Documenting the University’s COVID-19 Response
As part of our work to appraise, acquire, preserve and provide access to University records at UTARMS, we are looking to ensure that COVID-19-related initiatives, communication, and decision-making documentation created by University staff is being managed and preserved in this quickly-changing environment. Records created and used in your capacity as a University staff member will become meaningful documentation of U of T’s administrative and research response to the pandemic, and will be critical to future generations of researchers.
What UTARMS’ wants to know from University staff
In addition to regular University-related work, many staff are now engaged in projects or have taken on addition responsibilities to support and assist the University’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. We want hear about your COVID-19-related responsibilities, so that we can evaluate the records related to this work in the University Archives.
Specifically, we want to know:
- Has your unit developed new initiatives such as a project team, committee, or task force to respond to COVID-19-related changes?
- Have you adopted new ways of working that are affecting the documentation of decision-making related to the operation of your unit or research within your department?
- Are any of these new initiatives leading to new policies and procedures that should be documented?
- Are any of these new initiatives producing recorded information that is at risk for being lost (time-sensitivity, work from home issues, etc.)
- Are there faculty members in your unit that are leading COVID-19-related research projects?
- Are any of these new initiatives leading to the creation of communications, newsletters, and publications that you believe should be captured by the Archives?
UTARMS values any information you can share with us related to COVID-19-related work within your unit. Please send any responses or information related to the above questions to the following contacts:
Andrea McCutcheon, Records Archivist, University of Toronto Archives and Records Management Services – andrea.mccutcheon@utoronto.ca
Tys Klumpenhouwer, University Archivist, University of Toronto Archives and Records Management Services – t.klumpenhouwer@utoronto.ca
Thank you for your participation in this initiative. Addressing the records being created and used by University staff, alongside other initiatives to document the community response to the COVID-19 pandemic, UTARMS hopes to collect a diverse and fulsome picture of the University in the context of the pandemic.