Contribution Terms of Service

The purpose of this project is to preserve Detroit’s history by collecting the personal stories and historical accounts of the people who lived it. The project is ongoing and covers the broad range of Detroit’s historical events, but occasionally we may focus on a specific time, event or location. Interviews are a significant part of the project. 

Your risks and benefits

Your participation in this project assumes or includes:

• Your interview may become a part of the Detroit Historical Society’s permanent, public, online archive.
• You may find that people disagree with some of your opinions or your interpretations of historical events and that this disagreement could be strong. This could include family members or members of the general public.
• You may have the satisfaction of knowing that you are helping to preserve Detroit’s history. You may also gain some public recognition for your participation in this project.

Your rights

This project is voluntary. You do not have to answer any question that you do not wish to answer. You may stop your participation at any time during the interview. If you do not want to be identified by name, we will assign you a number and you will not be asked specific questions about the identification of your parents or relatives. Your contact information such as your address and/or telephone number will not be disclosed to the public.

Deposit of materials

You will agree to have the original audio and/or video and final edited transcript stored in the collection of the Detroit Historical Society. The transcript will be available for use by researchers, teachers,  students, or members of the public. Their results may be displayed publicly or published. The materials may also be used for public display or publication by the Detroit Historical Society.

Participants may contact the Society’s Assistant Curator, Billy Wall-Winkel, with questions about the project, at 313-833-7912 or williamw@detroithistorical.org.

By submitting to the archive and checking the box agreeing to the terms of service, you agree that you have read (or have had read to you) the contents of this form and understand it. You agree to the following:

I hereby convey to the Detroit Historical Society (hereafter referred to as “the Society”), legal title and assign all literary property rights, including copyright, which I may have in the materials I uploaded to the Detroit Historical Society’s project site as part of its oral history project.

The audio or video recording and a full transcript will be housed in the Society as part of its collection, to be available for research, and to be administered in accordance with the Society’s policies. The Society shall also have the right to use, reproduce, exhibit, or publish this material. It is understood that this agreement covers original recordings and any transcript or other reproduction of the originals made by the Society.

This agreement does not preclude any use I may want to make of the information in the recording itself.