This project centers around interviews with professional and/or personal acquaintances of Elinor and Vincent Ostrom. Every interview explores a unique relationship with the Ostroms and the continuing impact of the Ostrom Workshop at Indiana University. Elinor (Lin) and Vincent Ostrom founded the Workshop in Political Theory and Policy Analysis in 1973.The Ostrom Workshop has been the catalyst for worldwide collaboration in the field of public policy and environmental issues. "Coming Together" is an interdisciplinary exploration of the legacy and impact of Elinor (Lin) and Vincent Ostrom. Major topics include; academia, "the commons", cross-disciplinary collaboration, Elinor Ostrom's Nobel Prize, the Ostrom Workshop, political science, political theory, and the Workshop on the Ostrom Workshop (WOW) conference. The project was created to assist in the dissertation research of Sara Catherine Clark, who was a doctoral candidate within the School of Education, pursing a Ph.D. in History, Philosophy, and Policy in Education, at Indiana University Bloomington. Sara Catherine Clark's dissertation was completed in 2019 and is cited as follows: Clark, S. C. (2019). Elinor ostrom: A biography of interdisciplinary life.
Emily Castle is the Assistant Director and Librarian at the Ostrom Workshop. She first met Elinor Ostrom at a staff meeting and Elinor was a supervisor of Castle. Castle describes the Ostrom Workshop Library and her typical day as a Librarian. She later discusses preparing and planning the Workshop on the Ostrom Workshop conference. In time she discusses the physical space at the Ostrom Workshop and the community. Castle finishes her interview discussing Elinor Ostrom as a Supervisor, the Nobel Prize, and the Ostrom Workshop without the Ostroms.
Charlotte Hess was the Director of the Library and Information at the Ostrom Workshop from 1989 to 2008. Hess begins by recounting the way the library started and the way it developed, including what it was like to create the library catalog for the Workshop. Hess also talks about connecting the Ostroms' work and the International Association of Common Property. Later, she discusses editing Vincent Ostrom's book The Meaning of Democracy and the Vulnerability of Democracies: A Response to Tocqueville's Challenge (1997) and Vincent Ostrom himself.