While most California officials focus on current-day solutions for the COVID-19 pandemic, at least one state office is already considering its place in future history books.
The California State Archives, a division of the Secretary of State, on Thursday launched the California COVID-19 Archive. All California residents are welcome to submit their stories reflecting the challenges and uncertainty of the current pandemic, and the ways they have adapted. Submissions are accepted at an online portal here.
“Your submission will serve as an important contribution to this community memory project and will be a critical primary source so that future generations can better understand how the COVID-19 pandemic impacted Californians,” reads the site. Submissions will become a part of the official state historical collection.
The state project mirrors local efforts to document San Francisco’s response to the pandemic, led by the San Francisco Public Library. The COVID-19 Community Time Capsule project solicits stories as well as a broad range of ephemera, including “photographs; blog posts or social media posts (screenshots okay); video or audio; notices, signs or posters, including government notices or signs from private businesses; letters, emails, postcards; community newspapers; personal journal and diary entries; and creative work, such as drawings, paintings, graffiti, poetry, recipes and games.”
Submissions will become a permanent part of the City and County Archives of San Francisco, and can be made here.
