Oral History Society

What Oral History Society does

The Oral History Society (OHS) is a UK-registered charitable organization (registered charity number 0288805) founded in 1973 and headquartered in Montgomery, Wales. It functions as the primary professional body supporting oral historians across the UK and internationally, operating as a volunteer-run membership society with 1-10 stated headcount. The society's core offerings include an annual membership subscription providing access to the peer-reviewed Oral History journal (published twice yearly, with full back-issue access via JSTOR), a portfolio of training courses delivered in partnership with National Life Stories at the British Library, an annual conference rotating across UK universities, seven Special Interest Groups (LGBTQ, Archives, Creative, Environment & Climate, Higher Education, Migration, Press & Journalism), a UK regional adviser network, and online discussion groups hosted on Groups.io. The society also publishes an interactive Environment and Climate Crisis World Map and maintains the International Oral History of the Transition Movement project spanning the UK, France, Norway, and the USA.

The OHS generates revenue through four primary streams: recurring annual membership subscriptions, training course fees (Introduction to Oral History, Advanced Workshop, Designing & Planning Projects, Archival Management, Audio Editing, Transcript to Script, Life Story Interviewing near End of Life, and Data Protection/GDPR), annual conference fees, and donations (accepted via PayPal). Its go-to-market is community-led, with members acquired through the website, training courses, conferences, special interest groups, and organic community engagement. The society's customer base spans professional oral historians, community groups, heritage enthusiasts, educators, students, and healthcare/care professionals, with primary segments being professional practitioners and community/heritage users. Major partners include the British Library (training and archival storage), JSTOR (journal distribution), Mailchimp (newsletters), Stripe (payments), and the National Lottery Heritage Fund (project funding). The technology stack is standard web infrastructure with no disclosed AI/ML capabilities, and operations are governed by a board of trustees with Rob Perks serving as Secretary and Data Controller.

Name

Oral History Society

Legal name

Oral History Society

Website

https://ohs.org.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

1973

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The Oral History Society is a UK-registered charity founded in 1973 that serves as the primary professional body for oral historians, providing membership, the peer-reviewed Oral History journal, training courses, annual conferences, and Special Interest Groups across the UK and internationally.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Heritage Education Services

NAICS

Research and Development in the Social Sciences and Humanities (541720)

SIC

Periodicals: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2721)

akta.pro primary industry

Scholarly Society & Association Publishing (EDAGAFAK)

akta.pro secondary industry

Humanities & Arts Scholarly Publishing (EDAGAFAE)

Keywords

• Oral history training
• Heritage education
• Archival management
• Journal publication
• Community history

Headquarters

HQ city

Montgomery

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Membership Subscriptions: The primary revenue stream is annual membership subscriptions. Members pay to join the society and receive benefits including the journal twice yearly, online access to back issues, access to discussion groups and Special Interest Groups, and discounts on training courses and conferences.
2. Training Course Fees: The OHS runs training courses in partnership with National Life Stories at the British Library. Fees are charged for courses such as Introduction to Oral History, Advanced Oral History Workshop, Designing & Planning Projects, Archival Management, and specialized courses like Life Story Interviewing near End of Life.
3. Conference Fees: The OHS holds an annual conference (e.g., OHS conference 2027 at University of Essex). Conference attendance fees provide revenue and member discounts apply.
4. Donations: The society accepts donations via PayPal and relies on membership subscriptions and volunteer efforts as a charitable organization.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

The Oral History Society is a volunteer-run UK charitable society that supports oral historians through annual membership subscriptions. It delivers paid training courses in partnership with National Life Stories at the British Library, publishes a peer-reviewed journal twice yearly, hosts an annual conference rotating across UK universities, and maintains Special Interest Groups, regional adviser networks, and online discussion forums.

Product overview

The Oral History Society is a charitable membership organization providing a comprehensive suite of resources and services for oral historians. The core offerings include membership with journal access, training courses, Special Interest Groups, an annual conference, regional networks, and online discussion forums. The society publishes the Oral History Journal twice yearly and maintains the Oral History Online platform. Major collaborative initiatives include the International Oral History of the Transition Movement and an environmental oral history projects map. Additional services encompass advice/guidance on ethical practices, archiving, funding, and methodologies ranging from beginner resources to advanced workshops. The society is volunteer-run and supports oral historians across the UK and internationally.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Oral History Society Membership Annual membership subscription for individuals supporting oral history practice. Members receive the peer-reviewed Oral History journal twice yearly, online access to back issues via JSTOR, participation in online discussion groups, Special Interest Groups, training discounts, and conference discounts.
• Training Courses Fee-based training courses covering Introduction to Oral History, Advanced Oral History Workshop, Designing & Planning Projects, Archival Management of Oral History, Life Story Interviewing near End of Life, Data Protection/GDPR Training, Audio Editing, and Transcript to Script. Delivered in person at the British Library and online.
• Oral History Journal Peer-reviewed academic journal published twice a year, available in print and online via JSTOR access for members.
• OHS Annual Conference Annual paid conference rotating across UK universities, providing presentations, networking, and professional development for oral historians. Member discounts apply.

Quantifiable outcome

• The society operates multiple Special Interest Groups covering diverse oral history topics, providing ongoing community engagement.
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration9 records

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• National Life Stories at the British LibrarycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe OHS runs training courses in partnership with National Life Stories at the British Library. Courses include Introduction to Oral History, Advanced workshops, and specialized topics. The partnership provides co-branded training with member discounts for OHS members.
• British LibrarycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe OHS archives are held by the British Library in its contemporary manuscripts department. The British Library archives OHS materials periodically for public interest purposes. The archives are transferred to the British Library under an archive agreement, with the next tranche scheduled for 2028 covering materials from 2010-2020.
• Transition Town WellingtonminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerTransition Town Wellington participates in the OHS International Oral History of the Transition Movement project. The project documents the history of the town and its people through oral histories, with interviews to be archived nationally and locally.
• Memoar (Norwegian Oral History Organization)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerMemoar is the Norwegian organization for oral history, partnering with OHS on the International Oral History of the Transition Movement project. Memoar teaches oral history courses and coordinates the Nordic collaboration in Bergen and Gothenburg.
• Sustainable Life Network (Bergen)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Sustainable Life network in Bergen is the local partner for the pilot project in Norway as part of the International Oral History of the Transition Movement. The network conducts oral history interviews and engages community members in the process.
• Hub Sud-Ouest France en Transition (SOFT)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSOFT is the South-West France in Transition network, officially recognized as part of the Transition Network in May 2021. The group participates in the OHS International Oral History of the Transition Movement project, with Toulouse group conducting interviews with SOFT leadership.
• Virginia Tech Center for Oral HistoryminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerVirginia Tech's Center for Oral History documents and archives oral histories about the Transition movement in the Appalachians. Jessica Taylor, assistant professor in the history department, conducts interviews for the project.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• British Sociological Association: UK membership organisation for sociologists with peer-reviewed journals, annual conference, and special interest groups; structurally analogous to OHS but covering a much larger discipline.
• Economic History Society: UK learned society publishing the Economic History Review and supporting economic and social historians; shares the volunteer-governed scholarly society model with OHS.
• Royal Historical Society: Long-established UK scholarly society publishing historical research and supporting historians across all subfields, including oral history; comparable membership-and-journal model but with a much broader disciplinary remit.

Direct peers

• National Council on Public History: US membership organisation for practitioners applying historical methods in public settings, including oral history; comparable professional society model with training, conferences, and journals.
• American Oral History Association: US-based scholarly membership association for oral historians, publishing a peer-reviewed journal and running training, conferences, and special interest networks that mirror OHS's UK activities almost one-for-one.
• International Oral History Association: Global scholarly body for oral historians, organising the International Oral History Congress and fostering cross-national collaboration, directly comparable to OHS's international Transition Movement project.
• British Association for Local History: UK membership society supporting local and community historians, including oral history practitioners; similar volunteer-led, subscription-funded model with regional advisers, training, and publications.

Regional players

• Oral History Network of Ireland: Ireland-based oral history practitioner network offering training, events, and resources; comparable mission and member-supported model but focused on the island of Ireland rather than the UK.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCtUoeODlhvWt9VdPeT_A99g
• Facebookfacebook.com/OralHistorySociety
• Xx.com/oralhistorysoc
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/oral-history

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Oral History Society