Guide to the COVID-19 Archive
Abstract/Description: | This collection is almost entirely in digital format and contains images, videos, text documents, and websites. Materials include personal reflections, photographs, invitations to virtual events, institutional communications, published texts, oral histories, and webpages. Digital objects are hosted on the JTS Digital Collections site, and archived websites are hosted on the Internet Archive’s Archive-It platform (https://archive-it.org/organizations/1839). All oral histories were originally recorded as part of an oral history project with the Council of American Jewish Museums and George Mason University’s "Collecting These Times: American Jewish Experiences of the Pandemic” project. |
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Subject(s): | Camp Ramah Cantors Assembly of America Jewish Theological Seminary of America Rabbinical Assembly Conservative Judaism Conservative Judaism--United States COVID-19 (Disease) COVID-19 (Disease) and the arts COVID-19 (Disease)--Economic aspects--United States COVID-19 (Disease)--Government policy--United States COVID-19 (Disease)--New York (State)--New York--2020 COVID-19 (Disease)--Political aspects COVID-19 (Disease)--Psychological aspects COVID-19 (Disease)--Religious aspects COVID-19 (Disease)--Social aspects--United States COVID-19 (Disease)--Vaccination COVID-19 Pandemic, 2020- Synagogues--Canada Synagogues--Organization and administration Synagogues--United States |
Date Issued: | 2020 |
Title: | Library of the Jewish Theological Seminary COVID-19 Archive 2020-2022. | |
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Name(s): | Library of the Jewish Theological Seminary | |
Type of Resource: | mixed material | |
Issuance: | monographic | |
Date Issued: | 2020 | |
Extent: |
627 data files 0.417 Linear feet |
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Physical description: | Materials are arranged into four series: I. Conservative Jewish Community Response A. Solicited Submissions B. Conservative Synagogue Records II. Jewish Theological Seminary Affiliate Organization Records A. Camp Ramah/National Ramah Commission B. Rabbinical Assembly C. United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism III. Jewish Theological Seminary Institutional Records A. Archived Website Collection B. Departmental Records IV. Oral Histories | |
Abstract/Description: | This collection is almost entirely in digital format and contains images, videos, text documents, and websites. Materials include personal reflections, photographs, invitations to virtual events, institutional communications, published texts, oral histories, and webpages. Digital objects are hosted on the JTS Digital Collections site, and archived websites are hosted on the Internet Archive’s Archive-It platform (https://archive-it.org/organizations/1839). All oral histories were originally recorded as part of an oral history project with the Council of American Jewish Museums and George Mason University’s "Collecting These Times: American Jewish Experiences of the Pandemic” project. | |
Abstract/Description: | The Library of the Jewish Theological Seminary’s COVID-19 Archive is a collection of objects compiled to preserve the experiences of the Conservative Jewish community during the COVID-19 pandemic that began in March of 2020. Materials were submitted by members of the JTS and broader Conservative Jewish communities beginning in June 2020, and web content was harvested starting in October 2020. Most of the materials are in born-digital formats, but the collection also includes some physical objects. The collection also includes 41 oral history interviews conducted in 2021-2022 with leaders and members of the Jewish community in the New York Metropolitan area. | |
Note(s): |
Item Title, COVID-19 Archive, The Library of the Jewish Theological Seminary, New York, N.Y., ARC.2021.01. The World Health Organization (WHO) classified Coronavirus disease 2019, abbreviated as "COVID-19," as a pandemic on March 11, 2020. According to the WHO, as of early April 2022, there have been approximately 500 million COVID-19 cases and 6.2 million deaths globally. In the United States, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report 980,000 deaths attributable directly to COVID-19, and approximately 80 million cases. In March, April, and May of 2020, New York City was the site of the most severe widespread breakout of the virus in the country. The Jewish Theological Seminary campus closed and moved to fully virtual instruction on March 12 of that year. In June, the Library of the Jewish Theological Seminary created the COVID-19 Archive project, the purpose of which was to document the experiences of the JTS and Conservative Jewish communities during the pandemic and to provide a way for community members to share their stories. The Library partnered with George Mason University and their “Collecting These Times: American Jewish Experiences of the Pandemic” project (https://pandemicreligion.org/s/collecting-these-times/page/home). All members of the JTS community (students, staff, faculty, alumni, and affiliate organizations) were invited to contribute materials documenting their experiences, reactions, and responses to the pandemic. The Library solicited submissions of email, photos, videos, newsletters, diaries, art, and other digital and analog media that represented life during lockdowns and quarantines. The goal was to collect submissions about a wide array of subject matter via a variety of stories and materials; we welcomed documentation that represented the experiences of both individuals and communities. In October 2020, the Library also began capturing websites related to Conservative Judaism and the pandemic. In the spring of 2021 the Library entered into a collaboration with the Council of American Jewish Museums (CAJM) to create oral history interviews as part of the greater "Collecting These Times: American Jewish Experiences of the Pandemic” project. Together with 16 other Jewish institutions around the country, the project uses oral history to document the stories of Jewish individuals and institutions during the pandemic. Oral histories can be viewed on the JTS Digital Collections site. The material is in English and Hebrew. Materials were solicited from members of the Jewish Theological Seminary community and were received through dedicated email inboxes beginning in July 2020, and through a Google Form starting in October 2020. Solicitations were sent to the broader Conservative community as well via JTS community members. Websites were archived using Archive-It beginning in October 2020. In the spring of 2021 the Library entered into a collaboration with the Council of American Jewish Museums (CAJM) to create oral history interviews as part of the greater "Collecting These Times: American Jewish Experiences of the Pandemic” project spearheaded by George Mason University. Interviews took place between June 2021 and March 2022. |
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Subject(s): |
Camp Ramah Cantors Assembly of America Jewish Theological Seminary of America Rabbinical Assembly Conservative Judaism Conservative Judaism--United States COVID-19 (Disease) COVID-19 (Disease) and the arts COVID-19 (Disease)--Economic aspects--United States COVID-19 (Disease)--Government policy--United States COVID-19 (Disease)--New York (State)--New York--2020 COVID-19 (Disease)--Political aspects COVID-19 (Disease)--Psychological aspects COVID-19 (Disease)--Religious aspects COVID-19 (Disease)--Social aspects--United States COVID-19 (Disease)--Vaccination COVID-19 Pandemic, 2020- Synagogues--Canada Synagogues--Organization and administration Synagogues--United States |
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Library Classification: | ARC.2021.01 | |
Held by: | Special Collections, The Library of The Jewish Theological Seminary | |
Location: | ARC.2021.01 | |
Restrictions on Access: | The collection is open to research, with the following exceptions: Some JTS institutional records are restricted, and, as noted in the repository processing notes, several of the oral histories are restricted and should not be accessed by the public. As such, these have not been included in the COVID-19 digital collection and will not be made available for access at this time. Materials not digitally available are available by appointment only. To make an appointment and request materials in advance, contact the Librarian in charge of archival materials at 212.678.8973, or via E-mail: archives@jtsa.edu. | |
In Collections: |