Beginning in January 2025, many federal datasets, websites, and other previously accessible resources have been taken offline to comply with executive orders. Notable examples include resources from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the National Institutes of Health, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Growing evidence indicates that datasets that remain accessible may contain altered information.
LITS is monitoring reports on accessibility and availability of federal data and is working within our professional organizations to keep abreast of developments, resources available, and efforts underway to save datasets and share best practices. Given our mission, we are particularly mindful of the potential impact on our community’s research.
LITS has created LibGuide called Disappearing Data to give context on recent changes, and provide a collection of key resources related to preserving access to federal data, including the Internet Archive’s End of Term Crawl, Harvard Library Innovation Lab, and The Data Rescue Project. We invite faculty, students, and staff to suggest other valuable and relevant sources, or identify key datasets or resources that may be particularly vulnerable.
If you need access to a specific dataset to conduct your research or want to know more about what is happening with a particular type of data, please reach out to the Research and Instruction librarians at researchservices-g@mtholyoke.edu and we will be happy to help to find and store data that is essential to your work.
We understand these are anxious times for our community personally and as researchers, and we are committed to supporting your work.