Mark Coltrain is the Oral Historian in the Appalachian State University Libraries’ Special Collections Research Center. Located in Boone, North Carolina, Appalachian State has a long history of collecting oral histories that document the complex stories of Appalachia as well as the rich history of the University. Mark has been in this role since the position was created in 2022. He is a steward of the many archival oral histories in the special collections and is an active collector himself, conducting interviews for several ongoing projects as well as facilitating donations of new collections. Mark also collaborates with campus faculty on classroom instruction in their courses and offers support for both the campus and external communities on their projects. Prior to this role, Mark was an academic librarian, first at Central Piedmont Community College in Charlotte, North Carolina, and then at Appalachian State. Mark has an MLIS from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and an MA in Southern Studies from the University of Mississippi.