Editor’s Note: It’s So Over/We’re So Back
by Elizabeth Kobert
Director of Publications, Archivists Round Table of Metropolitan New York
In a moment of irony befitting a meme-inspired journal theme, I contracted the coronavirus during the week that pitches for this issue were due. While we received one anonymous complaint that a professional group should not suggest the pandemic is “so over,” that was certainly not what I intended when I proposed this theme, nor is it the reality which we know to be true. What’s “so over” is the pre-Covid world that we once knew, and what’s “so back” is our determination to continue the important work of preserving our society’s memories, from the institutional to the deeply personal.
To take the invocation of this silly meme to its furthest end, we are still moving back and forth between these two states, wishing away the suffering and frustrations of life with a contagious virus and embracing the freedoms that medical science and economic necessity have granted us. Our intention with this issue is to reflect on what we’ve gained as well as what we’ve lost; what we miss about the past and what we’re excited for in the future; and to consider what we can learn about our present moment from the collections we steward. The broad range of articles submitted by ART members is a testament to the varied and unexpected ways the pandemic has changed our lives and our work.
With all this being said, I do hope that this is the last Covid-centric issue of the Metropolitan Archivist. Our goal is to publish twice a year moving forward, and the summer/fall theme will be announced soon.
I would like to thank our Publications Committee members for their enthusiasm, hard work, and skillful editing: Nora Acsadi, Ruth Hurwitz, and David Walker. Thank you to our wonderful contributors, who proposed creative and timely responses to our theme and gave us writing that we are proud to publish. And thank you to the ART Board for giving me the opportunity to oversee this issue.
