Communications of the ACM
Volunteers Archive Government Data, Worry Trump Administration Could Cut Access
Academics, librarians and technology professionals are hosting archive-a-thons to copy public databases hosted by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and other federal agencies, out of fear access to the data could be compromised by the Trump admin
Credit: Leland Sutton via Data Rescue NYC
Technology professionals, academics, and other volunteers are working to archive public databases hosted by U.S. government agencies because they are worried access to the data could be cut off by the Trump administration.
The volunteers want to ensure that climate, environmental, and other data remain in the public domain, according to organizers of the "archive-a-thons" taking place across the U.S. and Canada.
Although the administration has not made any public claims about cutting off access to data, President Donald Trump has made past statements about reducing funding to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and the administration's attempts to reduce public communications at some federal agencies have raised concern among scientists about long-term access to data.
Archiving events have been held in New York City, Portland, OR, and Ann Arbor, MI, with others planned this month for the Bay Area in California, and Boston.
From The Wall Street Journal
View Full Article - May Require Paid Subscription
Abstracts Copyright © 2017 Information Inc., Bethesda, Maryland, USA
No entries found