Offaly people asked to be visual historians of Covid period

In these extraordinary times, it is more important than ever to recognise and document the changes to our environment due to the Covid-19 crisis.

Offaly Libraries are encouraging everyone in County Offaly to help them create a visual archive of these interesting times in our local community.

This initiative will enable the library service to create a valuable photographic record of social history for local historians and future generations.

If you have you ever wondered what it’s like to be a visual historian now is your chance to document your lived experience in real-time for posterity.

Offaly Libraries invite photographic submissions from individuals, community groups, businesses, school children and library patrons. Do you have relevant Covid-19 photos that you’d like to share with them?

Business Owners

Social distancing is all around us, have you photos showing how it operates in your place of work? New and creative signage, working behind work screens/partitions and wearing masks, businesses closed or empty due to restrictions, queueing outside, online trading and click and collect options, deliveries to homes ... the list of changes goes on. Send the library service your photos so future generations will see how quickly you had to change and adapt.

Individuals

Show them how you are spending your time when restrictions are in place. Reading more? New hobbies? Zoom quizzes?

School children and Home Schoolers

You have all had to adapt so quickly to new ways of learning - show the library service your photos!

Offaly Library Service looks forward to hearing from you.

To participate
Send your photo to: askthelibrarian@offalycoco.ie  

Each photo should be in the highest resolution possible and should be accompanied by the following information:
* name of the photographer and unique number for each photograph - example: JoeBlogg1, JoeBlogg2 etc.
* details of the date, location and content for each photograph
* name(s) of anyone who features in the photograph

Offaly Libraries look forward to this collection which will provide a unique visual record of our current lives and circumstances, offering a ‘living history’ for future researchers.

A digital photographic archive will be created as part of Offaly Library Service Archive collections and will be housed in the Offaly Archives facility in Tullamore.