Lafayette Public Library
The Lafayette Public Library Oral History project began in spring 2024 to coincide with the Lafayette Public Library’s 100th Anniversary gathering memories from the rich palette of diverse voices composing our town to tell its story – History from the Bottom Up. The mission of the Lafayette Library’s Oral History Project is threefold: 1. To rescue files from approximately eighty oral history interviews hidden for decades in the library’s archives, cataloging previous oral histories gathered in the 70s, 80s, and 90s and bring them to the public on a new platform, Islandora. 2. Continue gathering oral histories from people today. 3. Creating a circulating resource and program for Lafayette residents to record their own histories The goal of the Lafayette Public Library’s Oral History Project is to preserve the diverse voices of Lafayette for posterity. Oral storytelling allows for a deeper and more textured look into both the lives that shaped our community and how the community has shaped our lives. We hope to look back at our community’s history to gain understanding of where we have been to better imagine a more inclusive and equitable future.
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- Lafayette Archival Oral History Collection 1968-2001
- In the mid-1970s, Effie Amicarella and Carolyn Connaroe obtained a grant from the Colorado State Library to begin a series of taped oral history interviews to record and preserve early resident's recollections of the history of Lafayette. This collection features these oral histories and many more, altogether spanning from 1968-2001. These interviews highlight Lafayette’s mining history, agrarian history, history of commerce and more. Included here are digital copies of cassette recordings and transcripts that are physically located in Lafayette Public Library's archives.
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- Lafayette Oral History Collection
- In spring 2024, the Lafayette Oral History Project began new oral history interviews within five focus areas: Female Leaders of Lafayette, History of Open Space in Lafayette, History of the Arts in Lafayette, Latino Histories of Lafayette, and Living in Lafayette.