The National Library of China (NLC) on Thursday launched a national project to make a detailed record of the nation's fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, aiming to preserve the collective memory of Chinese people during the particular period of time.

Meanwhile, it rolled out a nationwide campaign among the public to collect and save various materials of historical value or special significance, which truthfully record personal stories from all aspects of the society and reflect the nationwide efforts in epidemic prevention and control.

The project is dedicated to document the impact of COVID-19 on the life, mentality and social relations of the Chinese people's, as well as the changes it triggered in technology application and public administration, such as digital life, remote work and online learning, according to the NLC.

The currently closed library is collecting a wide variety of objects and documents, including books, articles, pictures, letters, media reports, artworks and multi-media resources, through public contributions, exchanges and purchases.

Interviews of people who have participated in combating the coronavirus and witnessed the arduous process will also be included in the project.

Liao Yongxia, deputy director of the NLC Business and Management Department, said that the project has collected numerous digital contents, which were contributed by 40 bloggers on Sina Weibo – China's Twitter-like social media platform.

Most of the contents are the diaries posted on Weibo by frontline workers and witnesses, including medical staff, patients, reporters, deliverymen, community workers and government officials, during the unprecedented crisis.

According to the library, a primary archiving system is expected to be developed by the end of this year, but it will take three to five years to collect, organize and improve the collection, as some interviews can only be conducted at the end of or after the pandemic, with more in-depth reports and digital contents to be added.

The collections will embrace profound meanings and significant values as they not only preserve precious collective memory but also shed substantial light on the effects of the epidemic crisis on the development of public healthcare, economy, culture and technology, said the director of project from the NLC.