The world-wide COVID-19 pandemic has affected every person across the globe and while we are all going through this collectively, we are also each living our own unique experiences. Archives & Special Collections is asking you to take a moment to share your thoughts to provide future scholars with the personal side of the pandemic.

Pandemics are not new to the history books. We hear news outlets, scientists, and historians recall past pandemics and see pictures like the lines for polio vaccines and hospital rooms full of cots and sick patients, and we look to learn from each of those dark times. Archived news and internet sites will be well documented and become primary sources for future historians studying COVID-19, but what about the day-to-day activities and social and emotional experiences of people? It is essential that we collect and preserve these memories while our experiences and reactions are fresh. If not, they may be lost. 

What can you do? Archives & Special Collections is asking for your help in continuing to build the UConn COVID-19 Collection with your personal pandemic experiences. Students, staff, faculty, and alumni are encouraged to share stories, in whatever form, to be collected, preserved for posterity, and made accessible for research and study.  Examples can include audio files, social media posts, emails, screenshots, photographs, blog posts, journaling, zines, interviews, and more. You can also answer a few survey questions online. 

For those who have previously contributed, thank you!  Ongoing contributions are encouraged as experiences, reactions and coping mechanisms have changed as the emergency of last spring became the “new normal” of the past year.

For more information on how to submit , visit our website or contact Betsy Pittman, University Archivist at besty.pittman@uconn.edu