'Send Us Your Story' | Maryland Historical Society Documents COVID-19 Pandemic As It Unfolds
BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- As the coronavirus re-shapes the world around us, museums and cultural institutions like the Maryland Historical Society are scrambling to document the crisis as it unfolds.
As in past crises and world events, personal letters and journal entries are helpful in documenting events as they happen, said Allison Tolman, the vice president of collections at the historical society.
It's called crisis collecting, and the historical society is asking the community to join in.
"Send us your story or send us photographs," Tolman said. "People who are out there still, who are on the front lines sending images, businesses who are staying open and having to adapt."
As the pandemic began to unfold earlier this year, the historical society looked to past experiences for reference.
"We looked to our collection of letters and photographs from the Spanish flu of 1918, and it really helps us understand what was going on now," Tolman said.
Capturing history in the moment is vital so future generations can learn how the coronavirus shaped life in Maryland.
"The bigger the archive is, the more effective it can be," Tolman said.
To learn more about the effort, including how you can submit documents, click here.
