Everybody has a COVID-19 pandemic story to tell, and the Talbot County Free Library wants to hear and record those stories starting on Wednesday, March 16.
Local residents can set up an appointment, for either a Tuesday or Wednesday, to tell their stories in the Frederick Douglass Meeting Room. For more information or to schedule an appointment to tell your story, call (410) 822-1626 or visit www.tcfl.org.
Interviews will be done until June 29 at the main branch and will move to the St. Michaels branch in July. The statewide initiative will become a part of Enoch Pratt Free Library’s Digital Maryland and Maryland State Archives.
The project will be done in an interview-style in the Frederick Douglass room with the help of Dick Peskin, a volunteer for the Talbot County Free Library. Peskin has been a part of a couple of oral history projects for the library’s Maryland Room in the past and wanted to participate because there are many unique stories to tell during this pressing time in history.
“This is a recording of what has happened during this momentous time in our history, a time we have all participated in willingly or not,” said Peskin. “I hope that we get a wide range of different stories. I would also hope that people who hear these stories see that we are in this together; this is a common experience that we are living through in similar and different ways.”
“The project empowers Marylanders, providing a rare and valuable opportunity for all citizens to tell their stories. These personal recordings will become a part of our history, collectively informing the world and future researchers how COVID-19 impacted individuals and our local communities,” Bill Lord, Founder and Executive Director of The Global Z Recording Project said in 2020.
“When I first heard about the project, I thought that it was very important that the library be involved to help capture our resident's stories, understandings, hopes, beliefs, and values about the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Talbot County Free Library Director Dana Newman. “These oral accounts will be a resource to help researchers, policy makers, artists, and communities interpret and respond to current and future pandemics.”
