Abstract: Oral history is a new field of library business and service, which has drawn more and more
attention from domestic libraries. This article uses content analysis, website visit, Email consultation and
other methods to investigate the oral history work of 10 university libraries in the United States, elaborating
on their starting time and mode of operation, the scale of resources and subject distribution, collection
methods and organizational description, job posting and service content, as well as funding sources and
research projects. It also summarize the successful experience. When carrying out the oral history work,
the university library in our country should find the proper positioning, clarify the functions of the library,
identify the unique characteristic resources, set up the job posts, speed up the construction of the professional
team, increase the input and broaden the sources of funds

Key words: Oral history, University libraries, The United States