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FAQ

How do I contribute an item?

Click on the “Contribute an Item” page, choose the item type, and complete the form. Be sure to check the “Publish my contribution on the web” box at the end of the form. Once the contribution form is submitted, Archives, Special Collections, & Community will review the submission before it is made available online. We aim to review submissions within 48 hours, although there may be delays. 

If you have something that can’t be contributed via the online platform, complete the “Contact Us” form.

Who can contribute to this site?  What if I’m not a Davidson student?

You don’t have to be a Davidson student to contribute an item! We are interested in the COVID-19 pandemic experiences of all individuals, including - but not limited to - Davidson students, faculty, staff, alumni, parents, and community members. 

What should I contribute?

We welcome anything that tells the story of your COVID-19 experience, including - but not limited to - written documents, videos, music, photographs, oral histories, and screenshots of your social media posts.  Due to intellectual property considerations, these items should be wholly original and must not infringe on someone else’s copyright. 

Please note that while the expression of COVID-19 experiences of all types are encouraged, we review contributions for inappropriate content before they are published.  

When can I contribute an item?

Anytime!  (Re)Collecting COVID-19 seeks to document our communities’ experiences of the various stages of the COVID-19 pandemic. Although it may evolve, we plan to keep it open for contributions during the course of the pandemic and even after. 

How many items and how often can I contribute? 

You may contribute as many items and as many times as you would like. If you have a large number of files, you may wish instead to contribute a link to cloud storage (Dropbox, Box, Google Drive, etc.). To do so, complete the “Hyperlink” form on the “Contribute an Item” page.

Are there limits to what can I contribute?

Files may be no larger than 150mb.  For files larger than 150mb, please contribute a link to the file location. To do so, complete the “Hyperlink” form on the “Contribute an Item” page.

The following files types can be submitted:

aac,aif,aiff,asf,asx,avi,bmp,c,cc,class,css,divx,doc,docx,exe,gif,gz,gzip,h,ico,j2k,jp2,jpe,jpeg,jpg,m4a,m4v,mdb,mid,midi,mov,mp2,mp3,mp4,mpa,mpe,mpeg,mpg,mpp,odb,odc,odf,odg,odp,ods,odt,ogg,opus,pdf,png,pot,pps,ppt,pptx,qt,ra,ram,rtf,rtx,swf,tar,tif,tiff,txt,wav,wax,webm,wma,wmv,wmx,wri,xla,xls,xlsx,xlt,xlw,zip

Please note that while the expression of COVID-19 experiences of all types are encouraged, we review contributions for inappropriate content before they are published.  

What if I want to contribute something that involves other people? 

If you interview other people in the course of your documentation, or if any materials are co-created by you and another person, we will also need their permission so that we can preserve and share your materials with future researchers. Please have all co-creators contact us via the “Contact Us” form for more information and appropriate documentation.

If we do not receive releases from all creators, we cannot share the materials. Only one person will need to attach the files to the form — co-creators can simply fill in their personal information along with a description of the materials. We reserve the right not to post submissions without appropriate permissions.

What if I’m submitting something that has personal information, including health information?

Please only submit information you are comfortable sharing with others.  If you have materials you would like to donate to the Archives but would not like to make public, please contact us via the “Contact Us” form.

What if I want to contribute something physical to the Davidson College Archives?

We are interested in physical artifacts, as well as digital materials. Examples of physical materials may include journals, photographs, masks, etc. Materials will be accepted if they meet the parameters of our collections policy. 

If you would like to submit an item both digitally and physically (ex: digitally submit a photograph of a piece of art and then physically submit the actual work):

If you would like to submit an item only physically, not digitally, contact us via the “Contact Us” form.  Please note that we cannot accept physical submissions without prior authorization.

What if I want to submit to the Davidson College Archives directly?

If you would like to submit an item to Archives, Special Collections, & Community directly, please contact us via the “Contact Us” form and a staff member will follow up with you.

If you would like to submit your materials directly to us via (Re)Collecting COVID-19, complete the appropriate contribution form for your material and keep the “Publish my contribution on the web” box unchecked when submitting the contribution form. This will keep your submission from being considered for web publication.

What is the College Archives going to do with the materials that are contributed?

We seek to document our communities’ COVID-19 experiences. Materials that are submitted to this project will appear as part of the community-sourced exhibit and may also appear in future exhibits. We will also add selected materials from the project to the College Archives to ensure that individual and personal experiences are represented alongside official records and administrative documents and can be available for future researchers. Some of the materials will be preserved based on our collections policies; unfortunately, we cannot guarantee long-term preservation for all items that are submitted.

I contributed an item, but it’s not showing on the site.  Do I need to submit it again?

We review all items before they are published to the web.  We aim to have a 48 hour turnaround, but it may be longer.

Please also make sure that you chose the “publish to the web” option in your submission.

How do you decide what goes on this site?

(Re)Collecting COVID-19 is a community-sourced project and submissions will determine the content.  Our intention is to represent as many voices in as many formats as possible. We welcome differing opinions but hope to encourage respectful dialogue; therefore, submissions will be reviewed for inappropriate content. 

Does my contribution have to be something I created?

Due to copyright considerations, we request that you only submit items wholly created by you.  If someone helped you create your contribution, please contact us via the “Contact Us” form so that we can ensure proper permissions.

Davidson College Archives, Special Collections, & Community is collecting official COVID-19 records from the college through our regular channels, so it is not necessary to submit these materials to this site.  

What if my copyrighted material is on the site and I don’t want it there?

We have made the best effort to adhere to known intellectual property and privacy rights. Due to the nature of this project, we are not always able to identify intellectual property and/or privacy information. We are eager to hear from any rights owners so that we may obtain accurate information. Please contact us via the “Contact Us” form to make corrections or to request removal of materials from public access.

Why do you need my email address?

An email address is required for all submissions. Email addresses are never published to the web and will be viewable only to library staff and will not be shared with researchers. We will do our best to ensure your privacy.  

Once you submit your contribution, you will receive a thank you email with information about the creation of a guest account. Guest accounts are autogenerated for all contributors. By enabling your account, you can streamline future submissions and review past contributions. If you do not want to complete a guest account, no worries! This is an added benefit designed only for those who wish to participate to the fullest extent—it is not required.

I have a question that isn’t answered here!

We’re happy to help!  Please complete the “Contact Us” form and we will respond to you soon.