Brookline Library Partners With StoryCorps To Help You Connect

BROOKLINE, MA — Brookline's public library is partnering with national nonprofit StoryCorps in an effort to help Brookline residents collect the stories of how the pandemic has impacted them and save those stories for generations to come.

The library is asking Brookline residents to connect with loved ones during the pandemic and, in the process, to contribute to the creation of a first-person historical record of this unprecedented time.

The conversations will be preserved and accessible for future generations at the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress and the StoryCorps Archive.

"We are living in historic times," Library Director Sara Slymon said. "The Library is delighted to help Brookline residents connect with significant people in their lives and capture their experiences using StoryCorps Connect."

If you've heard of StoryCorps you might be familiar with the privately funded non profit's mission to collect, share and preserve the stories of people from all backgrounds and beliefs across generations. The organization started in 2003, and has brought more than 600,000 Americans together—two at a time—to record intimate, face-to-face conversations about their lives, create human connection, pass wisdom from one generation to the next and leave a legacy.

The nonprofit has won a number of awards along the way, put out several books and and helped immortalize thousands of stories — the largest single collection of voices gathered — in the Library of Congress collection. It's likely you've even heard a few on NPR.

The organization began developing StoryCorps Connect in March in response to the pandemic, motivated by the idea that at this time of physical separation, StoryCorps could provide a public service to increase connection to others and reduce the impact of isolation, particularly on vulnerable populations.

"Social distancing is the exact opposite of the StoryCorps ethos, which strives to bring people together and acknowledge and celebrate our common humanity," Founder and President of StoryCorps Dave Isay said in a statement. "At this time of physical separation, the StoryCorps interview methodology is a more essential tool than ever before for bringing us together."

The remote platform allows anyone to conduct and record StoryCorps interviews remotely. Brookline Library is hosting an introductory workshop at 7 p.m. Aug. 12 at brooklinelibrary.org/events.

StoryCorps is also working with national partners including the American Library Association, and with public media organizations and school districts across the country to bring StoryCorps Connect to people. American Library Association Executive Director Tracie Hall said the stories can speak to collective endurance and resilience in real time and bear witness to their experiences during this extraordinary time.

"We hope to help foster wide participation, because in our darkest moments sharing stories provides a source of light,” said American Library Association Executive Director Tracie Hall.

StoryCorps Connect began this past April at www.storycorpsconnect.org

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