Participation Guidelines

These are general guidelines for participating in the Veterans History Project. Please see our Frequently Asked Questions for additional information or contact us at vohp@loc.gov. For guidelines on interviewing and making recordings, please see our Interviewing and Recording Guidelines.

1. Complete the forms included in the Project Kit. The Biographical Data Form, Veteran's Release, and Interviewer's Release (if applicable) are required and the Library of Congress cannot accept your submission without them. Please note that the Veteran's Release Form is required for documentary materials and photographs, even if not accompanied by a recorded interview. Complete the Audio/Video, Manuscript, and Photograph Log forms as the apply to your materials. Please be as detailed and specific as you can. Project forms are available for download online.
2. Only one interview, 25 minutes minimum length (or longer), can be accepted for each veteran or civilian interviewee. More information about interviewing and recording is avaialble in our Interviewing and Recording Guidelines. Sample interview questions for veterans and civilians and war background information are available on this website. Documentary materials are also welcome, as outlined in these guidelines.
3. For preservation purposes, please send the entire original recording to the Veterans History Project. Please make any copies you wish to retain for yourself before submitting your recording to the Veterans History Project.
4. Fill out the Audio/Video Log Form, including the topic index portion, for the interview. This saves wear-and-tear on the original recording and assists researchers and staff in quickly discerning the content of the interview. Information on transcribing and indexing recordings is available on this website.
5. Photographs (or high quality reproductions) of the veteran or civilian may be submitted. For example, these may include images of the veteran or civilian during wartime and/or at the time of the interview. Please complete the Photograph Log if submitting photos.
6. Memoirs, wartime letters, diaries, and other original documentary sources may be submitted. Be sure to complete the Manuscript Data Log form if submitting these materials.
   In addition, the Geography and Map Division of the Library of Congress would like to know about maps and charts, especially wartime field maps, held in private hands. Similarly, the Library's Motion Picture, Broadcasting and Recorded Sound Division is interested in preserving wartime "home" movies. Staff from both of these divisions welcome the opportunity to discuss the appropriateness of such materials for addition to the national library. For maps, please contact James Flatness, Geography and Map Division, Library of Congress, Washington, DC 20540-4650 (telephone 202-707-8533), and for home movies, please contact Patrick Loughney, Motion Picture, Broadcasting and Recorded Sound Division, Washington, DC 20540-4691(telephone 202-707-5840).
7. Please use a commercial courier service such as Federal Express or UPS to send in your materials, or deliver them in person if you live nearby. As part of new security procedures, our U.S. Postal Service mail is subject to screening procedures which may damage your submissions. Deliveries from commercial services will be screened before they are accepted by the Library, but those screening procedures have not resulted in any damage to the contents of the packages.