Future Knowledge Preserving Government Information
Sep 10, 2025
Join U.S. Government Information Librarian James R. Jacobs, his brother James A. Jacobs, a seasoned data services librarian, and Shari Laster, head of Open Collections Curation at ASU, as they delve into the critical importance of preserving government information. They discuss the challenges of safeguarding digital records in a rapidly changing landscape. Highlighting the roles of transparency and accessibility, they emphasize how gaps threaten democracy and propose collaborative solutions to ensure vital public records remain intact for future generations.
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Government Records Are Historical Evidence
- Government publications document policy shifts and social history, from the food pyramid to laws and censuses.
- Preserving these records prevents erasure and maintains accountability over time.
We Don't Know What We Need To Preserve
- We lack a denominator of what the government publishes and a common standard for successful preservation.
- That blind spot forces preservationists to work reactively and without clear priorities.
Preserve At Publication, Not After Deletion
- Build a digital preservation infrastructure (DPI) with clear elements and shared goals to close preservation gaps.
- Start preserving as information is published instead of rescuing it after deletion.
