Explore the Cal Maritime Library Oral History Collection

I'm sure you loved the Campus History Collection's last digital exhibit, which showed off the Cruise Murals from the Training Ship Golden Bear. And now, we have another fabulous digital exhibit to share: the Cal Maritime Oral History Project! Sea Stories: Oral History Collection is a digital exhibit that explores the Oral Histories collected by the Cal Maritime community.

The Oral History Project at Cal Maritime originated as a collaboration between Librarian Benjamin Bolin and Maritime Policy and Management faculty Dr. Tim Lynch. The first oral history interviews were recorded in 2007, and students from Dr. Lynch’s Bay Area Maritime History class interviewed alumni with guidance and assistance from Ben Bolin. Librarian Margot Hanson joined the project in 2013, and the collection of recorded oral history interviews has since grown to include video and audio recordings of personal commentaries from a variety of alumni, including members of the first graduating class of female cadets, as well as former academy presidents, long-time faculty, and even community members. Margot Hanson and Archivist Patti Thibodeau developed the Sea Stories exhibit for the Cal Maritime community and beyond to learn more about the history of the institution and the people that have contributed to it.