Sharing the Journey: Documenting COVID-19 in the Upstate

The purpose of this project is to collect and preserve the experiences of the Upstate community during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Oconee Pickens Anderson Libraries (OPAL) Collaborative is working together to preserve and share this journey. We hope you will help us by having your experiences be part of this journey.

Every story is important. The Collaborative is seeking individuals and organizations from all walks of life, different backgrounds, and cultures. Perspectives from a retired couple or a family are just as important as those from front-line health care workers. We want to put into context the current situation for future generations: how did people react during this moment in history? How were people in the community affected? What are their stories?

What can I submit?

We welcome documentation that represents individual and community experiences. This includes, but is not limited to, how businesses, government agencies, schools, health care agencies, and religious, social, political, and other organizations are affected by the pandemic as well as documentation of individuals’ feelings and reactions to the pandemic, routines for school children at home, examples of mutual aid, day-to-day quarantine routines, and life for essential service workers.

Some examples of materials you might contribute include:

  • Photos of scenes from your neighborhood, grocery stores, or other places that changed during this time
  • Signage from restaurants, playgrounds, grocery stores, etc.
  • Social media posts
  • Artwork
  • Poetry
  • Recordings of musical events or other events shared online during social distancing practices
  • Materials from your place of worship explaining the move to online services
  • Homeschooling schedules or other daily routines
  • Your own journal entries documenting this time

This list is not exclusive. If an item documents some aspect of how you or your community is experiencing the COVID-19 pandemic in the Upstate, the Collaborative is interested in knowing about it.

Join the Journey

To participate, please fill out this Google Form to help us gather your information so that we can follow up with you regarding your submission.

Oconee Pickens Anderson Libraries (OPAL) Collaborative

Oconee, Pickens, and Anderson area libraries and museums, public and academic, are working together to collect, archive, and share stories about residents of the upstate area of South Carolina during the COVID-19 crisis. Please help us create a permanent record of how local residents and their families are adjusting and coping during this unprecedented, global, event that affects us so personally.

Acknowledgement

These guidelines were adapted from the UNC Charlotte University Archives, Indiana University, Bloomington Archives, University of Minnesota, Duluth Archives, and the Wisconsin Historical Society.