COVID-19 Community Time Capsule

Covid19 Community Time Capsule

Citizen Archivists, we need your help to document and collect information about the COVID-19 pandemic in San Francisco!

The San Francisco History Center of the San Francisco Public Library (SFPL) is actively archiving all types of materials, in multiple formats, to build a collection that documents and preserves the collective experiences of San Francisco residents during the COVID-19 public health emergency. 

We are interested in what is happening to you, your neighborhood, your schools and your workplaces. Put on your archives hats and help us capture what is different in our world today, what we miss, what we’ve created to reflect our new reality, and how we are communicating and living now. With your help, SFPL will build a collection that reflects the many ways San Franciscans were impacted by, and responded to, this public health crisis.

All submissions will be preserved in the COVID-19 Community Time Capsule at SFPL and be shared with the public, as well as remain in the City and County Archives of San Francisco (part of the San Francisco History Center), for long term preservation. If you are interested in sharing digital content, please use our online submission form below. Digital content will ultimately be available through our online collection platforms and social media accounts.

Submissions may include:

  • Photographs

  • Blog posts or social media posts (screenshots okay)

  • Video or audio

  • Notices, signs or posters, including government notices or signs from private businesses 

  • Letters, emails, postcards

  • Community newspapers

  • Personal journal and diary entries

  • Creative work, such as drawings, paintings, graffiti, poetry, recipes and games

Share your COVID-19 pandemic memories

If you have physical items to donate (signs, documents, journals), or if you have other questions about the collecting project, please contact the San Francisco History Center at SFHistory@sfpl.org, and one of our staff members will get back to you. 

Thank you

Thank you for helping with this important collective effort to document this historic event. Your contributions will enable us to tell the story of the COVID-19 pandemic in San Francisco.