As the Sept. 30 educational cycle deadline looms, NCRA members are looking for ways to earn last-minute credits.
For these reporters, the National Court Reporters Foundation has the perfect solution: the Oral Histories Program. The OHP offers NCRA members an opportunity to advance the stature of the profession to the general public while giving back to the community. For each oral history transcribed, reporters earn 0.25 Professional Development Credit, up to 1.0 PDC, during a certification cycle. And the only expense is the reporter’s time! To date, NCRA members have transcribed almost 3,800 histories from NCRF’s OHP partners, and NCRF hopes to raise that number to 4,000 by Memorial Day 2016.
The OHP began with the Library of Congress Veterans History Project in 2003. Through the VHP, the LOC has a collection of almost 90,000 histories, including oral histories from veterans. In the interest of preserving written records of these oral histories, the LOC partnered with NCRF to recruit court reporters to transcribe these histories; because who is better suited for this job?
Since then, the OHP has expanded from war veterans’ stories to include oral histories from Holocaust survivors and attorneys who have provided pro bono services to America’s poor. In addition to transcribing prerecorded oral histories, reporters can also record the stories from veterans in their families and communities through personal interviews or by hosting VHP Days.
The OHP isn’t just for reporters looking for PDCs. The benefits extend far beyond education credits, as the program serves the greater purpose of preserving important pieces of American history.
Students should take note of the OHP, too. If students transcribe two oral histories, NCRF will pay for or reimburse a student membership in NCRA.
What are you waiting for? Sign up to transcribe an oral history today!
For details on how to participate, visit NCRA.org/OralHistoriesProgram.
