Assessment Before and After Interview

Metadata

• Project Name: Oral History of a Librarian
• Interviewee Name: Cody Daniels
• Interviewer Name: Tashara L Beavers
• Month, Day, Year of Recording: April 22, 2026
• Location of Recording : Corinth Public Library
• Length of Recording: 9:22
• File Type: MP4
• Description of Corresponding Documents [Include descriptive information about the recording, transcript, and pre- and post-assessments.] Recorded with cellphone. Human-created transcript.

Pre-Interview Questions

Perform an informal pre-interview conversation that explains the scope of the project and how/where the interview will be conducted. Make sure to express that the interview will be used for educational purposes in the context of a college course. Once this is complete, respond to the following prompts/questions:

1. Describe the details of your pre-interview conversation. How did the interviewee respond to your request for an interview?

The interviewee was enthusiastic about the interview and requested the interview questions so that he may review them.

2. How do you plan to record the interview (e.g. digital voice recorder or camera, smartphone, etc.)? How will you ensure that your technology will work effectively at the scheduled interview time?

I intend to record the interview with my phone. I considered using a camera; however, it would be more comfortable for me to record our voices. The interviewee was also nervous about the interview and was made more comfortable knowing we would only record voices.

3. Where will the interview take place? How will you set up the interview environment to avoid interruptions or distractions?

The interview will take place in Corinth Public Library. I will give the interviewee the choice of taking place either in his office or in Headquarters' Technical Services, where I work. There's lots of room in Technical Services; therefore, having a place to record will be relatively simple.

4. What steps will you take to make sure the interviewee feels comfortable?

I will give the interviewee the questions before the interview so that he may practice. I also chose to record voices rather than a video.

5. Write and list at least 5 interview questions that will help guide the interview.
   1. What is your first memory of books?
   2. Were books accessible to you when you were a child?
   3. Did you read books outside of homework when you were in school?
   4. What were your favorite picture books?
   5. When was the first time you ever encountered a library?
   6. What does the library mean to you now?
   7. What do books mean to you now? Did they impact your life?

Post interview Questions

After conducting the oral history interview, answer the following questions:

1. How did I choose the person to be interviewed? What biographical information is relevant to present in this interview?

   I felt most comfortable interviewing a coworker about books. Initially, I wished to interview a family member, but decided that, because my coworkers are more accessible since I see them every day, that would be the best route to take. I chose the librarian at Corinth Public Library, as I thought that his unique view of books and his history with them would be very interesting for this assignment.

2. How did I prepare for the interview? Did I prepare enough?

The only preparation that I did for this assignment was creating the interview questions and making sure that my phone had a recording app (recorder). I believe that was adequate for preparing, as the only issue that I had when conducting the interview was that we ran a little short (30 seconds).

3. What did I use for equipment? Did it work satisfactorily? What changes should I make?

   I used my phone for the equipment. It did what it needed to do, and actually provided a transcript, which would have been useful should I not have been required to write the transcription myself. I do need to edit the video, as the end has me noticing that I did not make the full ten minutes at the end of it.

4. What kinds of questions did I ask? What kinds of questions worked well? Not so well?

I feel that my questions were very simple but were also enough to tell a story. I included a question [When was the first time you ever encountered a library?] that was answered in the previous question naturally. I think that the next time I conduct an oral interview, I will be less afraid to include more complex questions for the interviewees to answer.

5. Where did I conduct the interview? What in the environment affected my interview? How?

I gave the interviewee the choice of his office or the worktable, a long table where processing normally takes place. He chose the worktable, noting that there isn't much room in his office. I don't think that the environment affected the interview, as it is a quiet room with one or two employees who work back there at a time.

6. Did my subject want to talk? How did I encourage my subject to talk? What "masks" did my subject wear? Did my subject drop the masks?

My interviewee was more than willing to conduct the interview, and there were no issues with talking. We simply spoke as normal, with there being a recorder in the background.

7. When did I tell my subject the purpose of the interview and how it would be used? Did my plans to use the interview seem to matter the subject?

I explained that the interview was for a class in University when I asked if I could interview him. I was very frank with the assignment's instructions and let him know that it may be used in a personal assignment.

8. How accurate were my subject's memories?

I do not have a way to measure how accurate my subject's memories are and must go by his word.

9. Who controlled the interview? How?

While I led the interview with questions, we simply spoke as we normally would.

10. How did I feel while interviewing?

I felt comfortable while interviewing my coworker.

11. How did my subject feel while being interviewed?

I believe my subject also felt comfortable while being interviewed; however, he may have been nervous due to the interview being recorded.

12. Would it be useful and possible to return for another interview?

No other interview is necessary.

13. How can I ensure that the transcription is accurate? How can I ensure that the transcription reports what the subject wanted to say?

I will ensure I check the Kenyon College transcript guide for formatting and then listen or re-listen to the interview. If I feel that the transcription does not accurately represent the intentions of what the interviewee wanted to say, then I will simply ask him.

14. Next time, what would I do the same? What would I do differently?

I don't believe I would do much differently, sans starting on the transcription sooner.