[Preservenw] Library of Congress Launches Web Site Devoted to Web Capture

[Gary Menges]

LIBRARY LAUNCHES WEB SITE DEVOTED
TO EFFORT TO CAPTURE WEB SITES FOR PRESERVATION

The Library of Congress has just launched a Web site devoted to 
information about its program to capture and preserve historically 
important Web sites so that they can be accessed by future generations of 
users.

The site is available at www.loc.gov/webcapture.

The Library of Congress and libraries and archives around the world are 
interested in collecting and preserving content on the Web because an 
ever-increasing amount of the world's cultural and intellectual output is 
created in digital formats and does not exist in any physical form. 
Creating an archives of Web sites supports the goals of the Library's 
Digital Strategic Plan, announced in March 2003, which focuses on the 
collection and management of digital content.

The Web Capture Program is directly related to the Library's larger 
digital preservation program, called the National Digital Information 
Infrastructure and Preservation Program (www.digitalpreservation.gov).

The subject areas in which the Library has been collecting Web sites 
include recent Supreme Court nominations; Hurricane Katrina; and the papal 
transition following the death of John Paul II. Current collecting 
projects include the crisis in Darfur, Sudan; the Iraq War; and the 
upcoming Election 2006.

The Library collects Web sites only after it has received formal 
permission from Web site content owners to do so.

Some of the Web sites captured by the Library and its partners are 
currently available by accessing the "Projects" section of the site.  As 
part of the Web Capture Program, the "Technical Background" section of the 
Web site notes that the Library, in conjunction with its partners, is 
working on developing a common set of Web capture tools in four areas: 
curator selection, verification and permissions; acquisition; collection 
storage and maintenance; and access.

Please contact Guy Lamolinara with any questions: glam at loc.gov .


Laura Gottesman
Digital Reference Team
The Library of Congress