What We're Losing
Over the last few months, we’ve seen a troubling shift in the federal government's commitment to open access. Critical government websites have been stripped of essential pages. Datasets on public health, climate change, and more have been altered, hidden, or deleted.1 The loss isn’t theoretical; it’s real, and it’s happening right now. This is about control over science, over research, and over history.
The Myth of Permanence
For decades, American universities and libraries have trusted federally funded repositories to preserve the scholarship universities have helped to create. That trust has now been broken, and rebuilding it will require more than good intentions. Unlike our peers in Europe, we in the U.S. have left too much in others' hands.
Across much of Europe, it is common practice for universities to harvest and store the scholarly articles, datasets, and research outputs produced by their faculty.2 Institutional repositories are not an afterthought; they are a core part of the academic mission. Researchers are not just encouraged but often required to deposit their work, ensuring that institutions retain stewardship of the knowledge they generate. Recent findings from the European University Association show that many European universities have integrated research data practices into their infrastructure and planning, actively participating in initiatives like the European Open Science Cloud (EOSC). While even European institutions acknowledge challenges, their commitment to institutional stewardship remains significantly more substantial and more systematic than what is seen in the United States.
Meanwhile, in the United States, our institutions have often outsourced the stewardship of scholarly production rather than investing in the costly and labor-intensive work of systematically collecting and curating research outputs. To be clear, many research-intensive universities in the U.S. do have repositories and infrastructure, but these efforts remain scattered and siloed compared to what is needed. Instead, universities (and researchers) placed their faith in the federal government because we believed (I would argue arrogantly) that our long-standing democracy would always shield the scholarly record. That assumption has left us exposed because infrastructure left in others' hands is never truly safe.
Open Infrastructure Is Core Infrastructure
Open source software. Open standards. Open repositories. These are not side projects; they are the backbone of equitable, democratic knowledge sharing. They create the foundations upon which scholarship, innovation, and civic engagement are built.
Open infrastructure enables more than access; it guarantees that communities, not corporations or political agendas, control the systems of knowledge creation and dissemination. It ensures that research, data, and history remain public goods, not private commodities.
Without robust, community-owned systems, we risk losing access to the very knowledge that fuels discovery, social progress, and public well-being. We risk a future where information is gated, vulnerable, and manipulated, where only those who can afford it or who align with prevailing power structures are allowed access.
Sustaining open infrastructure is not optional. It is the work that secures the future of knowledge itself. Studies by Ithaka S+R emphasize how decentralized structures, staffing shortages, and technical gaps have weakened the ability of U.S. institutions to independently steward their research outputs, placing essential infrastructure at risk when federal support falters.3
How You Can Take Action
The risks are real, and the barriers are real too.4 US universities are already stretched thin, facing political pressures, limited funding, and technical debt. But that doesn't mean we can sit still. Every step we take now strengthens the foundation for what's to come.
Collect, preserve, and curate research outputs. Build workflows, even small ones, to gather and protect the research outputs your institution creates. Start where you can. Small efforts today create resilience tomorrow. Don’t wait for someone else to save the knowledge the university produces.
Invest in and sustain open-source platforms. Support the open tools and communities your work depends on. This can be as small as joining governance calls, sharing feedback, or making modest financial contributions. Participation is a commitment to resilience, even when funding is tight. If you use it, you have a stake in its survival. Investing locally and participating in community governance is crucial for long-term sustainability.
Push for diversified funding models. Advocate for creative, diversified funding strategies. Seek partnerships, pooled investments, and new consortial models that can distribute risk and strengthen resilience. There is no one easy solution, but collective action is our best defense. Redundancy isn’t wasteful; it’s necessary for resilience. Universities must seek sustainable internal funding, collaborate regionally, and tap into national and international sources.
Educate your campus community. Empower researchers, students, and administrators to see themselves as stewards of knowledge. Building awareness now builds allies for the long, complex work ahead. Build a culture where preservation is a shared responsibility across the university.
The Era of Passive Trust Is Over
We can no longer afford the illusion that someone else will protect open infrastructure for us. We have seen what happens when we outsource our responsibility and trust systems to preserve knowledge without active, ongoing stewardship. If we want a future where information remains free, scholarship remains accessible, and communities remain empowered, we must step up now.
Open infrastructure is not a luxury.
The question is not whether open infrastructure is worth protecting. The question is whether we are willing to do the hard work it demands.
I'd love to hear how you're taking action to sustain open infrastructure. Please message me or share your ideas in the comments.