During the last decade, federal law and institutional policies have increasingly been applied to oral history methodology and collections. From institutional review boards (IRBs) to federal subpoenas, oral historians and collecting repositories face a number of challenges in their efforts to gain the trust and maintain the privacy of their subjects. Although collection restrictions may be granted, when facing a subpoena, how much power do these agreements truly hold? Learn more about the rights and responsibilities of archivists working with contentious oral history collections and the legal power of repository-imposed restrictions.
