Noted oral historian Donald Ritchie will speak on Friday, February 15th, at noon in Hill Memorial Library's lecture hall, in conjuntion with the LSU Libraries' exhibition, "Have You Heard? The Past in First Person from the T. Harry Williams Center for Oral History." Those attending are invited to bring a brown bag lunch. Beverages will be provided. The exhibition and talk are free and the public is invited.

Ritchie is Associate Historian in the United States Senate Historical Office, where he conducts an oral history program. A former president of the Oral History Association, he has served on the council of the American Historical Association, and chaired the Organizaon of American Historians' committee on research and access to historical documention. Ritchie is a frequent commentator on C-SPAN and NPR. He has authored seven books, including Press Gallery: Congress and the Washington Correspondents (1991), winner of the Richard W. Leopold Prize, Reporting from Washington: The History of the Washington Press Corps (2005), and Electing FDR: The New Deal Campaign of 1932 (2007). Ritchie's Doing Oral History, first published in 1995, is a leading source book on the theory, methods, and practice of oral history. A second, expanded edition was issued in 2003.

Ritchie's talk is sponsored by the LSU Libraries in conjunction with "Have You Heard," an exhibition featuring oral history interviews collected by the T. Harry Williams Center for Oral History. Topics include LSU history, World War II, the Houma Indians, Hurricanes Betsy and Katrina, the Flood of 1927, folklife in the Atchafalaya and Louisiana politics.

Hill Memorial Library Lecture Hall

At 12 Noon, Friday, February 15, 2008