top of page

Stories Start at the Library: the COVID-19 Archive Project

​

We are living in extraordinary times. The Library wishes to capture and preserve our community's history during the COVID-19 pandemic. This special collection will become part of the Bloomfield Public Library's Local History Archive so future generations can learn from and experience this event through our community members' first-hand accounts.

Are you keeping a journal or diary of this time? Please consider sharing your story and donating your journal to the Bloomfield Public Library's COVID-19 Archive Project.

​

  • We need stories from everyone! No matter your age, profession, or background, anyone is welcome to submit.  Representatives from various organizations can submit as well! 

  • We are very interested in the stories of first responders, medical professionals, people in isolation, teachers, supermarket employees, and anyone with a story to tell.

  • Accepting any medium or format: text document, hand-written journal, social media handles, photographs, audio/video recordings, drawings, poetry, etc.  If you wish to submit physical artwork (rather than a photo or something similar) after the library reopens, please consider the size of your artwork and consider donating a photo instead.  Email LCohn@bplnj.org to discuss.


Here are some questions to get you started, but feel free to document this time however you choose. Get your children involved!

​

1.  Tell us about yourself. 

2.  When did you first hear about COVID-19 (coronavirus)?

3.  What experiences made the situation feel very real or surreal to you? 

4.  What emotions have you and/or your family experienced? 

5.  What good things have happened? Have there been “silver linings?”

6.  What bad things have happened in your family/friend circle? 

7.  What have you found most helpful in dealing with this situation?

8.  How have you balanced work life and family life?

9.  What are you most worried about?

10. How did you explain the situation to your children and how have they reacted to not going to school, seeing their friends, etc.

11. Describe life for you right now.  What is your daily routine? What are you doing to pass the time? What are some of the biggest changes that have affected your life and/or that of your household? 

12.How are you maintaining connections with people outside of your household? 

13. As your documenting continues, take note how Day 1 felt, Day 10, etc. 

14.  If you were telling this story to someone 100 years from now, what would you want them to know?  What advice might you have for a person reading this in the future?

​

Here are some links to get you started:

​

Have you lost a loved one to Covid?

​

Do you know someone we've lost to COVID-19? Help us remember them. Submit their story. Tell us more about them.  Include photos and tell us what they meant to you.

​

How to Submit Your Story
You can submit electronically starting right now!  Email your submissions to Ruby@bplnj.org. 

Please include your name and the name of any family or friends involved in the project. 

​

If you'd like to submit your artwork, journal or other information in person after we reopen, please hold onto it for now.  If your item is oversized or you'd like to keep it for yourself, consider submitting a photo or a copy of it.

​

​

 

 

 

 

 

 

​

​

bottom of page