By Wendy Greenberg
A grant awarded to Princeton Public Library will bring more voices to an oral history initiative, enhancing it with remote capabilities, equipment, classes, and a podcast. The grant will also help Voices of Princeton to explore the relationship between the upcoming 2026 Semiquincentennial and the 1976 Bicentennial.
Voices of Princeton is a collaborative oral history program created by Princeton Public Library, the Historical Society of Princeton, the Arts Council of Princeton, and the Witherspoon-Jackson Historical and Cultural Society with the goal of collecting, sharing, and archiving the stories and recollections of those who have lived and worked in Princeton.
Princeton Public Library is among only 21 libraries in the state to have received such a grant, $19,500 from the New Jersey State Library.
Not only will more people be able to record their stories and recollections, but more can listen. In addition to a listening station at the library where visitors can hear recorded stories, Voices of Princeton listening stations will be installed for the Historical Society of Princeton, the Arts Council of Princeton and Morven Museum & Garden.
The Voices of Princeton archive has commentaries from residents recalling growing up in Princeton, trolley lines and riding a bike around town, a few on meeting Albert Einstein, the COVID-19 pandemic, gender discrimination, the history of the Witherspoon-Jackson neighborhood, Princeton’s Jewish community, and much more. The archive contains about 60 available recorded stories, and some 18 in progress, the oldest recorded in 2018.
“They are all interesting in their own way,” said Cliff Robinson, the library’s public humanities specialist who administers the Voices of Princeton project at the library. “We are trying to make them more accessible and find ways to highlight them.”
To help residents tell their stories, the library plans to offer a series of classes on designing an oral history project, and on using recording equipment and processing digital content, as a result of the grant. The grant will also fund professional equipment for the creation of a Voices of Princeton podcast to be released in June, 2026.
“These enhancements will increase engagement with and support the curation of oral histories which community members have entrusted to the library and its partners,” said Robinson.
Robinson believes that oral history is a valuable method for preserving historical information. The spoken word, he said, “can register perspectives that may not come through in print. But oral history doesn›t just offer a breadth of perspectives,” he noted. “Oral history is distinctive for its attention to the individual voice and its expressive qualities. Hearing someone’s voice, perhaps especially without the distractions of video, adds texture and personality to historical narration.”
The grant also will allow the purchase of improved recording equipment to ensure high quality recordings of stories. Storytelling kits will also be made available through the library’s Library of Things for patrons to use to record and save their stories outside the library.
The grant is part of the New Jersey State Library’s Rev25O (Revolution 250): Examining the Semiquincentennial through a Jersey Lens, and as such is “an opportunity for public libraries to celebrate New Jersey’s contribution and place in history,” according to the library announcement.
The connection between the U.S. Semiquincentennial and the Bicentennial will invite community members to share memories of the Bicentennial celebration in Princeton, and to comment on what has since changed, and to share visions for the country’s future. Robinson said that this project would compare the two moments in time, “revealing what reflection on two landmark dates can teach us.” Younger persons are also invited to participate by reflecting on “unfinished revolutions, and how the promises of the American Revolution have not been universally applied,” said Robinson. “That struck us as particularly timely.”
Those who want to learn more about Voices of Princeton, share their stories, and listen to the archived stories, can go to voicesofprinceton.org.