The Japanese-American Association of Lane County, Oregon, Oral History Collection is a collection of oral histories, digital sound files, images, videos and documents of eleven community members and influential people from Eugene, Lane County, Oregon, as well as Elkton, Douglas County, and Waldport, Lincoln County, Oregon. These oral histories document the immigrant experiences of the interviewees' parents and grandparents; their World War II experiences in the United States or in Japan, and their lives in Eugene and neighboring communities in the years following the end of the war. This collection is open for research, with materials in Japanese and English available. The collection was donated to the Special Collections and Archives Research Center by the Association in 2008, with materials gathered from 2006-2008. A major portion of the collection dates to 1994-2008.

This Oral History Collection is a component of the Oregon Multicultural Archives, a vast archive documenting cultural, ethnic and underepresented communities in Oregon. Components of the archives are available in Oregon Digital and the ScholarsArchive@OSU.The Japanese-American Association Oral History Collection is one of several oral history collections available through the University Archives.

For more information, please visit this collection's finding aid.

The Oregon State University Libraries Special Collections and Archives Research Center (SCARC) maintains and makes available the University's unique collections of manuscripts, archives, photographs, and books. Subject strengths include:

• the historical records of OSU 
• the history of science and technology 
• cultural and ethnic groups in Oregon 
• experiences of LGBTQ+ people within the OSU and Corvallis communities
• hops and brewing in the Northwest 
• natural resources in the Pacific Northwest, especially agriculture and forestry. 

We acknowledge that materials in SCARC collections and the language that describes them may be harmful. We are actively working to address our descriptive practices; for more information please see our SCARC Anti-Racist Actions Statement.

The Special Collections and Archives Research Center public service point is located in the Reading Room on the 5th Floor of the Valley Library at Oregon State University. If you plan to visit us, please check our calendar.

See our Guide to the Special Collections and Archives Research Center for more on how to visit SCARC, find our collections, and research tips.

In 2005, the Oregon State University Libraries (OSUL) established the Oregon Multicultural Archives (OMA) to highlight multicultural collections already held in the OSUL Archives, to serve as a digital resource linking researchers to other institutions or organizations with multicultural archival collections, and to build an archive with records that document African American, Asian American, Latino/a and Native American communities to reflect how they have contributed to the identity of the state of Oregon.

The mission of the OMA is to assist in preserving the histories and sharing the stories that document Oregon's African American, Asian American, Latino/a, and Native American communities.

The Oregon Multicultural Archives advances scholarship in ethnic studies and racial diversity both on the Oregon State University campus as well as on a state and regional level. The OMA helps to strengthens the university’s core value of diversity, which enhances OSU's "teaching, scholarship, and service as well as our ability to welcome, respect, and interact with other people" (OSU Strategic Plan).

Be sure to visit the OMA Blog for up-to-date information regarding current projects, new collections, recently digitized materials, and much more!