Douglas Lambert specializes in research, analysis, and presentation methods for oral history, with a focus on direct-to-timecode indexing for better content management and collection access. Formerly Director of Technology and project manager for the USA consulting firm the Randforce Associates, he worked with historian Michael Frisch developing annotation, indexing, and controlled vocabulary methods for audio/video content mapping. Several Randforce projects were under National Leadership Grants supported by the US Institute for Museum and Library Services (IMLS), including the award-winning “Audio-Video Barn” project and website. The work of Lambert and Frisch appears in several edited volumes, including a special issue of the Oral History Review and a related website focused on “Oral History in the Digital Age.” Lambert has taught workshops on oral history content management for historians, librarians, school teachers, and museum curators in the U.S., Canada, Australia, and Europe.
In his PhD research, Lambert brought oral history methods to the field of environmental engineering to understand groundwater contamination issues by engaging stakeholders directly through interviews. His dissertation “Advancing Groundwater Restoration Research with Oral History Content, Methods, and Analysis” documents new perspectives about why so many groundwater sites still remain polluted after 30+ years of remediation efforts. The associated interdisciplinary research project, supported by the US National Science Foundation, represents an innovative use of topical oral histories and qualitative methods in a scientific, engineering, and historically technical context.