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NYPL Acquires Vast Crowdsourced 9/11 Video Archive, Public Access Set to Begin in 2027

Filmmaker Steven Rosenbaum, with collaborator Pamela Yoder, donated the collection, which NYPL will preserve as a timestamped civic record under ethical review.

The rubble of the North Tower covers part of a pedestrian bridge at the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001.
A New York Police Department vehicle and a motorcyclist speed down a street toward the World Trade Center after the North Tower's collapse on September 11, 2001. The photo was recently found on a forgotten floppy disk.
Laszlo Kiss snapped this image of the debris-littered street at the entrance to the South Tower after the first impact, which was at the neighboring North Tower.

Overview

  • The CameraPlanet Archive comprises more than 1,200 hours of contemporaneous video, including over 500 hours from the week of the attacks and 700-plus hours on the 9/11 Memorial & Museum’s creation.
  • More than 130 New Yorkers contributed first-person footage, portions of which appeared in the 2002 documentary “7 Days in September,” while the majority has never been public.
  • NYPL’s Manuscripts and Archives Division will process, digitize, and catalog the materials, with in-library access expected to begin in 2027 and full online availability reported around 2030.
  • NYPL marked the donation with a Sept. 11 screening of “7 Days in September” at the Stephen A. Schwarzman Building, followed by a discussion with Rosenbaum, Yoder, and historian Kenneth T. Jackson moderated by Kurt Andersen.
  • Library leaders and the donors describe the archive as crucial evidence for researchers and the public, emphasizing safeguards against misinformation and careful handling of privacy and graphic content.