What will we remember about the coronavirus pandemic 10, 50, even 500 years from now? The National Library of Israel wants the answer to that question to be "everything," and has launched an initiative to preserve all the online information about the pandemic for posterity.
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Predicting the future is no easy task, but what is certain is that this pandemic – which has affected each and every one of us in terms of health, income, leisure, children, and more – must be documented on behalf of future generations.
The National Library of Israel is calling its new comprehensive initiative "Curating Corona," and has asked the public to "help it in documenting and preserving information, media coverage, large-scale events, public dilemmas and anything that appears interesting or important concerning COVID-19 in the digital arena."
According to the library, "The material that is collected and preserved will include everything – medical information published in the early months of the pandemic; routes traced by the early numbered patients; various dilemmas and arguments for and against lockdowns; debates over vaccines; public and political events influenced by the pandemic – anything that may interest scholars and the general public in two, three or ten generations."
The head of the National Library of Israel's Collection Department, Dr. Raquel Ukeles, said: "Today, when most communication is digital and virtual, the challenge of collection and preservation is bigger and more complex than in the past. Regardless, one of the National Library's central goals is to preserve, document, and make accessible the most significant events in Israeli society and culture, hence we feel it is immensely important to include the public in this initiative."
Click here if you are interested in contributing to the project.
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