When the District of Columbia issued a stay-at-home order to mitigate the spread of COVID-19, all DC Public Library locations closed. This order also impacted the librarians and archivists who typically work with residents to document historic events. Parts of this national crisis' local impact risked being lost if there wasn't a way to capture and collect information in real-time.

The library created the "Archive This Moment DC" collection to capture what people were thinking, feeling and doing during the COVID-19 public health emergency. Residents were asked to post content on social media using the hashtag #archivethismomentdc or share content with the library using a departmental webform. "Archive This Moment DC" was the first time the DC Public Library launched a participatory archive. The hope was that it would make for a more comprehensive and diverse narrative.

From March 25 to May 28, the library collected more than 2,000 digital objects. Librarians have been working behind the scenes creating complete records of the materials. In September, the library released 24/7 images to the public on Dig DC, the library's web portal for digitized and born-digital special collections items. Washingtonian and the District of Columbia’s NPR affiliate, WAMU Radio, wrote stories on the collection.