A national oral history project is needed to preserve the information and wisdom of the generation of reading teachers, teacher trainers, and researchers who are near retirement and provide the last direct ties with the field's pioneers. The proposed project focuses on developing an understanding of: (1) the impact of educational events and important personalities through the capturing of vital incidents; (2) teaching/literacy profession as a whole and also the various hierarchical status groups of the past; and (3) current academic generations. Fundamental activities to be undertaken during the "prestudy" phase focus upon the identification of both the individuals who are to undertake the oral histories and also those individuals who will be interviewed. Existing professional associations and selected institutions of higher education will need to cooperate for the project to be successful. The training program for project participants should employ a form of the trainer of trainers model, similar to the model used in the Reading Recovery program. Immediate dissemination activities would include journal articles and conference presentations. Long-term dissemination activities would come about as scholars had the opportunity to study and write about the materials collected by participants. The collection of materials generated by the project should be carefully preserved. (Contains 20 general references and 38 references for oral history projects in literacy.) (RS)