Over the last few months I’ve been grappling with the cancellation of my Trove API keys by the National Library of Australia. It may seem like a minor technical hiccup from the outside, but it’s had a major personal impact. For the sake of my health, I’ve decided to stop work on Trove, archive all my code repositories related to Trove, and move on. Farewell Trove.

But don’t panic! All of my Trove tools and resources available through the GLAM Workbench and elsewhere will remain online. They just won’t be updated. I’ll be adding explanatory notices to the affected resources over coming weeks. All of my stuff is openly licensed, so feel free to take what’s useful and develop it further yourself.

I’ll also be adding warnings for researchers planning to use the Trove API in their projects. Given the fact that the NLA is willing to change the API terms of use to restrict access without any consultation, provides no transparency around acceptable use of full text content, and is willing to cancel API keys without warning, I can no longer recommend Trove as a reliable source for digital research. A PhD student could embark on a project in good faith, only to have the rules change mid-project.

I think this is a critical issue for the research sector, and hard questions need to be asked of the NLA. But I can’t be the one to do this any more. I’m sick of being the person calling the NLA out on its bad behaviour. I’m sick of their gaslighting.

I wanted to avoid making any dramatic gestures, but after talking it over with my partner last night, I realised my health is really suffering and I need to make a change. I also realised that even if my API keys were magically restored, I’d always be looking over my shoulder, wondering if I’d done something to offend the NLA gatekeepers. That’s not a good way to live. I’d rather spend my time working with organisations who value what I do.