COVID-19 Digital Archive

We are living through unprecedented times. When studying times of crisis, historians, archives, and museums depend not only on the actions of national and international leaders, but on records of daily life. The Framingham History Center is making an effort to collect a digital archive of community members’ experiences of the COVID-19 Pandemic in real time. There are multiple ways you can participate and submit your experiences to this digital archive.

Record a Digital Daily Journal

We have created a Google Sheets template for anyone who wants to record a line-a-day journal during the duration of the pandemic (and beyond). Although you are not obligated to submit your journal to the FHC’s COVID-19 Digital Archive, if you live or work in Framingham, we would greatly appreciate if you considered doing so.
Please Note: If you do not have a Google account, you can still save the template as an Excel spreadsheet via the link.

Access the Journal Template

Submit Your Photos

Take photos of your daily experiences during the COVID-19 Pandemic and submit them to our digital archive using the form below. A staff member will review all submissions and will follow up with you when they are able.
Please note: The file size limit is 3.5 MB.

    I acknowledge that I am submitting this image as an unrestricted gift to the Framingham History Center's COVID-19 Digital Archives

    What about Traditional Collection Donations?

    The FHC is not currently accepting donations of physical objects. We currently anticipate returning to our regular collecting practices in September 2020. In the meantime, here are some examples of items relating to the COVID-19 Pandemic the FHC would be interested in when we resume collecting objects:

    • Projects completed by you or members of your family (crafts, writing, hobbies, etc.)
    • Masks or other PPE made by you for your family (when use has concluded)
    • Curriculum packets created by Framingham teachers for school closings
    • Work schedules, family schedules, or any other organizational document you used to organize your daily life
    • Non-digital, handwritten journals or journal entries
    • Other physical mementos of your or your family’s personal experiences in quarantine

    Please consider holding on to some of these items to submit to the FHC’s Collections in the future. Please clean or sterilize potential donations as appropriate and place them, with clean hands, in a plastic ziploc gallon bag somewhere safe where it will not be frequently handled.