The Association of Personal Historians (APH) was an international

non-profit A nonprofit organization (NPO), also known as a nonbusiness entity, nonprofit institution, not-for-profit organization, or simply a nonprofit, is a non-governmental (private) legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public, or so ...

trade association A trade association, also known as an industry trade group, business association, sector association or industry body, is an organization founded and funded by businesses that operate in a specific Industry (economics), industry. Through collabor ...

dedicated to developing, supporting and marketing the work of self-employed writers and small businesses who are engaged in preparing print, video, and audio memoirs recording the lives of individuals, families, and communities. Formed in the United States in 1995, it had a global membership of over 650 at its peak, before dissolving in May 2017, due to "financial constraints and membership trends".

Background

Kitty Axelson-Berry founded the organization in 1995. Personal historians record and present clients'

memories Memory is the faculty of the mind by which data or information is Encoding (memory), encoded, stored, and retrieved when needed. It is the retention of information over time for the purpose of influencing future Action (philosophy), action. I ...

and

biographies A biography, or simply bio, is a detailed description of a person's life. It involves more than just basic facts like education, work, relationships, and death; it portrays a person's experience of these life events. Unlike a profile or curri ...

in various formats, including

books A book is a structured presentation of recorded information, primarily verbal and graphical, through a medium. Originally physical, electronic books and audiobooks are now existent. Physical books are objects that contain printed material, mo ...

, audio,

video Video is an Electronics, electronic medium for the recording, copying, playback, broadcasting, and display of moving picture, moving image, visual Media (communication), media. Video was first developed for mechanical television systems, whi ...

, and personal websites. Prices are reported to vary widely, depending on the services offered in each case. The services of personal historians are also used in preparing histories of businesses and other organizations, and by wealth management companies to help improve bonds with their potential clients. Personal historians also provide input to publicly funded

oral history Oral history is the collection and study of historical information from people, families, important events, or everyday life using audiotapes, videotapes, or transcriptions of planned interviews. These interviews are conducted with people who pa ...

projects. Personal historians have been described as comprising "journalists, psychotherapists, social workers, nurses, videographers, gerontologists, and people from other helping or writing professions", as "retired teachers, journalists, genealogists, and therapists..." and as "social workers, journalists and others involved in communications... retirees who want to embark on a second career." In each case they form " nerally a one-person conglomerate of ghostwriter, editor, and publishing house...". Personal history work has been reported to be booming in the US, as "a growing cottage industry of amateurs and professionals eager to preserve the experiences of older generations." 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." All APH members are expected to abide by the organization's

code of ethics Ethical codes are adopted by organizations to assist members in understanding the difference between right and wrong and in applying that understanding to their decisions. An ethical code generally implies documents at three levels: codes of b ...

. Practitioners often have training in skills such as interviewing techniques,

desktop publishing Desktop publishing (DTP) is the creation of documents using dedicated software on a personal ("desktop") computer. It was first used almost exclusively for print publications, but now it also assists in the creation of various forms of online co ...

, video and/or audio production, as well as some knowledge of geriatrics or other disciplines.

Governance and dissolution

The APH was governed by an elected, all-volunteer board of directors with overlapping two-year terms. The organization held an annual conference for its members. The 2017 Board of Directors cited decreasing membership and a growing trend towards online networking and collaboration as reasons for dissolution.

Resources

Former members of APH and current personal historians are encouraged to use the phrase "personal history" and "personal historian" in search engines in order to find relevant social media groups. Trade associations exist for genealogists, photo archivists, ghostwriters, editors, and biographers, among others.

References

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External links

PersonalHistorians.org
the Association of Personal Historians official website Oral history Family history Writers' organizations International trade associations Arts and media trade groups 1995 establishments in the United States 2017 disestablishments in the United States

Background

Governance and dissolution

Resources

Further reading

See also

References

External links