Press Release: Life in Washington During COVID-19 Captured in Library’s “Archive This Moment DC” Collection

News Release — DC Public Library

For Immediate Release

September 25, 2020

Media Contacts: George Williams

88 photos submitted by District residents in DC Public Library’s first release of collection showing daily activities and sights during the city’s stay-at-home order

(Washington, D.C.) – In April, the marquee on the Anthem music venue read, ‘We’ll get thru this” as the District worked to mitigate the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19) with a stay-at-home order. At the World Central Kitchen in the U Street Corridor, Dreaming Out Loud program alumni donned face masks while preparing meals for seniors and homebound residents.

These are two of the 88 photos in the initial release of DC Public Library’s “Archive This Moment DC,” a collection created by Washingtonians capturing what people were thinking, feeling and doing during the early part of the coronavirus (COVID-19) public health emergency.

The photos were submitted by residents posting on Instagram using the hashtag #archivethismomentdc. From March 25 to May 28, the Library collected more than 2,000 images from social media, through email and a web form. The majority of the items were collected in April, followed by May and March.

“Telling the District’s stories of COVID-19 from the viewpoint of the people who experienced it makes the Archive This Moment DC collection an invaluable resource for the District,” said Richard Reyes-Gavilan, executive director of the DC Public Library. “Some of the most important accounts of history are first-person. This collection will help future researchers understand how Washingtonians reacted to the pandemic, and how quickly it changed the way we all lived.”

The collection includes selfies and portraits of people in masks; handmade signs of support for essential worker and the community; people navigating the city during the pandemic; and signs posted in business windows about closures, restrictions, and new ways of operating. When complete, the “Archive This Moment” collection will consist of images, audio recordings, videos, and text.

All four quadrants of the District are represented. This initial release includes images from the Atlas District, Barney Circle, Bloomingdale, Capitol Hill, Carver Langston, Cleveland Park, Downtown, Dupont Circle, Eckington, Georgetown, Kingman Park, Logan Circle, Manor Park, Mount Pleasant, Southwest, U Street Corridor, West End and Woodley Park.

Since the Library began collecting images, librarians have been working behind the scenes creating complete records of the materials. Every item added to the collection receives a unique identifier, title, description, and a Library of Congress subject heading so that people can find the items easily. All original captions from Instagram and Twitter are saved as PDF files to preserve emojis and other special characters. As more items are cataloged, the collection will increase.

The Archive This Moment DC collection is housed on Dig DC, the Library’s web portal for digitized and born-digital special collections items. To view the collection, visit digdc.dclibrary.org.

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