The staff and collections of Oral History of American Music (OHAM) have moved from their previous location on Prospect Street to Sterling Memorial Library (SML). OHAM’s director, Libby Van Cleve, is now located in a reconstructed office in room 332 on the third floor of SML. Adjacent to her office is the work area for OHAM Assistant Maura Valenti and student workers, as well as the audio workstation and the OHAM collection. OHAM’s Research Archivist, Anne Rhodes, and Founder, Vivian Perlis, have moved to a new office located in the Irving S. Gilmore Music Library. This affords easy public access that will facilitate the work of OHAM’s many users.
OHAM was founded in 1969 with a pioneering study of Charles Ives conducted by Vivian Perlis. During its first decades of existence, it was affiliated with the Yale School of Music, and offices were located in Stoeckel Hall. In 2006, it moved to a location on Prospect Street, the first floor of a former stately home. The offices were gracious and elegant, but far from central campus. In 2010, OHAM became an official component of the Gilmore Music Library, part of the Yale University Library. The move to SML situates OHAM just down the hall from the Benjamin Franklin collection, the Boswell Papers, and the Fortunoff Video Archive for Holocaust Testimonies. The collection will be more easily accessed, and the OHAM staff will be better able to use library services and to take part in the larger central campus community.
OHAM’s phone and fax numbers, PO Box, and website remain the same:
Libby Van Cleve, Director: 203-432-8586
Anne Rhodes, Research Archivist: 203-432-1988
Vivian Perlis, Founder: 203-432-1988
Fax: 203-432-1989
PO Box 208307, New Haven, CT 06520-8307
OHAM Website
Oral History of American Music is the preeminent project in the field of music dedicated to the collection and preservation of oral and video memoirs in the voices of the creative musicians of our time. It is a special kind of history, one that captures sights and sounds and recreates the spontaneity of a moment in time. Over 2,500 audio and video recordings make up this unique and valuable collection.