Because the mission of BOHP is to make our narratives publicly accessible for historians, educators, researchers and future generations, a BOHP team member will walk narrators through the deed of gift agreement before any interview.  In effect, this agreement allows a narrator to legally donate intellectual property (in this case, their stories) for the benefit of local history and the general public.  The agreement clarifies for both the narrator and BOHP how materials or rights related to the oral history will be managed as part of a donated collection (such as this website) and transferred to the BOHP archive.  It also gives both parties the opportunity to place reasonable conditions on the nature of the interview (off-topic or sensitive subjects, for example).