Permission to reuse the COVID-19 Community History Project LibGuide was given by the Minnesota State University, Mankato University Archives and Southern Minnesota Historical Center.
Special thanks to MSU Mankato University Archivist Daardi Sizemore Mixon.
Everyone is experiencing the COVID-19 Pandemic differently. While oral history is one way to document this experience, we know that not everyone is comfortable sharing their experiences in that format. There are many types of personal (or individual) experiences that people can do to share their story without involving others.
Here are some examples of types of individual experiences we are interested in collecting:
If you have an idea not listed here, please contact the Archives.
Please see the Forms page to get appropriate forms and sample questions. Additional information about types of individual experiences can be found in the Resources for this Project page. Format requirements can be found on the How to Submit page.
An oral history interview is where one person interviews another about their experiences. They are usually recorded (audio or video). It can be about aspects of a person’s life or around a specific experience.
For this project, oral histories can be recorded and should include some background information about the person being interviewed and then focus on their experiences during the coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic.
Individuals can be interviewed multiple times throughout the pandemic to document their ongoing experience.
Please see the Forms page to get appropriate forms and sample questions.We cannot accept oral history interviews without releases from all participants. Additional information about conducting oral histories can be found in the Resources for this Project page.
MSUM and the greater Moorhead community has been responding rapidly and nimbly to the pandemic, whether it has been through business closures, changes to work environments, changes to education delivery, or quarantine orders. We are also seeking documentation of these events.
Examples of documents we can collect include but are not limited to: