Information Maintenance as a Practice of Care | June 17, 2019 | Zenodo

"If information is to be useful over time, something more than preservation is required: it must be carefully maintained. The authors of this paper, all participants in what we call “information maintenance,” came together because of a deep commitment to recasting our work in these terms and infusing it with practices, relationships, and ways of thinking and being that represent a coherent ethic of care. In this introductory document, we seek to identify both who information maintainers are and who else would be particularly welcome in embracing and supporting information maintenance. We define our key terms of maintenance and care and discuss how they might be practiced, sometimes offering examples to illustrate our points.  During the drafting of this paper, we have continually expanded participation in our group of authors and contributors. Nevertheless, we recognize that the perspectives represented here are limited, and we actively seek to broaden them to include additional ways of knowing. If we are to understand information maintenance and practice ethics of care, it is essential that we grapple with problems of power and inclusion. We provide no ready solutions in this paper, but do attempt to highlight related power dynamics, along with areas in need of further study or action."