Hundreds of Hours of Unseen 9/11 Footage Headed to the Public

In the aftermath of Sept. 11, 2001, filmmakers Steven Rosenbaum and Pamela Yoder didn't just document the tragedy from behind their own cameras—they put out a call for everyday New Yorkers to share their footage, too. More than 100 people answered, contributing raw video from rooftops, sidewalks, and homes. The result: upward of 500 hours capturing the shock, heartbreak, and spontaneous debates that erupted in the days after the World Trade Center attacks. Portions of this collective video diary surfaced in the couple's 2002 documentary, 7 Days in September, but the vast majority of the footage has remained out of public view—until now, reports the New York Times.

The New York Public Library recently acquired their archive, considered the largest collection of 9/11 video documentation. It originated before smartphone ubiquity, when turning a camera on the world was still a conscious act, not an instinct. Described by library curator Julie Golia as a many-layered time capsule, the archive doesn't just revisit the events—it tracks the evolving arguments over their meaning, offering views of grief, anger, and resilience. Alongside it comes 700 hours of footage chronicling the fraught creation of the 9/11 Memorial & Museum. The library plans to open the collection for on-site use in 2027 and make it fully available online by 2030, per the Times.