December 14, 2003 Library of Congress Calls for Personal Remembrances of 9/11

In partnership with the September 11 Digital Archive Project, the Library of Congress is launching a new interactive Web site, "Contribute Your Story," accessible through a link on the Library’s “Witness and Response” online exhibition at https://www.loc.gov/exhibits/911/.

Visitors who visit the site can share their recollections of that day by answering three questions:

1) Where were you on September 11, 2001, when you heard the news?
2) What is your strongest memory of that day?
3) How do you perceive that the events of September 11, 2001, have affected this country and/or you personally?

The interactive site also allows visitors to browse through the submissions of other contributors.

The impact of the events of September 11, 2001, is still unfolding. The recollections of ordinary Americans during the aftermath will prove invaluable to future generations of researchers attempting to analyze these events and their bearing upon the history of the nation.

"Contribute Your Story" offers online visitors the opportunity to submit personal stories, recollections, artwork or e-mail about the effects of September 11 on their lives and how the events have changed the country.

Access to the September 11 Digital Archives through the "Witness and Response" online exhibition helps the Library to achieve its goal of acquiring, preserving, and sustaining a comprehensive record of American history and general knowledge for present and future generations.

The September 11 Digital Archive http://911digitalarchive.org/ was organized by the American Social History Project at the City University of New York and the Center for History and New Media at George Mason University. The Digital Archive Project uses electronic media to collect, preserve and present the personal stories and reactions of ordinary citizens relating to the attacks. It is the largest digital collection of 9/11-related materials, serving as the Smithsonian Institution’s designated repository for digital objects related to the attacks. The Library of Congress was approached by George Mason University to participate in this project by enabling visitors to the Library’s online exhibit to contribute to the archive. The September 11 Digital Archive and its interactive Web site, “Contribute Your Story,” was formally accepted into the Library’s collections on September 10, 2003, thereby marking the Library’s first major digital acquisition of 9/11 materials.