Resources

There are many individuals, organizations, and community-based resources that document and assist with rescuing efforts. Below is the list of tools, data sources, library guides, and articles we are aware of and their associated scopes. This list was developed from the original Data Rescue Google Doc. Please email suggestions to datarescueproject@protonmail.com. If you want to send us a secure, encrypted email, you can sign up for a free account at protonmail.com or use our public PGP key: https://keys.openpgp.org/search?q=datarescueproject%40protonmail.com.

Tools for Data Rescue
Existing Alternative Data Sources
- Economic Indicators
- Public Health
Library Guides to Data Rescue
----------------------------------------
Further Reading
- Articles About Current Efforts
- Contextual Articles

Tools for Data Rescue

Data Curation Networks's Curating Data for Data Rescues
- Provides key insights for curating data and the types of questions that need to be asked.
Checklist for USA gov't data backups (MIT)
- Checklist/guide for protecting access to data resources and making your downloads more effective and future-usable.
#RStats package from @ropensci.org
- gitcellar downloads and archives all repos, issues, and PRs from a GitHub organization in one shot
WebRecorder.net
- According to an email: has archived 8TB+ of government sites, some from the End-of-Term-Archive seed list, some from EDGI Slack requests, and many sites independently
ArchiveBox.io
- Self-hosted internet archiving solution to collect, save, and view websites offline.
- Has also archived government datasets from data.gov, CIBP, USCIS, NOAA, NASA, NSIDC, and more
Awesome-datahoarding
- Provides a list of tools for web harvesting, etc.
Awesome Web Archiving
- Another curated list of web archiving tools
DataRescue Workflow
- This is the workflow from the original data rescue/DataRefuge project in 2017.
- Many of the tools are no longer working, but the workflow is still useful. UW used this to create their workflow above.
- The challenge with the original project was where to store and how to make discoverable the large amounts of data captured.
- Part of this effort is also housed in the Harvard Dataverse Repository and can be opened for more data deposits
- There is a CKAN instance with some of the 2017 data.
How You Can Help Archive U.S. Government Data Right Now: Install Archive Team Warrior
- This is a Reddit post, but it lists instructions for how to archive and the tools needed to be able to contribute. Figured it would best be categorized here.

Return to top

Existing Alternative Data Sources

PolicyMap
- Offers a free tier that can be used to view basic information down to the tract level, but more detailed data and functionality require a subscription; available at some universities
- Purged Federal Agency Data Available
FRED
- Federal Reserve Economic Data
- They have some demographic data as well; free and open source
Census Reporter
- A free, open-source platform focused on making American Community Survey (ACS) data more accessible, including the recent upload of the 2022 1-Year ACS data
Esri
- GIS vendor publishes several U.S. Census Bureau data sets, including the ACS, through its ArcGIS Online Platform
IPUMS
- Even when the government operates normally, many analysts turn to IPUMS products to access ACS, Current Population Survey microdata and Decennial Census data
Social Explorer
- Historical Census data an to d more; available at some universities
SimplyAnalytics
- Has internally processed American Community Surveys; available at some universities
American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists
- Hosting copies of immunization schedules and contraceptive use guidance from the CDC

Return to top

Economic Indicators

National League of Cities: Federal Grant Navigation Equity Dashboard
- This tool aggregated data from many sources – it seems to be still able to categorize disadvantaged communities (by environmental and economic standards), as well as other critical data denotations that are increasingly hard to access
ALICE Economic Vitality Dashboard and Report (2022 w/ 2024 update)
- Provides data on work, housing, and community resources for households below the ALICE threshold (Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed). The data is provided by the U.S. Census Bureau’s Public Use Microdata Sample (PUMS, 202!)
National Equity Atlas Dashboards
- Provides a detailed report card on racial and economic equity – this tool can provide a holistic Racial Equity Index snapchat of communities. The Atlas draws its data from a unique regional equity indicators database developed and maintained by two private institutions: PolicyLink and USC Equity Research Institute ERI.
Economic Policy Institute’s State of Working America Data Library
- Provides easily accessible, up-to-date, and comprehensive historical data on the American labor force. Use for wages, inequality, and other economic indicators over time and among demographic groups.

Return to top

Public Health

County Health Rankings & Roadmaps (CHR&R)
- A program of the University of Wisconsin’s Population Health Institute, this tool aims to highlight the symbiotic nature of health and equity by factoring in physical environment, social and economic indicators, clinical care, and health behaviors to health outcomes.
  - They also recommend these additional health data platforms:
  - America’s Health Rankings report is a health assessment tool based on state-level health indicators.
  - Congressional District Health Dashboard pulls together local data on the health and well-being for each congressional district.
City Health Dashboard
- Provides 40+ measures of health and factors affecting health across five areas (Health Behaviors, Social and Economic Factors, Physical Environment, Health Outcomes, and Clinical Care) for 970+ cities across the U.S. From NYU Langone Health.

Return to top

Library Guides to Data Rescue

American University: Government Information Data Rescue
Butler University: Alternative Sources for Archived Government Data
GODORT: 2025 Presidential Transition
Hamilton College: How Do I Find Statistics and Data?
Salem State: Data Preservation 2025
Syracuse University: Numeric Data Resources: Preserving Government Data
The Ohio State University: 2025 Federal Data Availability
University of Albany: Government Info Beyond .gov
University of Minnesota: Finding Government Information During the 2025 Administration Transition
University of Notre Dame: Archived Federal Data 2025

Return to top