Launched on 4 May 2020, The Diary Files was intended as an 'online community diary' to collect 'stories, poems, lyrics, thoughts and reflections of the people of NSW and beyond' during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. The State Librarian, John Vallance, noted in the press release for the launch of the project:
We want to document this year more than ever, so when researchers look back in 50 or 100 years’ time they’ll be able to access a rich and diverse slice of history and understand what it was like for people living through a pandemic.
Entries were up to 300 works, and took a range of forms.
Source: State Library of New South Wales press release, 4 May 2020.
