"Hurricane Sandy: Record, Remember, Rebuild" Project

May 29, 2013--Today a collaborative history project to document the impact of Hurricane Sandy on communities and neighborhoods in the Caribbean and United States was launched by Historypin, with support from Google, the Society of American Archivists, the American Association for State and Local History, and the Metropolitan New York Library Council. 

Historypin is a non-profit public history project that brings people together to explore and share history through photographs, stories, and audio and video recordings.  Anyone can upload content to the Historypin map, pin it to the location and date on which it was taken, and overlay it on Street View to create a world map that can be explored through time.

According to Jon Voss, Historypin Strategic Partnerships Director, “At Historypin, where we seek to build community around local history, we hope to contribute in some small way to Hurricane Sandy recovery by providing a place online to share photos and recollections of how things were before, during, and after the storm.  We know that archives, libraries, and museums play a critical role in preserving cultural and community memory, and we’re delighted that SAA is joining us in this effort.”  Read Voss’s blog post here.

Historypin invites individuals, communities, and local archives to share photographs, videos, and memories, with the goal of creating a rich record of life in communities and neighborhoods affected by the storm, a space to share memories, and a place to chronicle the re-building efforts.  View Historypin’s “Getting Started Guide” and YouTube video.

“We’re especially delighted to be working with Historypin, Google, and others to document the impact of Hurricane Sandy,” said SAA President Jackie Dooley.  “This collaboration matches Historypin’s unique capacity to build community around local history with archivists’ compelling interest in ensuring the completeness, diversity, and accessibility of the historical record.  Good things will result from working together!”

If you have material relating to Hurricane Sandy or historical photographs of neighborhoods damaged by the storm, please consider contributing content to this project.  Contact Rebekkah Abraham, Historypin Content Manager, at rebekkah.abraham@wearewhatwedo.org.