This week, residents of West Virginia’s Eastern Panhandle have the opportunity to share an anecdote for long-term preservation in the United States Library of Congress.
StoryCorps is a nonprofit organization that records interviews with people across the country. Beyond being archived, these recordings are also published online in the largest single collection of human voices in history. Plus, some interviews may make their way onto national airwaves with National Public Radio.
StoryCorps travels nationwide each year, with stops in West Virginia. Last month, a vehicle with recording equipment called the StoryCorps Airstream visited Marshall University’s campus in Huntington.
Likewise, Shepherd University’s Center for Appalachian Studies and Communications hosts an annual StoryCorps Project. The program began Monday with a speech from Ray Mabus, former secretary of the United States Navy, at the Robert C. Byrd Center for Congressional History and Education.
For the rest of the week, Shepherd’s program is open to the community, and anyone can stop by to record a story. Recording sessions will be held in mobile recording studios in specially marked cars, and recordings will be posted on the Shepherd and StoryCorps Archive websites.
Community members can record their stories Thursday, Oct. 10 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the Potomac Place residence hall. Alternatively, they can visit the old Shepherdstown Library, located at 100 East German Street, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 11.
For more information on Shepherd University’s StoryCorps Project, visit the Center for Appalachian Studies and Communications website.