This study was carried to analyze the current status of oral history collections of national libraries in foreign countries and to derive key factors to consider when building oral collections in National Library of Korea(NLK). The Library of Congress, the British Library, and the National Library of Australia regard oral records as a national heritage that should be passed down nationally and those have been utilized and preserved successfully. Based upon the analysis of the oral collections of these national libraries, several key elements - legislation, organization, collection policy, services, collection, education and collaboration, funding and sponsorship-to consider when building an oral history collection for the first time in the NLK were suggested.