Join us for these conversations between The Political Librarian’s Editor in Chief Allison Jennings-Roche and some of the authors featured in the recently released new issue of The Political Librarian.
Where Is 60 Years of Data, Information, and Knowledge One Year After USAID Was Fed “Into the Wood Chipper”?
Monday, September 14th at noon ET
Join Tanya Torres and Zachary Baquet for a conversation examining the fate of decades’ worth of data and knowledge following the dismantling of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) in early 2025. Learn how a decentralized network of dedicated individuals, partner organizations, and volunteers mobilized to rescue, preserve, and provide public access to more than sixty years of USAID’s information resources.
This conversation will highlight the USAID Knowledge Rescue effort, which has already captured over 274,000 materials, made 136,000 available to the public, and is actively building a digital repository to safeguard this legacy. Discover the challenges, successes, and ongoing work of this community, including the crucial role played by former USAID partners in ensuring continued access.
Tanya Torres is a former USAID Knowledge Management Team Lead, has earned a Master of Library Science (MLS) degree from the University of Maryland (UMD), and will be a doctoral student in UMD’s Information Science Leadership and Community Engagement (D.Inf.Sci.) program, starting in fall 2026.
Zachary Baquet is a USAID Strategy and Learning Advisor and Acting Division Chief for Analysis, Data, and Learning, and will be a student in UMD’s College of Information’s Master’s in Library and Information Science (MLIS) program starting in fall 2026.
When
September 14, 2026 at 12:00pm - 1pm