Seed Vaults and Book Vaults

The Svalbard Global Seed Vault spearheaded by the Norwegian Government and the Global Seed Trust is one of the most exciting events of the past year. The Norwegians, keenly aware of the tenuosity of world stability, have moved proactively with a project that the world really needs. As we possibly move toward a time of shifting climate and shifting populations, providing a place to secure the valuable seeds and landraces from millions of world crops is more important than ever. No matter what the future holds, Svalbard will hold precious seeds for the future in perpetuity.
In a time of shifting climate and populations should we also provide for the safeguarding of precious knowledge resources? The Global Seed Vault stores valuable genetic information stored within seeds. These seeds have unique characteristics, that once lost may not be able to be replicated. Even in the age of genetic engineering, scientists need a bank of genes from which to draw upon.
The knowledge resources stored in libraries, archives, databases and other locations are equal in value to the stability of the future. Just as plant breeders and engineers will be able to create crop varieties to deal with shifting climate, so can a Global Knowledge Bank allow people to create new knowledge from the old when it is lost or threatened in its original location.
Many authors recount the successive loss of the stored knowledge of past civilizations. What knowledge did the manifold lost civilizations have that dissapeard when those civilizations dissapeared (many times due to climate change). For various reasons, both intentional and accidental, mankind loses knowledge over time. We may be entering an age where it may become more common than we like to admit. Is there a way that the knowledge equivalent of the Global Seed Vault could be created?