MISSOULA - To document the community’s experience undergoing the COVID-19 pandemic, Missoula County partnered with the University of Montana’s Mansfield Library to create The Missoula County COVID-19 Documentation Project.
The Missoula County COVID-19 Documentation Project holds various types of valuable information with regards to lived experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic. Missoula County believes that it is extremely important to record the specific details pertaining to pandemic life considering the huge impact that COVID-19 has had on individuals, the Missoula community, the country, and the world as a whole.
“It would be a completely missed opportunity if we failed to document our response in order to inform future generations of our experience, including what went well and what we could improve upon for future crises. This is exactly why Missoula County, with the support from the University of Montana and community partners, spearheaded the COVID-19 Documentation Project," Missoula County Commissioner Dave Strohmaier said.
The goal of this project is to make an immense collection of sources that can help academics and community members alike understand actions taken during the pandemic that will shape Missoula County for the foreseeable future.
The information will allow communities to reflect upon their specific pandemic experience and better prepare for possible future issues. Leif Fredrickson, adjunct assistant professor and director of the University of Montana Public History Program, said, “we hope the in-depth documentation of Missoula’s experience can provide lessons and insights to other communities who, like Missoula, work with state and federal government when facing crises like the COVID-19 pandemic.”
The resource archive has been made accessible to the public and will be continuously updated with interviews, community responses to the pandemic, business records, government materials, and more. The collection is available via http://missoula.co/coviddocumentation and submissions to the archive can be made on the “About” page on the website. Upon completion, the project leaders and organizers will create and present a final report detailing the process of making the archive.
To learn more about this project, Missoula County has information available via https://missoulacountyvoice.com/covid-documentation-project and there is a recent episode about the project from the Tip of the Spear podcast, https://tipofthespear.buzzsprout.com/1846183/10721610-history-as-it-happens-documenting-the-covid-19-pandemic-in-missoula-county.
For organizations wishing to submit donations, contact Leif Fredrickson directly at leif.fredrickson@gmail.com.
