The archive was founded by Paul Meier in 1998 at the University of Kansas and includes hundreds of recordings of English speakers throughout the world.
For instance, one subsection is devoted to Holocaust survivors while another features readings of "Comma Gets a Cure" (the standard scripted text for most IDEA subjects) by trained speech teachers in the General American dialect.
Another part of the Special Collections section is devoted to oral histories and allows subjects to discuss the places in which they grew up and reflect on their heritage.
Since its founding in 1998, the Archive has added approximately 80 associate editors, who are responsible for gathering new primary-source recordings.
Senior editors are Eric Armstrong, Geraldine Cook, Ben Corbett, Kris Danford, John Fleming, Tanera Marshall, Bill McCann, Deric McNish, David Nevell, Sarah Nichols, and Dylan Paul.