Democracy’s Library, a project of the Internet Archive, aims to make U.S. government publications and information broadly accessible while also building community among those who work with it. In March 2026 the Internet Archive hosted the Information Stewardship Forum, a three-day convening of 120 participants from libraries, archives, journalism, research, policy, philanthropy, nonprofits, technology, and federal, state, and local government information roles. The group discussed shared challenges, solutions, and connections around preserving and providing access to government information.
A report documenting the meeting’s design, discussions, and post-event survey results is now available. Key themes that emerged include: many organizations are doing important work, yet no shared map exists of what has been saved or lost; stewardship requires more than storage—metadata, documentation, usable interfaces, and sustained expertise are essential; the field must move from emergency rescue efforts toward durable infrastructure, because triage alone is unsustainable; existing records laws are insufficiently enforced, so information continues to be removed, obscured, trapped in unusable formats, or placed behind paywalls, and some AI-related web-harvesting restrictions also hinder public-interest archiving; and the question “Who is government information for?” highlighted especially vulnerable materials such as local government records, climate and health data, and disaggregated data that allows communities to see themselves in the public record. Broadening participation beyond specialists was repeatedly emphasized.
Post-event survey responses were strongly positive: 93% said the Forum strengthened cross-organizational connections, 89% identified collaboration opportunities, 83% learned about tools or methods used by others, 98% planned to stay in contact with people they met, and roughly 20 respondents described specific collaborations they intended to pursue.
One concrete outcome is the document “Preservation of Government Information: A Call to Action,” which asserts that public access cannot be left to chance and invites individuals and organizations to sign in support. The Internet Archive invites continued participation at its upcoming event, Democracy’s Library: Tools for Participation, scheduled for October 21, 2026, both in person at Internet Archive Headquarters and online.