are bound by legal, contractual and ethical obligations spanning the seventy-year history of the oral history archive. Many, but not all, materials are published online in
OHAC's Digital Library Collection or are available for reproduction.
To begin a reproduction request, please fill out this form. We will be notified that your order is waiting; there is no need to confirm form completion. An OHAC staff member will confirm receipt, availability, and transcript delivery.
Requests are limited to:
- up to three interviews for transcripts per patron per month
- transcripts under 650 pages.
The archive will only provide a digital reproduction if the interview the interview has no access restrictions ("Access: Open" in catalog) and meets one of four criteria:
- Columbia holds copyright,
- Columbia holds a license to reproduce the interview,
- the interview is in public domain,
- or the interview pre-dates 1978.
Accepted requests which meet our terms of service will be added to a queue to be processed in the order they are received with
no guaranteed delivery timeframe, although most orders are delivered within 6-8 weeks once added to our processing queue. We provide neither "rush" nor "expedited" services.
We are unable to reproduce entire collections for off-site or remote access.
Using transcripts in the RBML reading rooms
Transcripts over 650 pages are unavailable for reproduction at this time. Researchers can consult the archives reading room appointment page for transcripts over 650 pages in length.
If visiting the RBML reading rooms, researchers can order up to five items per visit. Each interview must be added to your Special Researcher Account. Please see the RBML's appointment FAQ, as well as the OHAC guide to adding materials to your account for assistance.
