Championing Public Data: Recap from IASSIST Keynote

In early June, DRP Director Dr. Lynda Kellam delivered a moving keynote presentation at the annual IASSIST conference. In her presentation, Lynda made the connection between data stewardship roles and civic life. Lynda has kindly made her slides, and a transcript of the presentation, publicly available. But for those who weren’t able to attend, or perhaps just need a mental boost, we wanted to highlight an excerpt:

“In the early days of the Data Rescue Project, journalists would call us the resistance. And I would push back on that framing. In those interviews, I would say our only goal was preservation. I was cautious about the political characterization. At the time, I was protecting my institution, and I understood why that caution was necessary. But I have had time to think about it. And those journalists were right, and I was telling only part of the truth.

My goal was never only preservation. My goal — our goal — is access, which in the current environment becomes a political question. In a democracy, people have the right to access public information. The federal government is the only institution that can collect certain kinds of public data at scale, and it is the only institution mandated to share that information with the public without charge. When that data disappears or becomes inaccessible, something essential to democratic participation is lost.

…

We have the expertise to speak to the methodological consequences of eliminating surveys. We understand the downstream effects of losing data. We know what disappears when documentation is removed, when staffing is cut, when preservation workflows break down, or when access becomes restricted.

And we have a professional obligation, I would argue, to say so out loud, in public, in the places where those decisions are being made. Not because we are abandoning our professional roles, but because we are fully embodying them. When we talk to administrators, legislators, journalists, and to the public, we need to be willing to say clearly: this is not just about research. This is about democracy. This is about the public’s right to know.”

♥️🛟🔥