Preservation of Electronic Government Information (PEGI) is an initiative to address national concerns regarding the preservation of electronic government information by cultural memory organizations for long term use by the public.
our vision
We imagine a world where government information is preserved and accessible for an engaged public and equitable democracy.
OUR MISSION
The PEGI Project advocates on behalf of current and future users of public information. Developing a community of practice to preserve and provide access to electronic government information is a large endeavor that will take many hands. Together, we seek to build capacity for libraries to preserve historically significant born-digital government information.
Strategies:
As a collective project team, we expand and develop our own expertise and networks in order to pursue our mission.
We explore opportunities and challenges related to government information dissemination by:
Tracking and reporting on the production, life cycle, and preservation of electronic government information.
Analyzing and synthesizing public policy issues and community activities.
We raise awareness of government information preservation issues by:
Publicizing and commenting on public policy.
Engaging with professional associations and their members by sharing findings at conferences and public meetings.
We build coalitions around the work of preservation by:
Bringing together people willing to collaborate in achieving long-term access to born-digital government information.
Educating library leaders about the need to build capacity and infrastructure for collection and preservation.
Hosting events to expand and share knowledge of preservation challenges, opportunities, and successes.
Background:
The PEGI Project has been informed by a series of meetings between university librarians, information professionals, and representatives of federal agencies, including the Government Publishing Office and the National Archives and Records Administration, and receives in-kind support from the University of North Texas, Arizona State University, Stanford University, and University of Pennsylvania.
To see the project timeline, click here.
CONTEXTUALIZING READINGS
We suggest the following readings as introductions to issues relevant for collecting and preserving born-digital government information. For more resources, see our Publications.
David J. Craig, "The Ghost Files," Columbia Magazine, Winter 2013-14.
Governments and the Digital Record: the Historian's Perspective. Report on a Panel Discussion on Government Information and Societal Memory Convened by the American Historical Association, January 2014. Center for Research Libraries, March 27, 2014.
James A. Jacobs, Born-Digital U.S. Federal Government Information: Preservation and Access, March 2014.
James A. Jacobs and James R. Jacobs. A Long-Term Goal For Creating A Digital Government-Information Library Infrastructure. Libraries+ Network, February 27, 2017.
Matthew S. Mayernik, Robert R. Downs, Ruth Duerr, Sophie Hou, Natalie Meyers, Nancy Ritchey, Andrea Thomer, Lynn Yarmey. Stronger Together: The Case for Cross-Sector Collaboration in Identifying and Preserving At-Risk Data. Libraries+ Network, April 5, 2017.
Michael Lewis, The Fifth Risk, New York: W.W. Norton, 2018.
National Archives. Guide to the Inventory, Scheduling, and Disposition of Federal Records. Revised October 2, 2018.
R. Eric Petersen, Jennifer E. Manning and Christina M. Bailey, Federal Depository Library Program: Issues for Congress, CRS Report R42457 (Washington, DC: Library of Congress, Research Service, March 29, 2012).
Sarah Potvin and Laura Sare, Public Goods and Public Interests: Scholarly Communication and Government Documents in Research Libraries. portal: Libraries and the Academy. Volume 16, Number 2, April 2016. pp. 417-441. 10.1353/pla.2016.0016
Stephen Abrams, “Nothing Succeeds Like Success: An Approach for Evaluating Digital Preservation Efficacy” presentation at iPres 2018; “Nothing succeeds like success: An approach for evaluating digital preservation efficacy” preprint.
Trevor Owens, The Theory and Craft of Digital Preservation, Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2018.
Wendy Ginsberg, Retaining and Preserving Federal Records in a Digital Environment: Background and Issues for Congress, CRS Report R43165. (Washington, DC: Library of Congress, Research Service, July 26, 2012).