The leaps and bounds that technology has made within the past few decades can be a double-edged sword for preservationists. On the one hand, the widespread adoption of computers and the Internet has made it easier to process new items, and certain materials are more accessible to more people than ever before. On the other hand, some materials are becoming increasingly difficult for even those caring for them to access. Audiovisual materials in particular are at risk of becoming inaccessible, as the technology used to play them becomes obsolete. Fortunately, there are sometimes ways to convert these materials into more accessible formats. The audiocassettes in the Bossier Parish History Center’s care are one such case. The History Center is now able to store the audiocassettes’ content - primarily oral history interviews about historical events and figures - as MP3 files, which can then be stored on its computers and online database, a process known as “digitization.” Content that has previously only been accessible at the History Center can now be sent anywhere in the world. Voices that might not have spoken in decades can be heard once again, with just a couple clicks.
The Bossier Parish History Center has nearly 200 oral histories in our care, which were recorded and collected from the 1990s to the 2010s. Most were recorded by History Center staff members, some on site, some at interviewees homes, or at a location of interest. Many of the interviewees were chosen because of their heavy involvement in the Bossier Parish community. For example, there are multiple interviews of George Dement Jr., restauranteur, innkeeper, and mayor of Bossier City from 1989 to 2005, and one of Joe Maggio of Maggio Grocery & Deli, the oldest neighborhood store in Bossier. Other interviewees were chosen because they had witnessed a certain aspect of history, such as Gypsy Damaris Boston, who was interviewed as part of a project to chronicle Bossier residents’ experiences with the Great Depression, or Nell Charney, a former New Orleans resident who was interviewed about her experiences during Hurricane Katrina.
Some interviewees were recorded because they were historians themselves and quite knowledgeable of a certain subject, or because they had just made a significant donation to the History Center’s collection, such as Samuel J. Touchstone, who was interviewed in 2004 about Civil War relics and maps that he had found and donated to the History Center. A handful of audiocassettes in our collection cannot actually be classified as oral histories, but nevertheless hold historical significance, like a copy of “Union of the World,” an album by the Shreveport-born Ever Ready Gospel Singers, which features the group speaking of their history, as well as several of their songs.
Whatever the reason for its existence, each oral history contains a unique perspective on the history of Bossier Parish and beyond. Their loss would mean the loss of dozens of eyewitness accounts, in some cases of events that no one today is alive to speak of. Thanks to the digitization process, they have not only not been lost, but have actually been made much easier to listen to. There is a chance that in just another decade or two, technology will progress to a point where once again, the History Center must convert the oral histories to another format or risk losing access to them. However, for the moment, it is good to know that we have successfully carried these pieces of the past a little further into the future, into 2026 and beyond.
The Bossier Parish Library History Center wishes you a very happy new year! Please come visit us, and note our new hours. We are open Monday through Friday 9-6, and Saturdays by appointment only. We are located at 7204 Hutchison Drive, Bossier City, LA, 71111. Our phone number is (318) 746-7717 and our email is history-center@bossierlibrary.org. We can also be found online at https://www.facebook.com/BPLHistoryCenter/ and http://bpl-hc.blogspot.com/
Image: George Dement pictured with believed to be Holiday Inn staff members holding award for being named one of the World’s Top 10 Inns. C.1968. Photo from the Bossier Parish Libraries History Center
Article by: Jaylie Rester, Curator, Bossier Parish Libraries History Center
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