The Albert Gore Research Center and Middle Tennessee State University’s archives are calling upon volunteers from all walks of life to contribute to our documentation of the COVID-19 pandemic. The novel coronavirus has impacted our society and daily lives in unprecedented ways never before seen in our lifetime, which is why it is vital to collect archival material about individual experiences.

Over the next year (and beyond), the Gore Center will be accepting donations of diaries, documents, photographs, videos, textiles (face masks, t-shirts), creative works (poems, art, short stories, memes) as physical or born-digital materials from the MTSU community and broader Rutherford County community. We will also soon launch a Google Form survey that easily allows individuals to answer questions about their experiences and upload digital files for preservation in our archive.

Future historians, scholars, students, health professionals, and members of the public need to hear from you! They will want to know what local life was like on a weekly basis during a global pandemic. Your voice and your experience matters for future generations. For those who want to contribute to our COVID-19 Collection, please hold on to any and all relevant materials to donate in the future. Digital materials can be uploaded or emailed soon, while physical materials will be acquired as early as this Fall 2020. Please check back with this page for regular updates as situations change fast during this time.

WAYS TO CONTRIBUTE

1. Complete online questionnaire. COMING SOON.
2. Complete donation form. Please fill out this pre-donation form, and it will ensure that our archivists will be able to contact you in the future about acquiring materials you wish to donate. COMING SOON. 
3. Hold onto the materials you wish to donate until the Albert Gore Research Center is back open to the public, and donate your items in-person.