Discover oral histories of the Illawarra
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Jenna Bain, from the State Library of NSW, and Hilary Powell, Council’s Local Studies Team Leader, at the launch of Amplify, a new application to listen to and transcribe oral histories from across NSW.
Wollongong City Council is one of the first four public libraries in Australia to use an innovative online tool, Amplify, which allows anyone to search, listen to and transcribe local audio collections.
Powered by the State Library of NSW, Amplify allows library members to listen to audio material from a number of NSW institutions including Wollongong City Libraries. These oral histories, many of which have been preserved digitally from their original format, are delivered online for the first time, paired with machine-generated transcripts.
Wollongong joins Wagga Wagga Libraries, Central West Libraries, and Ryde Library Service as the first public libraries in Australia to use Amplify.
Jenny Thompson, Manager Library and Community Services, said: “Amplify is a great enhancement to Wollongong City Libraries online oral history collection, Illawarra Stories. The creation of computer-generated transcripts through Amplify will enable library members to search our audio content, plus provide the opportunity for volunteers to enrich our recordings by editing transcripts as they listen.
“Locals can get involved by joining digital volunteers from around the world in the important task of transcribing these histories so that more people can discover the amazing stories our communities hold.”
According to State Librarian Dr John Vallance: “Amplify will give communities unparalleled access to their local histories. More than 400 hours of oral histories that document the lives and experiences of local people and events across history, including our recent history, are just waiting to be explored and transcribed.
“Many of the oral histories held in these public library collections have never been made available online before,” said Dr Vallance.
The State Library plans to extend the program across all NSW public libraries in the future, which will see the release of thousands of little-known and important stories from communities across the state.
For more information start exploring Amplify, or you can call our Customer Service Team on (02) 4227 7111.
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