Albany Community Observation Project

Introduction

The Albany Public Library invites you to be part of an exciting initiative inspired by the British based Mass Observation Project.  We want to capture a day-to-day snapshot of our lives in a writing project which records our responses to the coronavirus pandemic. Your contributions will be a valuable perspective of the time.  The material of the project will be collected, preserved and made publicly accessible in the Albany History Collection for ongoing research and reference. 

Background

In 1937, a ground-breaking social research project was established in Britain to record the everyday experiences of communities.  Personal experiences recorded in diaries and photographs during the global upheaval of WWII, gave a valuable insight to how Britons lived in a time of crisis. https://archiveshub.jisc.ac.uk/search/archives/c750df8e-0aab-3980-9158-35e69294acb9

The global impact of coronavirus has changed the way we live at every level of society.  At a local level, we want you to tell us how we really live.  Your experiences and observations are critical in painting a picture of our community in rapidly changing and challenging times. Collectively, your contributions become a valuable tool for research, teaching, learning and understanding the past.

Completing the survey

As an observer, you will be asked to provide a ‘self-portrait’ of yourself, identified only with initials (not necessarily your own), gender, year of birth, the suburb or area of Albany in which you live and your house number.   It is important to use the same personal details on subsequent surveys you complete as consistency allows us to follow changes in mood, sentiment and writing style of an observer in response to changing times.  If you live outside the municipal area of Albany, you are encouraged to participate although identifying your area is important to us. 

Open-ended questions invite responses to a particular topic such as shopping, leisure and relaxation, work and the way in which enforced restrictions have impacted upon our way of life.  Observations are principally captured in a written diary format, entered underneath the topic being discussed.  Nothing is too trivial to record.  Written expression of your experiences, thoughts, opinions and everyday observations provides a unique and rare opportunity to capture first-hand the mood and sentiments of our community. 

The survey must be completed within three days.  Once begun, it can be saved and returned to until completed within this time.

History is told through various forms of artistic expression and provision has been made for some topics, to upload a photograph, sketch, poem, voice recording or image of an artwork or sculpture applicable to the subject.

Thank you for your interest and participation.