Ben Goldman

Ben Goldman serves as the Sally W. Kalin Associate Librarian for Technological Innovations and Digital Records Archivist at The Pennsylvania State University's University Libraries. His work uniquely bridges archival science and climate action through research on cultural heritage vulnerability and institutional sustainability.

Goldman's research examines climate change impacts on documentary heritage and environmental footprints of cultural institutions. He investigates risks like storm surges and sea-level rise to archival repositories while developing frameworks for reducing greenhouse gas emissions in library operations. His scholarship emphasizes practical applications of born-digital archives and climate communication through historical collections.

Recent publications reveal a clear trajectory toward operationalizing sustainability in cultural heritage sectors, with increasing focus on measurable emissions reduction strategies in academic libraries since 2018.

As faculty mentor for Penn State's Drawdown Research Experience for Undergraduates, Goldman supervises student projects inventorying the University Libraries' greenhouse gas emissions. He co-developed and teaches the 3-credit course The Environmental History of Penn State with Dr. Ellen Stroud and co-curated the exhibition Earth Archives: Stories of Human Impact using Special Collections materials to demonstrate historical climate evidence.