“Historical materials like weather diaries and landscape photography have long been used as sources to help reconstruct past climates or understand environmental change. But interest in these materials has grown as the climate crisis intensifies, and more people — including activists, artists, humanists and historians — incorporate environmental concerns into their work,” Goldman said. “We hope this study will help archivists identify and develop collections that can more directly support public environmental awareness and researchers interested in climate solutions.”
The project will investigate the types of environmental collections institutions hold, how they are described, the research disciplines that rely on them, and the barriers disciplinary communities face in accessing or preserving information central to their work.
The study will also look beyond academic research communities to better understand the information needs of environmental justice groups and communities already experiencing adverse environmental impacts.
“Access to reliable environmental information is critical for communities responding to pollution, land use conflicts and environmental health concerns," Goldman said. "Many environmental advocacy groups end up becoming accidental archivists because of the need to gather evidence — in the form of environmental studies, government reports, testimonies or video recordings — documenting what is happening in their communities. Archivists could lend expertise and resources to support these information needs if they were better understood.”
“Environmental archives are not records of the past they shape how communities understand environmental change, public health and accountability in the present,” said Elizabeth Call, Dorothy Foehr Huck Chair for Special Collections. “This study will help identify where important documentation exists, where gaps remain and how archives can better support researchers and communities engaged in environmental justice work.”
The Special Collections Library’s environment-related collections include strengths centered on forest history, agriculture, nuclear energy development and Pennsylvania’s long history of fossil fuel extraction, especially coal. Among its significant recent acquisitions are the records of the Alliance for a Clean Environment, a grassroots organization that documented environmental pollution impacts in Pottstown.
The Eberly Family Special Collections Library, located in the University Libraries’ Pattee Library and Paterno Library Penn State University Park, stewards extensive research collections documenting the cultural, historical and environmental heritage of Pennsylvania and beyond. As part of its land‑grant mission, the library supports scholarship, teaching and public engagement across the University and the Commonwealth.