Archiving Websites

The world wide web is arguably the most important, and certainly the largest and most ubiquitous, cultural and commercial information resource in existence. The requirements to actively preserve selected parts of it, and the attendant problems of archiving such a vast and ephemeral entity, are only now beginning to be fully appreciated. This important book will be the first to offer practical guidance to information management professionals seeking to implement web archiving programmes of their own. It will be essential reading for those who need to collect and preserve specific elements of the web - from national domains or individual subject areas to an organization's own website. Drawing on the author's experience of managing the National Archives' web archiving programme, together with lessons learned from other international initiatives, this book provides a comprehensive overview of current best practice, together with practical guidance for anyone seeking to establish a web archiving programme. It assumes only a basic understanding of IT and web technologies, although it also offers much to more technically-oriented readers. Written to address audiences from the whole spectrum of information management sectors, this book is essential reading for three types of reader: policy-makers, who need to make decisions about establishing or developing an institutional web archiving programme; information management professionals, who may be required to implement a web archiving programme; and website owners and web masters, who may be required to facilitate archiving of their own websites.