General Submission Guidelines
The University Archives are working to document the effect of COVID-19 on our community. To do this, we are asking community members to consider documenting their experiences and submit them to the archives. We will enact restriction periods as appropriate, but our ultimate goal is to make these documents available for research.
The easiest way to help us is to forward any COVID-19 related emails you receive to archives@andrew.cmu.edu and to upload documents to https://cmu.is/archives-covid-19. If you would like to suggest a website, social media feed, or share an observation, we have created a survey you can complete.
If you would like to speak to an archivist directly about this project, please reach out to us!
- Julia Corrin: jcorrin@andrew.cmu.edu
- Emily Davis: edavis2@andrew.cmu.edu
For additional suggestions on what type of material we're looking for and best practices for submitting them, please see below.
For Students
We would like to hear about how you and your community have been dealing with the changes to your academic and social life. We are especially interested in hearing from first-generation students, international students, and students who are still living on or near the CMU campus. We would welcome materials like:
- Course Syllabi
- Communication from faculty about changes to courses or graduation
- Social media posts
- Communication related to housing
- Student-created content (Google docs, blogs, stories, etc)
You might also want to create journals, art, blogs, vlogs, or zines. We would love for you to share those with us in any format. See ‘Submission Options and Best Practices' below.
If you have physical materials you would like to donate, you can mail them to us directly or drop them off in the library. When campus reopens, there will be a box at the Hunt Library Circulation Desk for COVID-19 materials. If you would like to send us content via the mail, please use the following address:
University Archives
ATTN: COVID-19 Collection
4909 Frew St
PIttsburgh, PA 15213
For Faculty and Staff
COVID-19 has dramatically changed how we do our work. We would like to understand how that has affected you. We are particularly interested in documentation you have received or created to navigate this situation. Some examples might be:
- Course Syllabi
- Departmental guidelines and planning documentation
- Emails
- Distribution lists and newsletters. If these lists are not open, but you're willing to include us, please ask the list manager to add archives@andrew.cmu.edu.
We are also aware some faculty have created projects and coursework related to the epidemic. If your students are working on a project like this, please reach out directly to one of our archivists to discuss how the University Archives might be able to capture some of this work.
Submission Options and Best Practices
Submitting Email
Preferred: Compose a new email and attach the original emails to it. Use the subject line: '[COVID-19] Emails."
Other options: Forward individual emails directly to archives@andrew.cmu.edu.
Print the email as a PDF and upload it to https://cmu.is/archives-covid-19. You will be asked to provide your name and a brief description of the document.
Submitting Documents
All digital documents should be submitted via Box at https://cmu.is/archives-covid-19. You will be asked to provide your name and a brief description of the document. When possible, submit documents as a PDF.
If you have physical materials you would like to submit to the archive, we will be scheduling transfers starting this fall. Please contact an archivist directly to be added to that schedule.
Websites & Social Media
To suggest a website or social media feed to preserve, complete our survey.
Observations, Stories, and Other
Is there something else you'd like to share with us? A thought or story? Our survey also has space for you to share with us.
Questions?
If you have questions that are not addressed in the guidelines above, please feel free to reach out to us directly: archives@andrew.cmu.edu.