Library at IITGN
Introduction
We are going through a challenging time caused due to COVID-19 pandemic. In this highly stressful situation, the students have been affected especially by the change in their learning environment, living situation, employment opportunities, and social connections. Faculty members have adapted the ways in which they deliver their lectures, supplement with digital course materials, and virtually interact with the students. Staff and others working with the Institute have adjusted to the changes in their work environments, while coping with the unexpected changes in daily routines and family life. Taking this as a baseline, The Library has taken an initiative to document the IITGN community’s (faculty, students, staff, residents, security personnel, mess workers, construction workers, housemaids and others directly or indirectly associated with IITGN) personal and professional experiences, reactions, and responses to the changes in the community and the surrounding environment. Efforts will be made to collaborate with other units of the Institute including student body.
The Initiative
The documentation of official circulars, notices, and regulations is being done by the Library separately. Other than this documentation, the Library would like to capture personal experiences and reflections, as everyone’s story is unique, the memories matter, and the experiences will be an important part of the institution’s shared history. Therefore, all members of the IITGN community and those who work with the Institute through third party are invited and encouraged to participate in this initiative and contribute. Materials/content collected through this initiative will be preserved and made available as part of the archival record which will contribute to the understanding of this challenging time. When normalcy returns, we will have a physical exhibition as part of the Library Open House and hope to make the content/materials broadly available online.
We look forward to recording and compiling such experiences and stories. There is no prescribed format, therefore contributors are free to express themselves in any medium.
Contribution Details
Submissions of original content ranging from direct observations to artistic reflection are welcome. They may include:
- ✦ First-hand accounts of experiences
- ✦ Personal reflections
- ✦ Audio or video recordings
- ✦ Part of diaries, journals, or scrapbooks
- ✦ Poetry, drawings, photography, or music
- ✦ Artworks, letters, emails, social media posts
- ✦ Newspaper and magazine articles
- ✦ Activities of student bodies & professional associations
- ✦ Need of the hour practices
- ✦ Interviewing friends or family
- ✦ Any other material, which is worth a story.
Submissions can include, but are not limited to, any of these topics:
- ✦ Transition from ‘on-campus’/classroom learning to remote/virtual learning,
- ✦ On-campus work to remote work,
- ✦ Adjustments in students’ life including, moving off-campus
- ✦ Experiences of students who have remained on-campus
- ✦ Impact on projects or research, including new efforts one has started related to the coronavirus/sanitation/equipment
- ✦ Impact of technology on learning and teaching,
- ✦ Ability to stay connected to faculty, classmates, co-workers, friends, and family.
- ✦ Experiences of social distancing, self-quarantine, quarantined by the institute
- ✦ Unique initiatives taken by the Institute and community
- ✦ Participation & support provided to the community & nearby villages
- ✦ Support provided to construction workers & other needy people
- ✦ Challenges faced and how one has overcome successfully
- ✦ Lessons learnt and values that one feels are important in this crisis situation
- ✦ Any other topics that are worth documenting and preserved for the future
Submission Process
The submission form (Google form) will contain the details of the content/material contributors would like to submit to the archive along with an attachment of the file of content. Besides, we will be conducting interviews, discussions, and using other channels to document the experiences. Possible preservation, copyright, or privacy concerns may be flagged before submitting and sent to us for clarification, advice or suggestions to handle such content/material. The material submitted will become a part of the collective story of COVID-19 at IITGN. We will keep the community updated on the development of plans for an online archive of these experiences as more information and timelines become available.
Library Staff will be happy to answer any questions you may have about the submission process. You can reach us on libraryservices@iitgn.ac.in