Librarians Save Terabytes of Deleted Federal Data

When librarians noticed researchers frantically emailing about disappeared government data, they knew they had to act fast.

In February 2025, federal agencies began removing terabytes of public data from government websites. The CDC's Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System vanished overnight. USAID's entire data collection disappeared when the agency faced dismantling.

Lynda Kellam and fellow data librarians remembered a similar scare in 2017, but this time the deletions were real and widespread. They started with a simple Google Doc to track what was disappearing.

Within weeks, that document sparked a movement. The Data Rescue Project was born.

The volunteer network grew rapidly beyond its original librarian core. What started as professionals monitoring Department of Education data became a coordinated rescue operation across multiple agencies and data sets.

The team works around the clock to identify at-risk data before it vanishes. They preserve everything from climate research to public health statistics that scientists, students, and policymakers need for their work.

Their methods are straightforward but effective. The group coordinates with existing organizations like the Internet Archive's End of Term Web Archive to ensure comprehensive coverage. They prioritize datasets based on researcher needs and deletion risk.

The stakes couldn't be higher. These aren't just numbers in a database. The Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System helps researchers track disease patterns and public health trends across America. USAID data informed development projects worldwide.

When government staff positions get cut, even data that remains online becomes vulnerable without active maintenance. The Data Rescue Project monitors these situations too, creating backups before technical problems can erase years of research.

The Ripple Effect

The project's impact extends far beyond preserved hard drives. Graduate students can complete their dissertations. Public health researchers can continue tracking disease trends. Policy analysts still have the evidence they need to make informed decisions.

Universities that might have lost access to crucial research tools now have reliable alternatives. The volunteer network has created a safety net for academic research and public policy work that depends on government data.

Other groups have taken notice and joined the effort. Professional organizations in data curation and research are now coordinating their preservation work, creating redundant backups across multiple institutions.

The librarians aren't waiting to see what gets deleted next. They're staying ahead of potential takedowns, building a comprehensive archive that ensures public data remains public.

Nearly two years into their mission, the Data Rescue Project has transformed from an emergency response into a sustainable operation. What began as a handful of worried librarians has become a permanent guardian of public information.

These volunteers prove that when institutions fail to protect vital resources, dedicated people can step up to fill the gap.