Bereans and COVID-19 Initiative: Guide

Tell YOUR Story

In this unprecedented historical moment, the Berea College Special Collections and Archives (SCA) invites Berea College students, faculty, staff, and alumni to share your experiences during this challenging interlude of the COVID-19 pandemic. Through documenting a variety of experiences, we hope to foster connections within our community and preserve a record of our individual and shared experiences for posterity.

We need YOU to be a primary source

The ongoing public health crisis is affecting people all over the world, including Bereans. We want to know how YOU have been affected, so we have created the Bereans and COVID-19 Collection. If you are a student, staff or faculty member, or a Berea alum, consider this an opportunity to add your voice to the historical record.

Why your documentation is important

SCA actively collects and preserves both historical and contemporary records of the College. Through the Bereans and COVID-19 documentation initiative, we hope to minimize silences in the record by receiving contributions from as many Berea community members as are willing to share them.

Not sure where to start or how to participate?

We want you to document and reflect upon your current lived experience. This can include personal pieces or materials that keep you connected to others. SCA will do its best to include all types of materials and formats in the collection. 

Suggestions include:

• Prose, poetry, self-reflections

• Diaries and journals (excerpts from)

• Photographs

• Correspondence

• Emails, fliers, publications, and announcements

• Sound or video recordings 

• Photographs or screen shots of social media posts

• Art work, sketches, and drawings

• Interviews

• Zines

• Multimedia works of digital storytelling

Rights of the Donor and SCA

Upon submitting materials to the Berea College Special Collections and Archives (SCA) as part of the Bereans and COVID-19 Initiative, donors will be asked to certify that they are the creator and owner of all submitted materials. In submitting materials, donors will retain copyright of materials; however, donors will give license to Berea College, its successors and assigns, to add materials to the archives of Berea College and make them available to qualified persons subject to standard archival practices. Some materials may be made accessible digitally. Materials may be utilized, at the discretion of the SCA, in exhibits and displays.dohereby give nd may be made available, at the discretion od restrictions:

Review of Materials

All submitted materials are subject to review for inclusion in the collection. Objectionable items, plagiarized materials, and materials not related to the COVID-19 pandemic and the Berea College community will not be included in the collection. A review committee (made up of the Berea College Collections Archivist, the Head of Special Collections and Archives, and one faculty member) will review materials for inclusion in the collection. All materials not included in the collection will, when possible, be returned to the donor.

Submission Deadline

Due to the ongoing pandemic, the deadline for submission has been extended to May 31, 2021. All materials submitted by May 31, 2021 will be considered for inclusion in the collection. Please submit your materials by this date.

Access to Collection

Submissions will not be available immediately to the public. Upon review and processing of submissions, the collection will be made publicly accessible through the SCA Reading Room. Some materials may be made accessible digitally. 

Faculty: Are you including content or coursework pertaining to the COVID-19 pandemic within one of your courses?

Please email Tim Binkley, Head of Special Collections and Archives, if you are interested in submitting course materials and/or working with students to submit their materials to the Bereans and COVID-19 Initiative.

Most materials will be able to be submitted online - Click Button below to access the Submittal Form and submit your materials online.

If your materials are of a file format or size that are not able to be submitted online, please email Lori Myers-Steele.

Want to email, mail, or submit your material in person? See box below.

You will need to complete and sign a Submittal Form when contributing your materials by email, mail, or in person. See links to forms above.

To submit your materials via email:

Email both your materials and your signed Submittal Form to:

Lori Myers-Steele

To submit your materials via mail:

Mail both your materials and your signed Submittal Form to:

Lori Myers-Steele
Berea College Special Collections and Archives
CPO LIB
Berea, KY 40404

To submit your materials in person at the SCA: 

SCA and Hutchins Library is currently open to on-campus faculty, staff, and students. You many submit your materials at our reception desk if you are an on-campus faculty, staff or student.

Can someone submit more than one item or have multiple submissions? Yes. There are no limits to the number of materials submitted or the number of times one can make a submission. Additionally, one can submit more than one item per Submit Form as long as the maximum file size (3 MB) is not exceeded.

Please contact us if you have questions about this initiative or submitting materials:

Lori Myers-Steele (Collections Archivist)

myerssteelel@berea.edu

859.985.3253

Special Collections and Archives is located on the lower level of Hutchins Library (behind the Writing Center).

SCA is currently closed. However, we will be happy to accept in person submissions once we reopen.