The Tampa-Hillsborough County Public Libraries was selected by the American Library Association Public Programs Office, in partnership with StoryCorps, as one of the 10 public libraries to participate in the StoryCorps @ your library® pilot program. Funded by a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services, this program will bring StoryCorps popular interview methods to libraries while developing a replicable model of oral history programming. The pilot program is expected to begin by the end of the year.

As a pilot site, the County libraries will receive:

• A $2,500 stipend for project-related expenses.
• A toolkit of written and Web-based customizable program and promotional support materials.
• A StoryKit (a customized set of professional recording equipment) to record on-site interviews during the grant period and retain for future use after the close of the pilot project.
• A two-day in-person training by StoryCorps staff at the library site to orient volunteers and library staff on interview collection, digital recording techniques, and archiving interviews in StoryCorps’ proprietary database.

StoryCorps is an independent nonprofit whose mission is to provide people of all backgrounds and beliefs with the opportunity to record, share and preserve the stories of their lives. Since 2003, StoryCorps has collected and archived more than 45,000 interviews with nearly 90,000 participants.

The libraries will retain copies of all interviews and preservation copies will also be archived at the Library of Congress. For questions or more information, call 813-273-3652 or visit hcplc.org.