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2026 FORC Keynote
2026 FORC Keynote
Lynda Kellam, University of Pennsylvania
Lynda Kellam, University of Pennsylvania
Wednesday, August 26th, 4:00 pm
Bobst Second Floor North Reading Room
"Public Data as a Public Good: Lessons from the Data Rescue Project"
"Public Data as a Public Good: Lessons from the Data Rescue Project"
Public data is essential to research, policymaking, and democratic accountability, yet the federal statistical system that produces and stewards these data faces growing challenges. This talk will explore why government data matters, how public datasets have become vulnerable, and the role librarians and researchers play in ensuring their long-term availability. Drawing on the work of the Data Rescue Project, we will consider what it means to steward public data as a shared resource and why preserving it matters for research and the public good.
About Lynda Kellam, PhD, MLIS
About Lynda Kellam, PhD, MLIS
Director of Research Data & Digital Scholarship at University of Pennsylvania Libraries
Lynda Kellam is the Snyder-Granader Director of Research Data and Digital Scholarship at the University of Pennsylvania Libraries and a co-founder of the Data Rescue Project, which has been recognized by outlets like Time Magazine and received the National Digital Stewardship Alliance Excellence Award in 2025. Her work focuses on the U.S. government's data infrastructure and enhancing access, resilience, and community support for the nation’s public data resources. She is driven by the belief that public data is a civic asset, essential to research, democratic accountability, and an informed public life.
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