Everett L. Cooley oral history project

Collection

Identifier: ACCN 0814

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

The Everett L. Cooley oral history project serves as a Who's Who in Utah. It features interviews with many who have played significant roles in Utah's history, as well as others whose viewpoints and memories are important to understanding the history and the people of Utah.

A wide range of topics are discussed in the interviews, including politics, religion, history, education, the University of Utah, medicine, art, theater, midwifery, radio and television broadcasting, sports, entertainment, genealogy, dancing, science, women's issues, polio, skiing, nuclear power, the environment, and athletics. The interviews were mostly conducted in the mid 1980s, but range from 1960 to 2018. Time periods discussed in the interviews begin with the end of the 19th century.

Dates

1983-2018

Creator

University of Utah. American West Center (Organization)

Conditions Governing Access

Twenty-four hour advanced notice encouraged. Materials must be used on-site. Access to parts of this collection may be restricted under provisions of state or federal law.

Conditions Governing Use

The library does not claim to control copyright for all materials in the collection. An individual depicted in a reproduction has privacy rights as outlined in Title 45 CFR, part 46 (Protection of Human Subjects). For further information, please review the J. Willard Marriott Library’s Use Agreement and Reproduction Request forms.

Organizational History

While director of Special Collections at the Marriott Library, Dr. Everett L. Cooley proposed an oral history project to chronicle the development of the University of Utah and provide a more comprehensive view of its history than is found in the written records that have been preserved. A small amount of funding was secured and a limited number of individuals were interviewed.

It became apparent, however, that a much broader program was needed in order to document the activities of local leaders in business, communications, politics, education, and other areas. The funds to launch such an oral history program were generously provided by a prominent businessman who is a scholar in his own right and very much interested in the acquisition and dissemination of historical materials to scholars, researchers, and the public. In 1983, the donor gave the University of Utah a challenge grant to finance the beginning of the oral history program and named it for Everett L. Cooley, who had retired that year from his position as assistant director of the Special Collections department of the Marriott Library and professor of history at the University of Utah.

The program was initiated and an advisory committee was selected. The committee consisted of Everett L. Cooley, Roger K. Hanson (director of the Marriott Library), Gregory C. Thompson (newly-appointed director of Special Collections at the Marriott Library), S. Lyman Tyler (director of the university's American West Center), and Brigham D. Madsen (retired professor of history). In 1985, Dr. Tyler retired but remained on the committee, and Floyd A. O'Neil, the incoming director of the American West Center, was named to the committee. The last committee member, Margery Ward, directed the tapes from the many interviewers through the process of transcription and editing.

The American West Center, which had a previously established oral history program, transcribes the tapes and produces the finished transcripts of the interviews. After completion, the transcripts are permanently housed in the Manuscripts Division of the Special Collections Department of the J. Willard Marriott Library.

The greatest emphasis has been on interviewing individuals connected with the University of Utah. However, there has been expansion in other areas of Utah history. There are now projects underway to interview individuals active in the fields of education, recreation, science and medicine, religion, and other areas, in addition to the previous focus on the University of Utah.

Extent

40 Linear Feet (80 Boxes)

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Abstract

The Everett L. Cooley oral history project is an ongoing oral history program designed to document the history of Utah with an emphasis on the interaction between the University of Utah and the local and regional communities.

Arrangement

Each interview is numbered. This numbering system is purely for identification purposes and does not represent any chronological, alphabetical, or topical order.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Transferred from the American West Center, 1983-2010

Transferred from the American West Center (No.503-No.520), 2010 June

Transferred from the American West Center (No.521-No.533), 2010 August

Transferred from the American West Center (No.534-No.547), 2010 October

Transferred from the American West Center (No.548-No.561), 2011 January

Transferred from the American West Center (No.562-No.576), 2011 March

Transferred from the American West Center (No.577-No.587), 2011 June

Transferred from the American West Center (No.588-No.602), 2011 September

Transferred from the American West Center (No.603-No.612), 2012 January

Transferred from the American West Center (No.613-No.626), 2012 March

Transferred from the American West Center (No.628-No.632), 2012 June

Donated by Scott Marsh (No.633), 2009 December

Transferred from the American West Center (No.634-No. 649), 2012 September

Transferred from the American West Center (No.650-No. 663), 2013 January

Transferred from the American West Center (No.664-No. 673), 2013 March

Transferred from the American West Center (No.674-No. 692), 2013 June

Transferred from the American West Center (No.693-No. 707), 2013 September

Transferred from the American West Center (No.708-No. 723), 2014 January

Transferred from the American West Center (No.724-No. 743), 2014 April

Transferred from the American West Center (No.744-No. 759), 2014 June

Transferred from the American West Center (No.760-No. 773), 2014 September

Transferred from the American West Center (No.774-No. 790), 2015 January

Transferred from the American West Center (No.791-No. 800), 2015 March

Transferred from the American West Center (No.801-No. 814), 2015 June

Transferred from the American West Center (No.814-No. 899), 2015 October - 2018 July

Processing Information

Processed by Margery Ward, the staff of the American West Center, the staff of the J. Willard Marriott Library, Karen Carver in 1983-2012, and Julia Huddleston 2012-2018.