The Mattapoisett Library expanded its collection of oral history last week with the help of a grant from the Mattapoisett Cultural Council. Since 2006 local resident Don Cuddy has sought out and interviewed elders in town and in many of the surrounding communities to capture their life stories. The recently completed 2013 series “Out of the Hatch” focuses on the sea and the commercial fishing industry.

Filmed and edited by Charles Radville, the production costs for the four DVDs donated to the library were funded by the Mattapoisett Cultural Council. Mattapoisett’s Al Doucette, who went to sea on his father’s boat in the 1940s, is among those interviewed.

“I am just enthralled by their stories,” Cuddy said. “In the days before electronic aids, these men fished using a lead line, a compass and their native wit. In that respect they were no different from the whalemen. I encourage anyone with an interest in the sea to check these out from the library.”

The Mattapoisett Historical Society will also receive a four DVD set and a set will be placed in the local history room at the library for preservation.