A Conversation with the Organizers of Saving Ukrainian Cultural Heritage Online (SUCHO)

Abstract

Following the Russian invasion of Ukraine this February, a global community of volunteers has endeavored to help preserve Ukraine’s online cultural heritage. While this community comprises over 1300 volunteers, many of them work as librarians or in cultural preservation, including two of the leaders of this group, Quinn Dombrowski and Anna Kijas. Dombrowski and Kijas, along with Sebastian Majstorovic, have been instrumental in coordinating this community of experts across time zones together and also spearheading what the Washington Post described as “a lifeline for cultural officials in Ukraine.” To capture both their experiences, as well as how librarianship has informed SUCHO, we convened a roundtable with the organizers, as well as two of the most active volunteers Dena Strong and Erica Peaslee, who also work in GLAM.