Voices from Vietnam: Building a collection from a controversial war

Abstract

The Voices from Vietnam Project at the State Historical Society of Wisconsin resulted in the creation of a substantial body of Vietnam War-era materials. The society acquired 137 collections from the state's Vietnam veterans as a result of a book publishing project. The article discusses obstacles in acquiring Vietnam War collections and ways of overcoming them. Issues include the relationships between donors and staff, the emotional value of the originals, and the importance of the media in project promotion. By providing potential donors with tangible evidence of how researchers use archival materials, the book project demonstrated to donors that their own writings were a part of history.