DataRescueDC - Day 1

Join fellow students, faculty, librarians, and scientists from Georgetown and the DC area to save valuable environmental data sets housed on public websites with DataRescueDC!

DataRescueDC is a movement made up of motivated scholars and information professionals around the DC area who are committed to protecting, and making accessible, at-risk federal government data. Their mission is to support climate and environmental research and advocacy and to show solidarity among the scholarly community for a culture that prizes fact-based arguments.

Over the course of two days, Saturday, February 18 and Sunday, February 19, this community will gather here at Georgetown to seed, sort, harvest, and store this intellectual capital in Data Refuge, a project facilitated by the University of Pennsylvania’s Program in Environmental Humanities.

Program Schedule

Saturday, February 18, 12:00-6:00pm: Sessions include a teach-in featuring Georgetown professors, a Guide training for Sunday’s team leaders and a round table on open data literacy. Saturday's events will take place in the Murray Conference Room, Georgetown University Library, 5th Floor.

  • 12:00-1:30pm: Humanizing Climate Data: A teach-in on the importance of climate data
    • Moderator: Elizabeth Foster, Public Policy and Social Sciences Librarian, Georgetown University Library
    • Bethany Wiggin, Founding Director, Penn Program in Environmental Humanities; Associate Professor of German, University of Pennsylvania
    • Raphael Calel, Assistant Professor in the McCourt School of Public Policy, Georgetown University
    • Denice W. Ross Public Interest Technology Fellow, New America
  • 1:30 - 4:00 pm: Guide training for Sunday's team leaders
  • 4:15 - 5:15 pm: Open data/Data Vulnerability: A Round Table Discussion
    • Moderator: Alex Howard, Deputy Director, Sunlight Foundation
    • Laurie Allen, Assistant Director for Digital Scholarship, University of Pennsylvania Libraries
    • Laura Wrubel, Software Development Librarian; End of Term Archive participant, GWU Libraries
    • Mike Kruger, Former Deputy Director of Public Affairs, U.S. Department of Commerce
    • Michael Halpern, Deputy Director, Center for Science and Democracy at the Union of Concerned Scientists

Sunday, February 19, 10:00am - 5:00pm: Sessions include a creative coding and archive-a-thon. Sunday's events will take place in Reiss 103, Reiss Science Building, Georgetown University.

Program FAQs

  1. Do I need to have specific technical expertise?
    No, regardless of your technical skills you can play a vital role in this project! Experts will be on hand both days to guide you through the tasks at hand.
  2. Do I need to come for the entire program?
    Only guides need to stay for the entire program, otherwise the schedule for the weekend is flexible and you can come for any portion that works for you!
  3. Do I need to bring any special equipment?
    Just bring yourself, your laptop, and a charger. You will also want to be sure to bring water and snacks to keep up your energy throughout the day!
  4. Who else is involved in this program?
    This program is being co-sponsored by Georgetown University Library and Johns Hopkins University Sheridan Libraries.

Sponsors

In addition to our generous sponsors, DataRescueDC, Data Refuge, and Georgetown University Library have a variety of amazing partners facilitating this project including:

  • Sunlight Foundation
  • University of Pennsylvania Libraries
  • Penn Program in Environmental Humanities
  • Environmental Data Governance Initiative (EDGI)
  • Climate Mirror
  • University of Michigan Libraries
  • Internet Archive
  • Temple University Libraries
  • ProjectARCC
  • Union of Concerned Scientists
12:00pm - 6:00pm
Murray Conference Room, Georgetown University Library, 5th Floor, Georgetown University