Map Librarian / Artist / Teacher focused on user-centered design, informal learning in GLAM, new uses for old maps, collaborative interdisciplinary problem-solving, and the interplay between technology and culture.

Presentation Slides

Silver Linings in a Dark Cloud; Imagining an Ethical Data Infrastructure

Presented on May 1, 2023 for INSC 563 Data Management, School of Information Sciences, UT Knoxville.

Presentation based on research paper. Download PDF

Silver linings: ethical infrastructure

My choice of this topic was driven by a desire to understand the environmental and cultural impacts of large-scale data storage and explore implications of use of corporate-owned facilities for storage of data requiring digital preservation. In the paper I connect the information science field’s mandate to curate and conserve digital cultural products to various impacts of the physical infrastructure required to house this information. In my research I learned that while their true environmental cost is challenging to calculate, hyperscale data centers present the most efficient solution to societal data storage needs. In the paper I argue that the information science field can offer effective solutions for mitigating these impacts by recommending best processes for assessing the relative value of digital information, prioritizing storage of scientific and cultural data over data harvested via commercial activities, adopting clear data preservation policies, and advocating for placement of hyperscale data centers in environmentally favorable locations identified through geospatial data analysis focused pm regional water scarcity and greenhouse gas emission levels. Through this project I gained new insights into the state of data storage in the US and formed a more nuanced understanding of the many factors involved with calculating secondary impacts of our rapidly expanding need for storage infrastructure.

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