Most interviews (28) conducted by Sharon Zane; one interview, with Harry L. Shapiro, conducted by Frank Spencer.

Dean Amadon (1912-1903), Ornithology, interviewed 1996 -- Sydney Anderson (1927-), Mammalogy, interviewed 2000 -- James W. Atz, Icthyology, interviewed 1998, 1999 -- Robert Carneiro (1927-), Anthropology, interviewed 2000 -- Edwin Harris Colbert (1905-2001), Vertebrate Paleontology, interviewed 1996 -- Ray De Lucia (1916-1997), Exhibition, interviewed 1997 -- Niles Eldredge (1943-), Invertebrates, interviewed 1997 -- Nancy Fessenden (1927-), Trustee, interviewed 2002 -- Stanley A. Freed (1927-), Anthropology, interviewed 1997 -- Henry Gardiner (1916-), Exhibition, interviewed 1997 -- William T. Golden (1909-2007), Trustee, interviewed 1996 -- Sidney S. Horenstein, Environmental programs, interviewed 1999 -- Wesley E. Lanyon (1926-), Ornithology, interviewed 2000 -- Mary LeCroy, Ornithology, interviewed 2000 -- Ernst Mayr (1904-2005), Ornithology, interviewed 1997 -- Malcolm McKenna (1930-), Vertebrate Paleontology, interviewed 2000 -- Craig Morris (1939-2006), Anthropology, interviewed 2000, 2001 -- Charles W. Myers (1936-), Herpetology, interviewed 1997, 1998 -- Norman Dennis Newell (1909-2005), Invertebrates, interviewed 1996) -- Norman I. Platnick (1951-), Entomology, interviewed 1998 -- Martin Prinz (1931-2000), Earth and Planetary Science, interviewed 1997 -- Stephen C. Quinn (1951-), Exhibition, interviewed 2001 -- Marjorie M. Ransom (1926-), Education, interviewed 1997 -- Jerome George Rozen (1928-), Invertebrates, interviewed 1996 -- Bobb Schaeffer (1913-2004), Vertebrate Paleontology, interviewed 1996 -- Harry Lionel Shapiro (1902-1990), Anthropology, interviewed (by Frank Spencer) 1975 -- Anne Sidamon-Eristoff, Trustee, interviewed 2002 -- Ian Tattersall (1945-), Anthropology, interviewed 2000 -- Richard H. Tedford (1929-), Vertebrate Paleontology, interviewed 1999.

The collection consists of 29 oral histories conducted between 1975 and 2002 with people who made contributions in various departments within the American Museum of Natural History during the twentieth century. The oral histories are in the form of audio cassette tapes or floppy disks with transcripts, and also include brief correspondence between interviewers and interviewees. Topics discussed include: personal and family history; contributions and experiences within the field of study; the American Museum of Natural History; and relationships with other scientists and museum staff.