The Sonoma County Library recently launched an online archival project meant to catalog the experience of living in the odd times of 2020. The project, titled “Sonoma Responds” is meant to encapsulate peoples’ experiences living through COVID-19, the Black Lives Matter movement and other various impacts on daily life.
Materials submitted as part of Sonoma Responds will become primary sources and serve as a way to connect the community now — and in the future — based on the county’s collective experiences throughout the year.
“This is an opportunity to collectively document the range of experiences in Sonoma County, to show the complexity of our lives: the challenges, the frustrations, the collective grief and the moments of joy, compassion, bravery and community,” said Sonoma Responds project leads Zayda Delgado, Joanna Kolosov and Connie Williams in a statement.
How to participate
Everyone who works, lives or patronizes in Sonoma County is encouraged to contribute to Sonoma Responds. According to the library’s portal for the project, the library is particularly interested in incorporating voices of those usually marginalized in the community:
“We are especially interested in amplifying and documenting experiences of Black, Indigenous and folks of color, LGBTQ+ and disabled individuals and communities. If you speak a language other than English, please share your story in your preferred language. Historically these voices have been excluded and silenced in history and in representation in archives.”
Those who want to contribute to the archive can do so by sharing social media posts with the tag #Sonoma Responds, share a story, nominate a link to be included in the archive and nominate physical materials to the archive.
For more information about the project, click here.
