Closet Archives Preserve Software History

University and lab storage rooms frequently contain unique, unpublished software artifacts (tapes, printouts, letters) that can materially change our understanding of technological development. These orphaned records require proactive cataloguing, legal provenance work, and funding to preserve and make accessible before they are discarded or degraded. — If universities treat stray storage as a public‑history asset rather than junk, policymakers and funders can cost‑effectively recover irreplaceable computing heritage, inform IP provenance debates, and improve public tech literacy.