DIGITAL INITIATIVE PROJECTS AT THE BRITISH LIBRARY
The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom. By law, they are required to receive a copy of every publication produced in the UK and Ireland, including web domain. This comprises approximately 150 million physical items. That being said, web archiving is a significant focus that the library has been developing initiatives to address in recent years. Jason Webber, their web archivist is in charge of this project, met to discuss some of the challenges associated with this significant undertaking. Their focus has been on organizations, politics, culture and news primarily that are broken into distinct collections. I found the open UK Web Archive to be the most intriguing project, as it is open access. The philosophy ‘of the people for the people’ is exemplified by the millions of websites archived since 2004 showcasing the lives interest and activities of UK citizens.
Another current project at the British Library is the Endangered Archives Program. It is dedicated to the digitization and preservation of cultural heritage documents that are in danger of destruction, deterioration or neglect in impoverished areas. Since 2004, 295 projects in 80 different projects have been established where materials are not removed from the country of origin, but equipment is purchased and installed in the indigenous areas with training from local archival partners. There are many factors as to why an archive may become endangered, some of them include natural disasters, homogenization, remote locations or privatization of the material. The Endangered Archive Program has seen applications from many threatened archives and are dedicated to preserving the documents the contain. Without these efforts, this information, such as rare languages, may become extinct. Losing such culturally significant material threatens community longevity and connectivity to their past.
Another current project at the British Library is the Endangered Archives Program. It is dedicated to the digitization and preservation of cultural heritage documents that are in danger of destruction, deterioration or neglect in impoverished areas. Since 2004, 295 projects in 80 different projects have been established where materials are not removed from the country of origin, but equipment is purchased and installed in the indigenous areas with training from local archival partners. There are many factors as to why an archive may become endangered, some of them include natural disasters, homogenization, remote locations or privatization of the material. The Endangered Archive Program has seen applications from many threatened archives and are dedicated to preserving the documents the contain. Without these efforts, this information, such as rare languages, may become extinct. Losing such culturally significant material threatens community longevity and connectivity to their past.