Pioneer Transcription Services is now offering oral history transcription services to individuals who want to conserve the stories of their family members. The company has been typing oral histories for historians, authors and professional businesses for nearly  20 years. The emphasis on providing this service directly to people who wish to preserve their families’ histories came about when one of the company’s principal owners, Debi Devitt, inherited a tape her parents had recorded many years ago with her paternal grandmother. Unfortunately , the cassette tape had deteriorated over the years and there was never a transcript created. While the company created a digital audio file and transcribed the interview before more deterioration could occur, “I do not want others to lose the stories that are important to their families,” Ms. Devitt states.

Individuals are recording interviews with all kinds of different relatives from grandparents, to great aunts and uncles, to cousins, to brothers and sisters, et cetera.

Digital recorders are now very reasonably priced, which allows more people to record their families’ stories. These digital audio files can be easily shared with other family members and will not deteriorate over time. Many people are scheduling interviews with their relatives, using questions they’ve discovered on the internet or that they think up their own.

Pioneer Transcription Services realized there is a growing desire to have typed transcripts of these interviews. “Our service is simple to use and accessible to everyone,” states Ms. Devitt. “A direct link for upload is right on our website.” Once uploaded clients just wait for their transcript to be returned to them. They are then able to share the transcript with other family members and friends or to use it in any way they deem worthy. “Plus, these are our favorite things in the world to transcribe, ” added Ms. Devitt.