Paper short abstract:

During the spring of 2020, SLS archives undertook several collections regarding COVID-19 and life in lockdown. As such, the collections simultaneously constituted a pilot project for collecting in novel ways and employing various digital techniques.

Paper long abstract:

Two days after a state of emergency was declared in Finland, the SLS archives published the questionnaire “Finland in lockdown! How does Corona effect you?” It soon transpired that COVID-19 not only united humankind, but also heritage institutions such as archives and museums.

For the SLS archives, the documentation work during the spring became a workshop for experimenting with various methods of collecting. The questionnaire was supplemented with photo documentations, virtual interviews and collections in social media.

Institutions worldwide documented the ravages of the pandemic, which in turn sparked great interest in cooperation, both in Nordic and national contexts. Primarily, the cooperation concerned exchanges of experiences regarding the actual colleting, which took place at many levels and from different perspectives, rather than a discussion of the material collected or the archiving process.

It remains to be seen how researchers will use this material. Several stages of coping with the pandemic remain: how will the rapidly developed vaccines be received, and what lasting impact will the year 2020 have had on consumption, travelling, working life etc. It seems likely that the documentation of the pandemic will continue throughout 2021 and that further follow-ups will be conducted.