At a time when governments are willfully failing to preserve all their records, librarians and activists are using archival work to do more than document history. Guerrilla archives—whether digital or analog—are generally nonpartisan acts of preservation to serve the public good.
I don't know who needs to hear this, but app.radiooooo.com is probably one of the best things on the internet...tracks dripping in nostalgia, curated by actual humans, no algorithms. Taste is an interesting thing that...at least for now...still needs us
While this pledge calls upon knowledge workers and memory institutions specifically, ANYONE can join this cause by volunteering with the Data Rescue Project: www.datarescueproject.org/faq
Additional massive cuts outlined in the proposed 2027 Presidential budget make this more important than ever:
Had a great time in SF recently speaking @archive.org, meeting many folks that @datarescueproject.org has been working with. One outcome is this pledge committing to preserve and expand access to US government data and research. Please read, sign, share, and take action! publicinformationtrust.org
“Data is not enough” from OEDP’s Fieldnotes on AI
Data & Tech Lead Cathy Richards focuses on the opportunity cost of the “lack of time to process information” refrain. ⚙️
🔗Read/Listen to more here: open.substack.com/pub/openenvi...
#Data #OpenData #AI #EnvironmentalData #EnvironmentalJustice
Is anyone really surprised that Claude code is a mess? Hilarious that Anthropic is issuing copyright takedown requests...
Today, the Archive published a Disappearing Data Chronology--a timeline tracking changes in access to federal information under Trump, including major data losses and restorations, legal challenges to information takedowns, and threats to archival collections. nsarchive.gwu.edu/special-exhi...
It’s important to remember that narcissism is in the DSM 5 and can be devastatingly detrimental to those affected…NOT some kind of innocuous productivity hack. Klein’s invocation of McLuhan ("we shape our tools, and then our tools shape us") re: AI sycophancy here is worth thinking about
Interesting thoughts here re: restricting AI/scraper access to archives/libraries conflicting with open knowledge/anti-surveillance ethos: "The remedy for misuse...lies downstream — in law, in professional norms, in community accountability — not in restricting access beforehand just in case."
New post: What's next for HIFLD?
This is an exciting development for the data rescue community. Our partners at @publicenvirodata.bsky.social and Fulton Ring have used our rescued data to create HIFLD Next!
The creators invite feedback!
www.datarescueproject.org/hifld-next/
hrm...I don't think independence for arXiv necessarily=enshittification but I do wonder what the impetus for this is. Will be interesting to see how it plays out...hiring a library-world person for this role would be a good sign, but the size of that salary will definitely attract other types
Appreciating the call here for coordination as "essential to prevent duplication, ensure consistency, and close the widening gap between well–resourced and under–resourced organisations."🙌 zenodo.org/records/1893...
Reading over these rationales it becomes really clear how reckless, arbitrary yet totally hate driven the cancelling of these grants has been. The fact that ChatGPT was employed to do so is especially worrisome alongside OpenAI's recent defense/weaponry contracts
Image with text that says, "New Report: Removal of Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Information from Federal Data Collections. January 2025 to January 2026, February 2026. Lauren Bouton, Elana Redfield."
New report from UCLA Williams Institute School of Law: "Removal of Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity from Federal Data Collections, January 2025 to January 2026" More: https://myumi.ch/jJ8Qg
"How can librarians fulfill their professional and ethical obligation to defend intellectual freedom in the face of threats to their reputations, their jobs, and even their physical safety?"
Great resource for anyone engaged or interested in US AI policy and governance from @geomblog.bsky.social and his team www.brown.edu/news/2026-03...
Friendly reminder that opposing both the oppressiveness of authoritarian regimes and this reckless war is not a contradiction on any front. Peace and safety to friends, family, and all living things in the Middle East🕊️
(video of a happy young goat at sunrise Jebel Shams, Oman from a recent visit)
enshittified is such a great way of putting it
Pippin from Lord of the Rings asking Aragorn "What about your data? Aragorn replies "My data is in the paper" Pippin then asks "But what about publishing your data so it's more findable and reusable?"
For this week's #MemeMonday, don't be like Aragorn! If you're able to, please consider publishing your data in a reputable repository. We here at DRP deposit our rescued data in #DataLumos from @icpsr.bsky.social
"The “censorships” that the site purports to counter are not internet shutdowns or broad restrictions on content such as those in place in China and Iran, but European restrictions on hate speech and illegal content such as those in the Digital Services Act, or the UK’s Online Safety Act."
love these shots🫶
Preserving The Web Is Not The Problem. Losing It Is.
Recent reporting by Nieman Lab describes how some major news organizations—including The Guardian, The New York Times, and Reddit—are limiting or blocking access to their content in the Internet Archive’s Wayback Machine. As stated in the…
In good news this week! ...hopefully these can be restored by summertime
"In a time when historical information is actively being deleted, disappeared, or obfuscated, and competing visions of nationhood and citizenship are put forward, how do we critically engage with the archive as a contested site?"
The extractive nature of LLMs can be seen in their exploitation of not only open content, but also in their damage to open infrastructures.
Awful Ai Books is a new blog by a librarian, including helpful tips on how to spot them: "This Awful Ai Book is actually trying to kill you" awfulaibooks.wordpress.com
yes, it's excellent. I saw a pre-screening with an audience of mostly librarians and some of the people featured in it...there were tears and standing ovations
🙌 "Every day, millions of Americans rely on federal data—often without realizing it...Data for the People! is a new podcast from the Data Foundation that shines a light on this essential but often overlooked infrastructure."
I'm starting to see chatter around the new Wikimedia Enterprise deal that basically amounts to "AI bad=Wikimedia platforms bad now," so this point bears repeating...that this isn't about capitulation but the necessary steps to maintain the integrity of the infrastructure and demand attribution
