What We Don’t Know About What We Can’t See: Information and Hidden Infrastructure

Abstract

Hidden infrastructure fuels our world, and it is sustained by information and technology shaped by political power. In the current controversy over an aging pipeline in the Great Lakes built decades ago as part of Canada’s transnational oil economy, the information associated with hidden infrastructure has influenced arguments against the continued investment in fossil fuels. Information about infrastructure is often difficult to access, despite its significant implications for public safety and environmental concerns. Library workers can make unique contributions to improving information about infrastructure around us, but only if we understand its urgent challenges.