The Digital Preservation Coalition (DPC) seeks feedback on its newly released draft of the Carbon Footprint Toolkit. The toolkit has been being developed by the DPC Carbon Footprint Task Force over the past year to create a resource for organizations to correctly and efficiently calculate the carbon footprint of their digital collections and preservation work. The toolkit includes best practices, instructions, and a Carbon Footprint Calculation Tool to make that work as accessible as possible for any size organization or institution that might benefit from it.

Alicia Wise, the Executive Director of CLOCKSS and task force chair was quoted in the call for participation:

“The DPC’s 170+ members in 20+ countries identified environmental sustainability of digital preservation as a key topic of shared interest, and it has been an honour to chair the talented task and finish group convened to develop a toolkit on calculating the carbon footprint of digital preservation activities. We drew on experience from Canada, Finland, the Netherlands, the UK, and the US to deliver a guide that will help you no matter what stage of the journey you are on. Please join us on this journey, and we will be delighted to evolve the toolkit based on your implementation experiences!”

Everyone is welcome to add comments and suggestions to the draft Google doc linked above. Additionally, the task force is also putting together a small working group of members from various institutions and types of organizations to use the toolkit and participate in monthly meetings to discuss their experiences and findings. Anyone interesting in participating as part of that small working group can fill out the expression of interest form by April 10, 2026.

If you have any questions about the toolkit or the testing and feedback phase of the project you can reach out to the task force through their feedback form.

Kalani Craig (University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign), Michelle Dalmau (Indiana University Bloomington), and Sean Purcell (University of California, San Francisco) have published “Operationalizing Minimal Computing Values Through Shared Computing-Platform Development: A Case Study of DigitalArc and Opaque Publisher” on In the Library With the Lead Pipe.

The article discusses the authors’ experiences working on two minimal computing archive projects, DigitalArc and Opaque Publisher, providing a useful case study of building minimal computing tools and hosting them on GitHub along with a critical analysis of their approach and the wider practices of archival and minimal computing work.

From their abstract:

This article explores how minimal computing principles guided the parallel web development of two related but distinct publishing platforms, DigitalArc and Opaque Publisher.  DigitalArc, a community-driven digital archive and exhibit platform, was developed in response to principles governing post-custodial archiving, taking it one step further to ensure communities maintain ownership of their materials and their digital artifacts. The Opaque Publisher, originally developed in support of a born-digital dissertation, adapts DigitalArc to support refusal theory for scholars who have to negotiate the tensions between using unethically obtained evidence in support of their research with moral objections to a lack of informed consent. At first glance, the use cases for each platform seem different, but both are providing mechanisms for individuals-by-proxy and communities to assert control over how their respective stories are shared.

Those interested in minimal computing and creating digital archives would find the article a useful example and resource for critical work being done in those fields.

Models All the Way Down, a Knowing Machines project written by Christo Buschek and Jer Thorp, breaks down the relationship between a large AI model and its training data.

The authors focus their article on the LAION-5B training set, which is a enormous, open dataset of captioned images. The model is widely used for research and public facing projects to generate new images or captions, but because of its size, very few actually know what all the images are that the model contains.

This is the major concern of the authors, who state “What this training set contains is extremely important. More than any other thing, it will influence what your model can do and how well it does it. Yet few people in the world have spent the time to look at what these sets that feed their models contain.”

In the article the authors explain that a project at Stanford University found that LAION-5B contains a significant amount of images depicting NSFW content including child sexual abuse material. The authors investigate how training sets are collected and curated (often by other ML models) to show the importance and necessity of building transparent and ethical, safe practices for dataset curation to stop exploitative and harmful collection practices especially for use in machine learning contexts.

The author’s investigation of the LAION-5B dataset shows the lack of care and responsibility in dataset curation despite these datasets being the core of many of the ML models and products being used everyday by people everywhere. This concern is something the authors, and other members of the Knowing Machine project, are taking seriously.

Knowing Machines is a project investigating Machine Learning Systems and how they are trained to better understand the relationship between training data and the algorithms they inform. From the project website:

We are developing critical methodologies and tools for understanding, analyzing, and investigating training datasets, and studying their role in the construction of “ground truth” for machine learning. Our research addresses how datasets index the world, make predictions, and structure knowledge cultures. Working with an international team, we aim to support the emerging field of critical data studies by contributing research, reading lists, research tools, and supporting communities of inquiry that are focused on the foundational epistemologies of machine learning.

Their homepage contains more information and articles, like Models All the Way Down, making clear what is often hidden in large ML datasets.

The International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA) released a statement on March 20, 2026 outlining the organization’s concern and stance on recent events affecting Iran, the Gulf Region, and the Eastern Mediterranean.

The full statement is quoted below:

In light of increasing hostilities affecting Iran, the Gulf Region and the Eastern Mediterranean, the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA) expresses deep concern for the growing humanitarian impact and the heightened  risks to the region’s rich and diverse cultural heritage.

IFLA is monitoring the situation together with our members in affected areas, and with partners across the international cultural sector, including UNESCO. In line with our mandate, we express serious concern for the wellbeing and safety of library staff, and users, as well as for the collections and facilities they protect, steward, and enjoy. Libraries play a vital role in the realisation of human rights, including the rights to access information and participate in cultural life. The destruction of libraries,  their collections, and other cultural sites – whether through damage, destruction, or displacement – is a loss to all humankind.

We are therefore alarmed by reports of damage to cultural sites, as confirmed by UNESCO. as well as reports of damage to educational institutions. In line with the Declaration on the protection of archives, libraries, museums and heritage places during armed conflicts and political instability, IFLA calls on all parties to uphold their commitments to protect cultural heritage. Namely, we call on all parties to comply with their obligations under the 1954 Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict and its Protocols.

Culture is an essential element for recovery, resilience, and for promoting peace. Our stories, creativity, research, and imagination are powerful tools for building understanding and connection. For these reasons,  the world’s libraries – and the people who sustain them – must be protected so that they may continue to serve their communities and strengthen  societies both now and in the future.

The Hague, 20 March 2026

IFLA provides additional context for how and why they craft these statements on the statement’s page. If you are curious about IFLA’s work in cultural heritage more generally their page,  “Promoting and safeguarding culture and heritage,” outlines the Federation’s practices as well as provides links to additional projects and resources.

The Teaching with Primary Sources (TPS) Collective is a hub of articles, best practices, and resources supporting education and teaching with primary sources for practitioners across libraries, museums and archives as well as those coming to that work from outside of those spaces.

Mae Casey (Penn State University) recently published an article on the TPS Collective entitled, “Lesson Planning 101: Primary Source Instructional Design for Archivists.” While archives specific, Casey’s article would be a useful tool for anyone looking to bring active learning activities into their class sessions.

The lesson plan focuses on helping the instructor think through the scope of their lesson and what is most important to focus on. The article’s explanation of  ‘backwards design’ and general practices for planning hands-on and engaging lessons with clear actions for instructors and students is widely applicable beyond archival instruction.

In Digital Humanities and/or Digital Scholarship instruction when teaching new tools, methods, or exploration of digital objects breaking down lessons beginning with outcomes, identifying potentially new vocabulary or concepts is important to keep lessons clear and accessible. The template that TPS includes in the article is a helpful outline for planning lessons starting with those sections and then moving through the rest of the lesson. The template would be a useful resource for anyone teaching hands-on lessons looking to clearly outline teacher and student roles throughout each part of the instruction session.

If you are interested in using the template or looking for more information TPS also shares the original toolkit published alongside the template which guides readers through how to use it.

The Association of College & Research Libraries (ACRL) University Libraries Section’s (ULS) Professional Development Committee has organized a free online presentation, entitled “Embedding Data Services within a Digital Scholarship Lab.” Speakers Eli Wachter, Jonathan Barber, and Justin Wadland (all Michigan State University) will explore “how to effectively incorporate data services into existing digital scholarship services at an academic library.” From the program description:

An early-career Data Visualization Librarian will begin the program by presenting their experiences joining a new position for a university library’s Digital Scholarship Lab. They will share their strategies of surveying needs with subject liaisons and building relationships with other educational units on campus to inform their priorities in developing data visualization resources and services. To expand beyond individual actions to improve services, an established Data Services Librarian within the same unit will describe his efforts re-establishing a Research Facilitation Network, which highlights and connects the research support services provided throughout the university. In re-establishing this Network, the team adapted the Campus Research Computing Consortium’s Capabilities Model to assess the research computing and data landscape at the university. In addition to building a sense of community among researchers and service providers, the Network provides regular events that address gaps in research support on campus. The unit lead will provide context for the intersection of data services and digital scholarship within academic libraries, using the Big Ten Academic Alliance libraries as a subset model. He will also illustrate how he has used appreciative inquiry to facilitate unit-level strategic planning as an active and ongoing conversation with team members, affiliate faculty, and constituents. In his presentation around strategic planning, he will share approaches for advocating for new positions, refining existing positions to meet emergent needs, and planning within the context of budget reductions.

The presentation will take place April 22, 2026, starting at 1:00 PM Central Time. Registration can be found here.

Library Trends has released a call for publications for its 71.6 issue, to be published in August 2027. The issue’s theme is “Exploring Metaphors of Expertise in LIS.” From the call:

In 2000, information scholar Marcia Bates shared a metaphor wherein the field of library and information science (LIS) was described as an iceberg, with aspects of the discipline visible (“above the water line”) and invisible (“below the water line”). As with icebergs, this “invisible substrate” of our discipline is both sizable and significant. Part of the LIS “iceberg” that exists below the waterline, or hidden to the naked eye, is its positioning as a meta-science or a meta-discipline, like journalism and education. LIS “cuts across” seas and engages with the storage and retrieval of human knowledge in recorded form in connection with all other disciplines. But can this metaphor thrive, in a climate where boundaries between disciplines have become more fluid and where notions of expertise have been muddied and eroded? Perhaps, then, it’s time to launch an intellectual expedition, to voyage beyond Bates’ metaphor and to consider anew the concept of LIS expertise through new metaphors.

Digitally-focused librarians may find this theme as an opportunity or inspiration for exploring their sometimes vague job descriptions and differing departmental homes, particularly those who may be project managers, teachers, and systems specialists. What are the metaphors for engaging across these spaces?

Abstracts should be 300-500 words and are due April 15, 2026. Abstracts can be submitted here. Decisions will be made and sent out by May 15, 2026.

The Minimal Curation Project, funded by Research Ireland, is putting together a collection on Minimal Computing for Social and Cultural Heritage edited by Olga C. Patroni, James O’Sullivan, Susan Rea, Shawn Day, Luigina Ciolfi, and Mary Galvin.

The collection is calling for full chapters or short contributions on approaches to minimal computing through a critical or empirical lens. From the call:

This edited collection will explore how principles of minimal computing, understood as low-resource, sustainable, and ethically grounded digital practice, can be applied to the preservation and curation of social and cultural heritage.

At a time when digital heritage infrastructures are increasingly shaped by platform-dependent systems, this volume asks a fundamental question: what forms of digital practice are genuinely sustainable, not only technically and economically, but socially and culturally, for the communities who produce and maintain heritage?

The book brings together scholars and practitioners to examine how lightweight technologies, decentralised infrastructures, and community-led approaches can address structural inequalities in digital heritage.

The call explicitly asks for interdisciplinary approaches and is open to chapters written by “among others, scholars and practitioners across digital humanities, cultural and heritage studies, human–computer interaction, digital design, community-engaged and participatory research, media and communication studies, information studies, and archival studies.”

Submissions should be emailed Dr Olga Concetta Patroni and Dr James O’Sullivan by April 30, 2026 and should contain a brief, 200 word maximum, abstract and a biographical note. Editors’ emails can be found on the call’s main page.

Final full chapters are expected to be 6,000-10,000 words and short contributions should be 3,000 words and may take the form of “reflective case studies, practice reports, interviews, position pieces, methodological notes, or community perspectives.”

Digitorium 2026 will be held September 10-12, 2026 in-person and online at The University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa, AL.

Digitorium is a bi-annual conference bringing together DH practitioners to discuss projects, practices, and to learn from each other.

From the call for proposals:

We invite you to share your experiences around the idea of Preserve. What have you been working to preserve, and what methodologies and strategies have you employed along the way?  And what are your thoughts on creating sustainable digital projects that will last the test of time, so that generations of users will be able to learn from the work you are completing? We are excited to spend this time with you all, working towards this common goal.

The deadline for submitting the call for proposals is June 15, 2026.

The Archives, History and Heritage Advanced (AHHA) Internship Program at the Library of Congress is open for applications until April 20, 2026. This program is a ten-week long paid opportunity taking place September 8 –  November 13, 2026 with the expectation that interns will be working for 20 hours each week. Applications should include a resume, legible copy of latest college/university transcripts, names and contact information of two references, and responses to vacancy questions.

From the program:

gives the next generation of archivists and knowledge workers invaluable opportunities to analyze, organize, and interpret collections or programs that help share the story of the American experience. Internships and projects will heighten visibility for Library resources that represent the rich heritage of the United States…

The program focuses on building awareness of how unique historical records are analyzed, organized, and described in order to make them available for research and educational use. Interns will have the opportunity to explore historical documents representing rich creative and intellectual resources, while working under the direction of library specialists in various divisions.

Interns will develop knowledge of the types of materials within the Library’s collections, including how they are collected, acquired, cataloged, preserved, interpreted, and shared, and the procedures governing their use; develop and maintain personal contacts and cooperative work relationships with librarians and others throughout the Library, with colleagues in other intern programs, and with subject matter experts to provide or exchange information; present information to groups and persons with similar understanding of the subject; and attend workshops, seminars, or meetings in relevant fields for professional development.

The program overview includes a list of past projects including:

1. Engaging Youth and Families Onsite at the Library of Congress (Informal Learning Office)
2. Copyright Records Management Inventory (Copyright Office)
3. Providing Public Access to American History within the Holdings of the Manuscript Division (Manuscript Division)
4. American History in the Spanish Foreign Copying Program Records (Manuscript Division)
5. Researching and Curating American Federal Legislative History Materials (Law Library)

There are five onsite and two remote internship projects available.

From the job posting:

Requirements