P16 Rolling with the Surges: Lesson Learned in Collecting Pandemic History Reflections in Real Time

Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, the collection development processes at the OSU Medical Heritage Center (MHC), the special collections department of The OSU Health Sciences Library, focused on in-person and after-the-fact acquisitions. Starting in March 2020, the pandemic brought a dramatic shift to this process as well as the opportunity to re-imagine how to collect. This poster details the process created by MHC staff to capture reflections of medical professionals and everyday citizen as we underwent (and still go through) phases of the COVID-19 pandemic. This process enabled us to capture history in real-time, with special attention to DEIA in collecting, while also identifying oral history opportunities to record during slower times of the pandemic.