EVENT DETAILS:
Title: Centering Sustainability: A New Model for Digital Stewardship
Presenter: Keith Pendergrass, Digital Archivist at Baker Library Special Collections and Archives, Harvard Business School, and co-author of “Toward Environmentally Sustainable Digital Preservation.”
Date: Wednesday, April 1, 2026
Time: 10:00am CST
Duration Length: 60 minutes
Description: Information and Communication Technology (ICT) infrastructure is the backbone of all our digital stewardship initiatives. However, negative impacts across the lifecycles of these technology components harm the natural environment, humans, and other species. As we continue to lean into digital developments in archival and library science, thus making greater and more intensive use of ICT infrastructure, our collective contribution to these harms grows. Additionally, the negative impacts of ICT infrastructure are not evenly distributed, disproportionately affecting marginalized, rural, and low-income communities around the world. This presentation will explore how archivists and digital stewards can learn from environmental and ecological justice principles to expand how we define the communities that we serve. By doing so, we can create a new, more sustainable model for digital stewardship that maintains value for our communities through the materials we steward while reducing the harm that our stewardship activities cause.
This program is coordinated by the Society of Southwest Archivists Ad Hoc Committee on Sustainability and sponsored by the Professional Development Committee.
Registrtation: Registration can be done here. If you are an SSA member be sure to log in to get the members’ rate.
Note: Zoom link will be provided via email one day before the event. For questions or if you encounter any registration difficulties, please contact pdc@