Queens Memory COVID-19 Project

Focus

Our project seeks to document the pandemic as it has been/continues to be experienced in the borough of Queens. Our aim is to include as many perspectives as possible from those who live, work, worship, attend school or are in some other way connected to Queens. We hope to preserve a robust record of the lived experience of COVID-19 in Queens.

History

Queens Memory has been collecting materials – primarily oral history interviews and photos – pertaining to life in Queens for the past 10 years. When the COVID-19 pandemic hit in March 2020, we were forced to suspend our many community events and in-person interviewing as New York went into lockdown. As Queens quickly became the epicenter of the pandemic in NYC, we knew we had to switch gears to document this unique moment in history.

Working from various remote locations, we were able to leverage the staff and resources of both our sponsoring institutions (Queens Public Library and Queens College) to launch our collecting effort by April 9. A $75,000 grant from the New York Community Trust helped tremendously in the creation of a podcast (“The Borough We Became”) to showcase the oral testimonies we collected and reach a wider audience. We also partnered with Urban Archive to create an easy-to-use, multilingual online submission tool and an interactive map platform to display visual items.

As the months progressed, we learned and incorporated more technological options to expand our collecting efforts, such as remote interviewing tools and live-streamed events focused on specific themes. We have also continually refocused our outreach efforts to keep pace with the changing nature of the pandemic experience and to encourage submissions from underrepresented communities.

Collection

We have been open to any materials that can be submitted and preserved digitally. The collection runs the gamut from oral history interviews (audio/video or audio-only) and still photographs to written testimonies, poetry and other creative writing, wild sound and video clips, original artwork, musical performances and more.

Form of Collection

All our content is born digital or digitized.

Emphasis

Our project is focused on the borough of Queens and all who live, work, worship, attend school or are in some other way connected to it.

Time Period

Our project covers the entire period of the COVID-19 pandemic in New York, beginning approximately in mid-March 2020 and continuing to the present.

Public Access

Yes, online

Director

Queens Memory Project is a collaboration between the Queens Public Library and Queens College, CUNY

Contact Person

Lori Wallach, outreach coordinator, Queens Memory Project

Email: Lori.Wallach@qc.cuny.edu

Telephone number: (718) 997-3686

Website: queensmemory.org

Or

Natalie Milbrodt, director, Queens Memory Project

Email: Natalie.M.Milbrodt@queenslibrary.org     

Telephone number: (718) 990-0837

Website: queensmemory.org