The Information Maintainers is an open community dedicated to supporting the maintenance of information and those who manage, maintain, and preserve information systems. On August 21, 2020, we spent our monthly meeting exploring the intersection of digital preservation and open-source software. Our speaker was digital preservation domain expert, and full-stack developer, Ross Spencer.
This virtual discussion focuses on social care and what maintainers can learn from more formal care relationships. We explored various dimensions of social care – such as paid and unpaid assistance for children, adults, and the elderly.
This discussion covered the concept of “gig economy” and maintenance. Gig workers (shoppers, drivers, etc) sustain daily life, and as such have been recognized as “essential workers.” But this dependence on gig workers raises an important question: what steps do companies, governments, and individuals take to maintain gig workers – or, in other words, to ensure that this form of labor is sustainable? This discussion featured two experts on gig economies in the United States and Europe.