An important part of current human knowledge is still transmitted through non-written means – oral tradition, oral history, oral literature, song and music, etc. The collection, organization, research and management of these non-written sources has been traditionally handled by scholars from an strictly academic point of view – and the information collected by them has been usually kept in archives and, hence, it has generally lost all practical use (specially for the community providing the original materials). The appearance of new technologies and the development of digital spaces have brought the chance to "democratize" the access to oral tradition and other associated cultural expressions; however, if done without a method, all the information shared in/through virtual means is almost valueless.

Libraries have been timidly working with these non-written sources for the last years, after realizing that they are as valuable as books and other written material – or, in some cases, even more important. Unfortunately, there is a noticeable lack of handbooks, guidelines and/or academic training devoted to librarians willing to systematically handle oral tradition. The author –a librarian/historian who has been working in the field with Latin American indigenous oral tradition since 2000– provides in this paper a brief, quick approach on how to deal with oral tradition from a LIS perspective, how to connect traditional knowledge with the academy (and the researchers with the communities), and how to better use the digital and electronic technologies in the collection, preservation and revitalization of intangible heritage.