Libraries and Archives in the Anthropocene:
A Colloquium, 2017

As stewards of a culture’s collective knowledge, libraries and archives are facing the realities of cataclysmic environmental change with a dawning awareness of its unique implications for their missions and activities. Some professionals in these fields are focusing new energies on the need for environmentally sustainable practices in their institutions. Some are prioritizing the role of libraries and archives in supporting climate change communication and influencing government policy and public awareness. Others foresee an inevitable unraveling of systems and ponder the role of libraries and archives in a world much different from the one we take for granted. Climate disruption, peak oil, toxic waste, deforestation, soil salinity and agricultural crisis, depletion of groundwater and other natural resources, loss of biodiversity, mass migration, sea level rise, and extreme weather events are all problems that indirectly threaten to overwhelm civilization’s knowledge infrastructures, and present information institutions with unprecedented challenges.

This colloquium will serve as a space to explore these challenges and establish directions for future efforts and investigations. We invite proposals from academics, librarians, archivists, activists, and others.

New York University, May 13-14, 2017. It will be hosted by the Moving Image Archiving and Preservation Program at NYU's Tisch School of the Arts.

The call for proposals is here. The deadline was August 1, 2016. Proposals are no longer accepted.

Due to space limitations, registration is limited to a small number. There will be a $75 registration fee to cover costs.

The organizers wish to thank NYU professor Howard Besser for his support.