Documenting contemporary regional history: the Utah COVID-19 digital collection

Purpose When faced with events such as the global pandemic of COVID-19, libraries have a unique opportunity to develop a community facing response through born-digital collections. These collections provide challenges for metadata creation, collection development policies, workflows, and digital preservation. This article will provide an overview of the Utah COVID-19 Digital Collection, with a discussion of impact and lessons learned. Study Design/Methodology/Approach This article provides a case study of a born-digital collection initiative undertaken at the University of Utah in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The project prompted engagement with University of Utah communities and people across the state. Workflows, metadata management, and partnerships are discussed, in order to provide a model for institutions developing similar projects during a time of crisis. Findings While the project was launched with open-ended and flexible goals, the response from the community has been both surprising and gratifying. Statistics and examples demonstrating reuse of collection materials are provided in order to highlight the impact and potential of community engagement. Originality/Value Digital collecting projects during a historical event are not new, however the restrictions placed upon people worldwide during the COVID-19 pandemic created interesting circumstances for building this collection. Several lessons were learned throughout the project which will be useful for other institutions embarking upon related projects.