Bob Wessel
When historians look back on today from the 22nd century, what kinds of information will they find about the COVID-19 pandemic? And, where will the find it?
Historians writing about past events and disasters often start by looking at newspapers from the period under study, and to official government reports. These sources provide a lot of factual and statistical information important for understanding the particular historical event.
The advent of the digital age and the internet probably assure that newspapers and official reports from health departments and other government agencies will be readily available for researchers.
These sources are fine for details and facts; they provide the skeleton or framework for the historical narrative. However, sometimes they are sterile and faceless and usually completely miss the human side of the event.