Atlantic City Free Public Library

The Atlantic City Free Public Library will commemorate the 30-year anniversary of the opening of the city's first casino by kicking off an oral history project titled "30 Years, 30 Voices."

The project will feature interviews with 30 people or groups who have witnessed the impact of casinos on Atlantic City and the area since the city's first casino, Resorts International, opened on May 26, 1978.

Photo courtesy of A.C. Convention & Visitors Authority

The library is looking to interview a broad cross-section of the Atlantic City community, including casino employees and executives, city government officials, members of the media, business owners, residents, immigrants, transients and community leaders. Each interview will last approximately 60 to 90 minutes.

The interviews will take place throughout the summer, with the final product scheduled to be made available to the public this winter. Once the project has been completed, the interviews will be stored and archived in the library's Alfred M. Heston Collection room of Atlantic City history.

Dr. James Karmel is the contractor for this project. He is a professional historian and author of Gambling on the American Dream: Atlantic City and the Casino Era, which is based on oral history interviews he conducted from 2002-05. He is an associate professor of history at Harford Community College in Bel Air, Md.

This is the library's second oral history project involving Atlantic City and casino gambling.

In 1978, the library interviewed 68 people representing the culturally and economically diverse mix of people who live or work in the city - small business owners, lifetime residents, city government officials, transients, school teachers and local celebrities. The interviews focused on the city's history, the interviewees' relationship to the city and their thoughts on the city's future. More information on the 1978 Living History Project 

For additional information, please call Heston Collection archivist Heather Halpin at (609) 345-2269, ext. 3062.