Listening field note
How can an oral-history team index interviews responsibly?
Define the project's indexing depth and access policy, preserve the original recording and transcript, create time-linked segment descriptions or exact passages, document human choices, involve narrators according to project practice, and avoid treating indexing software as consent or rights management.
Indexing is interpretive
Titles, synopses, keywords, and selected passages reflect choices about significance and language. Record the method and invite appropriate review. Write the decision in plain language and retain the original source separately so the index can be audited against something outside the browser project.
Narrator review may matter
Oral History Association guidance emphasizes informed consent and, when possible, an opportunity for narrator approval before public release. Review the result as a retrieval aid rather than a conclusion. Human-authored fields must remain visibly distinct from exact source-derived text.
Preservation is a separate system
A browser workroom can support access preparation but does not replace archival storage, file-format policy, metadata governance, or repository infrastructure. Carry the limitation into the frozen edition and passive handoff so a recipient can understand what was checked, what was not checked, and what remains their responsibility.