Description
This collection documents the COVID-19 pandemic as experienced by California State University, Dominguez Hills and Southern
Los Angeles County community members. This collection includes student diaries, essays, letters, blogs, digital photographs,
videos, local periodicals, and artworks. All materials in this collection are born-digital items, except for two boxes of
Daily Breeze newspaper articles which are restricted to on-site use only. Material in this collection is available to view at:
Documenting COVID-19 Collection
Background
Coronavirus disease 2019, abbreviated as "COVID-19," was classified as a pandemic on March 11, 2020 by the World Health Organization.
California State University campuses closed and moved to virtual instruction on March 17, 2020. On March 20, 2020 Los Angeles
Mayor Eric Garcetti called for a "safer at home" order, which limited non-essential activities. Since its establishment as
a pandemic, COVID-19 has reached over 60,000,000 cases globally as of November 2020, according to the World Health Organization.
In April 2020, the Gerth Archives and Special Collections at California State University, Dominguez Hills (CSUDH) began the
"Documenting COVID-19 in Southern Los Angeles County" project. The purpose of the project was to document the experiences
of CSUDH and Southern Los Angeles County community members during the COVID-19 pandemic, and to provide a way for community
members to share their story. The Gerth Archives and Special Collections called for submissions of photos, videos, diaries,
art, and other digital media that represented daily life during quarantine. The project welcomed submissions about a wide
array of subject matter in the context of COVID-19, including social distancing, the move to online instruction, essential
work, and other changes to life amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Restrictions
All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Director of Archives
and Special Collections. Permission for publication is given on behalf of Special Collections as the owner of the physical
materials and not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained.