Association of Personal Historians

The Association of Personal Historians (APH) is an international non-profit trade association dedicated to developing, supporting and marketing the work of self-employed writers and small businesses who are engaged in preparing memoirs and recording the lives of individuals, families and communities. Formed in the United States in 1995, it claims a global membership of over 650.[1][2]

The APH's mission statement is to "support... its members in recording, preserving and sharing life stories of people, families, communities and organizations around the world."[3] According to the organization, its members "help other people create personal histories, including memoirs, video tributes, autobiographies, biographies, family histories, heritage cookbooks, community histories, corporate and organizational histories, legacy letters and ethical wills."[2]

Membership and remit

Kitty Axelson-Berry founded the organization in 1995.[4] According to her, "personal historians will not only write, edit, and design your book to your specifications, they'll make it clear from the get-go that the books they produce are meant to be heirlooms rather than potential bestsellers."[4] Increasingly, many personal historians now make use of video and digital formats.[5] Journalist Chris Wright stated: "The majority of... clients are unabashedly ordinary, and they tell unabashedly mundane tales."[4]

Personal historians record and present clients' memories and biographies as books, in audio or video formats, and/or as personal websites.[1][6] Prices are reported to vary widely, depending on the services offered in each case.[7] The services of personal historians are also used in preparing histories of businesses and other organizations,[8] and by wealth management companies to help improve bonds with their potential clients.[9] Personal historians also provide input to publicly funded oral history projects.[10]

Personal historians have been described as comprising "journalists, psychotherapists, social workers, nurses, videographers, gerontologists, and people from other helping or writing professions",[11] as "retired teachers, journalists, genealogists, and therapists..."[4] and as "social workers, journalists and others involved in communications... retirees who want to embark on a second career."[12] In each case they form " [g]enerally a one-person conglomerate of ghostwriter, editor, and publishing house...".[4]

Personal history work has been reported to be booming in the US,[1] as "a growing cottage industry of amateurs and professionals eager to preserve the experiences of older generations."[7] Paula Stahel, APH President at the time, said in 2008: "We're seeing an increase both in the number of people who want to do personal historian work and an increase in the number of elders who want to be sure their stories are handed down."[7]

All APH members are expected to abide by the organization's code of ethics.[13] Practitioners often have training in interviewing techniques and desktop publishing, as well as some knowledge of geriatrics or other disciplines.[12]

Governance

The APH is governed by a board of 15 members: Sarah White, Susan Terrill-Flint, Solomon Khan, Deborah Perham, Mary Beth Lagerborg, Carol Kern, Stephanie Nichols, Annie Payne, Jane Shafron, Michelle Sullivan, Judith McDowell, Bruce Summers, Jessie Campbell and Steve Pender.[14] Its Executive Director is Linda Coffin.[15] The organization holds an annual conference for its members: the 2013 conference was held in Washington, D.C.[16] The 2014 conference was held October 22–26 in Saint Louis, Missouri.[17]


Further reading

References

  1. 1 2 3 Trachten, Rachel (November 2007). "Making History: Personal historians document family stories so that future generations can remember them". The Monthly (East Bay). Retrieved April 23, 2013.
  2. 1 2 "About APH — The Life Story People'". Association of Personal Historians. Retrieved April 23, 2013.
  3. ↑ "Vision, Mission & Goals". APH. Retrieved April 23, 2013.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 Wright, Chris (January 17–24, 2002). "Ordinary people". The Phoenix (Boston). Retrieved April 23, 2013.
  5. ↑ Semmes, Anne W. (April 10, 2013). "Video Memories". Greenwich Citizen. Retrieved April 23, 2013.
  6. ↑ Powell, Kimberly (October 19, 2008). "Making a Living as a Personal Historian". About.com. Retrieved 23 April 2013.
  7. 1 2 3 Gardner, Marilyn (May 27, 2008). "Seniors record stories to preserve personal history". Christian Science Monitor. Retrieved April 23, 2013.
  8. ↑ Henderson, John (February 7, 2013). "PNC opens banking history exhibit". Rocky Mount Telegram. Retrieved April 23, 2013.
  9. ↑ Cummings, Jennifer Hoyt (August 10, 2012). "Bonding with clients through their ancestors". Reuters.com. Retrieved April 23, 2013.
  10. ↑ Ryan, Steven (May 28, 2009). "Local veteran recalls service in mountain division". Wellesley Townsman. Retrieved April 23, 2013.
  11. ↑ Kunz, John A.; Soltys, Florence Gray (2007). Transformational Reminiscence: Life Story Work. Springer Publishing Company.
  12. 1 2 Olsen, Patricia R. (October 11, 2008). "Tales From the Past, Preserved for Families". New York Times. Retrieved April 23, 2013.
  13. ↑ "Code of ethics". APH. Retrieved April 23, 2013.
  14. ↑ "Board members". APH. Retrieved April 23, 2013.
  15. ↑ "Message From the Executive Director". APH. Retrieved April 23, 2013.
  16. ↑ "19th Annual Conference". APH. 2013. Retrieved April 23, 2013.
  17. ↑ "2014 Annual conference". APH. Retrieved April 23, 2013.


External links

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