Welcome to the Lowcountry Oral History Initiative
Using the search box above, you can discovery sound and audiovisual recordings from Lowcountry Oral History Initiative and Lowcountry Digital Library partner institutions across the region. Highlights of this platform include advanced search and discovery tools including full text searchable transcripts, subject indexing, time stamping, and annotations (when available).
About the Project
The Lowcountry Oral History Initiative (LOHI) cultivates relationships between the Lowcountry Digital Library and various archival and community organizations to record, preserve, and make available audio and video recordings that document the memories of historically marginalized communities. These oral histories will enrich the historical record and enrich our understanding of regional history and culture.
The first phase of this project was the creation of a comprehensive, how-to website on planning, and implementing oral history projects. This website, the LOHI Oral History Toolkit, is now available and open for use to anyone who is interested in learning more about how oral history projects work. The second phase of this project will include a training program to support community partners in developing and implementing their own oral history projects. This program will begin in Fall 2024 and the first cohort is anticipated to complete the program in Spring/Summer 2025.
The Lowcountry Oral History Initiative project was started with the generous support of the Gaylord and Dorothy Donnelley Foundation. Read more about the project here.
The Lowcountry Digital Library (LCDL) produces digital collections and projects that support research about the Lowcountry region of South Carolina and historically interconnected sites in the Atlantic World. LCDL is committed to a multifaceted approach that incorporates historical and anthropological scholarship, oral history, integrative archival practices, digital librarianship, and spatial, temporal, and environmental information. Together with its institutional partners, LCDL helps students, scholars, and a wide range of public audiences develop a better understanding of the history and culture of the region relative to the nation and the world.
