The Digital Library Federation (DLF)’s new working group on Government Records Transparency and Accountability is bringing together a cross-disciplinary group of practitioners in collaborations designed to help effectively address the shifting landscape of preservation and access regarding government archives, records and data in the United States – and abroad. (An introduction to the group by its founder, Dr. Rachel Mattson, is available here: https://www.diglib.org/
Additionally, in mid-April the DLF, along with co-sponsors DataRefuge and CLIR, will host the first annual Endangered Data Week (EDW). The event (scheduled to take place from April 17-21) is spearheaded by Brandon Locke (Michigan State University) in collaboration with Jason A. Heppler (University of Nebraska-Omaha), Bethany Nowviskie (DLF), and Wayne Graham (Council on Library and Information Resources). Like Open Access Week or Banned Books Week, EDW is a distributed series of independently organized events–in this case focusing on threats to publicly available data across disciplines and domains. Local or virtual events hosted as part of EDW may offer training in data management, involve participants in “data rescue/data refuge” activities, illuminate ways to make data more secure and accessible, or engage with issues and power dynamics surrounding data creation, sharing, and retention. For more information about events happening in conjunction with EDW, or to participate by hosting a local event, please visit http://endangereddataweek.org/