The End of Passive Collecting: The Role and Responsibility of Archivists in the COVID-19 Era

Set against the backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic, this article argues that it is imperative that archivists be strongly attuned to current events, both locally and worldwide, so as to best serve their communities. Historic events should not necessarily be documented and recorded retroactively; rather, professional archivists have a responsibility to actively spearhead initiatives to collect contemporaneous documents, ephemera, and artifacts that record history as it is occurring, thus offering more personalized insights into the firsthand impact of significant events on daily life. Various institutions have already risen to this task and undertaken “rapid response collecting,” a relatively new method focused on immediate collecting during moments of extreme historical importance, which has gained considerable momentum throughout the course of the ongoing pandemic. Though the obstacles of collecting during a pandemic are numerous, as many archivists are working remotely or have limited access to physical collections, the benefits to future generations are invaluable.