Download Vanishing Culture: A Report on Our Fragile Cultural Record
In today’s digital landscape, corporate interests, shifting distribution models, and malicious cyber attacks are threatening public access to our shared cultural history.
The rise of streaming platforms and temporary licensing agreements means that sound recordings, books, films, and other cultural artifacts that used to be owned in physical form, are now at risk—in digital form—of disappearing from public view without ever being archived.
When digital materials are vulnerable to sudden removal—whether by design or by attack—our collective memory is compromised, and the public’s ability to access its own history is at risk.
Vanishing Culture: A Report on Our Fragile Cultural Record (download) aims to raise awareness of these growing issues. The report details recent instances of cultural loss, highlights the underlying causes, and emphasizes the critical role that public-serving libraries and archives must play in preserving these materials for future generations. By empowering libraries and archives legally, culturally, and financially, we can safeguard the public’s ability to maintain access to our cultural history and our digital future.
Download Vanishing Culture: A Report on Our Fragile Cultural Record
In recovering from recent cyberattacks on October 8, the Internet Archive has resumed the Wayback Machine (starting October 13) and Archive-It (October 17), and as of today (October 21), has begun offering provisional availability of archive.org in a read-only manner. Features like uploading, borrowing, reviewing items, interlibrary loan, and other services are not yet available.
Please note that these services will have limited availability as we continue maintenance.
Hackers disclosed archive.org email and encrypted passwords to a transparency website, and also sent emails to patrons by exploiting a 3rd party helpdesk system.
The safety and integrity of the Internet Archive’s data and patrons remain our top priorities. As the security incident is analyzed and contained by our team, we are relaunching services as defenses are strengthened. These efforts are focused on reinforcing firewall systems and further protecting the data stores.
We appreciate your patience and support as we work through these challenges. For ongoing updates, please follow our blog and official social media channels on X/Twitter, Bluesky, and Mastodon.
Last month, the UBL announced that it will deselect an extensive collection of foreign dissertations. We are happy to report now that The Internet Archive will be taking over this collection.
The dissertations were originally part of an exchange programme between (mostly European) universities until the year 2004 but were never catalogued on arrival. As Leiden University Libraries has limited space for growth in its stacks, it decided to deselect these dissertations, so that 3.2 km could be freed up for new acquisitions. The universities where these dissertations originally were defended informed UBL that they still have the dissertations and were not interested in receiving back the Leiden copy. The Internet Archive will now take over this collection from the UBL, and will take care of its future preservation and access. The UBL is pleased that The Internet Archive is able to give this collection of foreign dissertations a second life.
In a world where digital access to knowledge is increasingly vital, the island nation of Aruba has taken bold steps to ensure its cultural heritage is preserved and accessible for generations to come. We are thrilled to announce that Aruba will be honored with the 2024 Internet Archive Hero Award at our annual celebration on October 23 in San Francisco and online.
The Internet Archive Hero Award is presented annually to individuals, organizations, or nations that have shown exceptional leadership in expanding access to knowledge and supporting the digital preservation of cultural and historical materials. Recipients of the award exemplify the values of openness, accessibility, and collaboration that are essential to a free and informed global society. Previous recipients have included librarian and copyright expert Michelle Wu, public access advocate Carl Malamud, the Biodiversity Heritage Library, and the Grateful Dead.
Aruba’s Commitment to Preservation and Access
Aruba’s commitment to preserving its history and culture through digital initiatives has been nothing short of visionary. Earlier this year, the nation launched Coleccion Aruba, a digital heritage portal that provides free global access to its historical materials and cultural treasures. The initiative ensures that Aruba’s rich history—its documents, artifacts, and stories—are accessible to the world, helping to safeguard its national identity in the digital age. You can learn more about the launch of this groundbreaking collection here.
From left: Mrs. Astrid Britten, Director of the National Library Aruba; Mr. Raymond Hernandez, Director National Archives of Aruba; and Brewster Kahle, Internet Archive, at the signing of the Statement Protecting Digital Rights of Memory Institutions, April 9, 2024.
In another historic first, Aruba became the first country to officially endorse the Statement Protecting Digital Rights of Memory Institutions, recognizing the importance of libraries, archives, and museums in preserving digital cultural heritage. By supporting this statement, Aruba set a powerful precedent for nations worldwide to protect the digital rights of libraries and memory institutions. You can read more about Aruba’s leadership in this area here.
Brewster Kahle, founder of the Internet Archive, praised Aruba’s commitment to the digital preservation of cultural heritage, describing the nation’s efforts as “a beacon of hope in the global movement to safeguard history in the digital era.” In his reflections on Aruba’s leadership, Brewster wrote that “Aruba’s bold support of library digital rights shows what is possible when nations value not just their own history, but the global importance of memory institutions. Their commitment sends a strong message: culture, knowledge, and history belong to everyone.”
What the Award Means for Aruba
Reflecting on the award, the Minister of Finance and Culture, Mrs. Xiomara Maduro remarked, “We thank Internet Archive for this great honor of recognizing Aruba’s hard work and efforts in preserving and making our cultural heritage accessible through the Coleccion Aruba online platform. This award is a significant encouragement to continue our work in safeguarding our culture and history. Thank you for supporting our efforts to keep our rich cultural heritage alive and accessible for our future generations.”
Mrs. Astrid Britten, Director of the National Library Aruba: “We are beyond excited and deeply honored by this recognition from the Internet Archive. What began in 2018 with Mr. Peter Scholing at the National Library of Aruba, and our partnership with the Internet Archive, has grown into something truly remarkable. The launch of Coleccion Aruba earlier this year marks a significant milestone in our journey, and it’s inspiring to see over 150,000 digital items—more than the number of inhabitants on our island—shared globally. The involvement of the National Archives of Aruba (under the leadership of Mr. Raymond Hernandez and Mr. Edric Croes), UNOCA (Ms. Ray-Anne Hernandez), and other key partners since 2022 has strengthened our mission to ensure that Aruba’s cultural treasures are preserved and accessible, not only for our own people but for audiences far beyond our shores. Aruba’s dedication to preserving digital history and ensuring access to knowledge for all has set a new benchmark for collaboration, through innovation and partnership. This acknowledges Aruba’s impact in digital preservation.”
Mr. Raymond Hernandez, Director National Archives of Aruba: “On behalf of Coleccion Aruba, the National Archives of Aruba is deeply honored to receive the Internet Archive Hero Award. While we were never in pursuit of any awards, this recognition is a profound encouragement for the work we have been doing to preserve and share Aruba’s rich cultural heritage. This together with all of our partners as well. As a small island in the Caribbean with limited resources, our mission to make our national archives accessible to all has been driven by the belief that open access to knowledge is essential for our community and beyond. With the support of the Internet Archive, we are inspired to continue on this path and hope to serve as a model for other small island states in development, especially in the Caribbean. This award reinforces our commitment to creating a future where information is freely accessible to all, and we are sincerely grateful for this support.”
Mrs. Ray-anne Hernandez, Managing Director UNOCA (A funding agency that cofinances Art & Cultural Projects in Aruba): “We are incredibly honored and grateful to receive the Hero Award from the Internet Archive. This recognition celebrates not only our commitment to preserving and sharing Aruba’s rich history and cultural heritage but also the invaluable collaboration with the founding partners of Coleccion Aruba: the Library of Aruba and the National Archives of Aruba. Together, we have worked passionately to make our collective history accessible to the world, and this achievement wouldn’t have been possible without the support and contributions of our many partners, both big and small. This award inspires us to continue our work with even more dedication, striving to conserve and promote Aruba’s national heritage for future generations. We are driven by our shared passion for culture and history, and we look forward to further collaborations that will continue to enrich our community and beyond. Thank you again for this prestigious recognition.”
Join Us in Celebrating
Aruba will officially receive the 2024 Internet Archive Hero Award at the Internet Archive’s annual celebration on October 23, 2024, in San Francisco. The event, themed “Escaping the Memory Hole,” will focus on the role of libraries and archives in preserving cultural history in the face of vanishing media. We invite you to join Aruba’s representatives and the institutions behind Coleccion Aruba for this special occasion as we celebrate this remarkable achievement and the global importance of preserving knowledge. Register now for the virtual celebration.
In our virtual Library Leaders Forum, you’ll hear from Internet Archive staff about our emerging library services and updates on existing efforts, including from our partners. How do libraries empower research in the 21st century? Join in our discussion!
In a significant step forward for digital preservation, Google Search is now making it easier than ever to access the past. Starting today, users everywhere can view archived versions of webpages directly through Google Search, with a simple link to the Internet Archive’s Wayback Machine.
How It Works
To access this new feature, conduct a search on Google as usual. Next to each search result, you’ll find three dots—clicking on these will bring up the “About this Result” panel. Within this panel, select “More About This Page” to reveal a link to the Wayback Machine page for that website.
Through this direct link, you’ll be able to view previous versions of a webpage via the Wayback Machine, offering a snapshot of how it appeared at different points in time.
A Commitment to Preservation
At the Internet Archive, our mission is to provide, “Universal Access to All Knowledge.” The Wayback Machine, one of our best-known services, provides access to billions of archived webpages, ensuring that the digital record remains accessible for future generations.
As Mark Graham, director of the Wayback Machine, explains:
“The web is aging, and with it, countless URLs now lead to digital ghosts. Businesses fold, governments shift, disasters strike, and content management systems evolve—all erasing swaths of online history. Sometimes, creators themselves hit delete, or bow to political pressure. Enter the Internet Archive’s Wayback Machine: for more than 25 years, it’s been preserving snapshots of the public web. This digital time capsule transforms our “now-only” browsing into a journey through internet history. And now, it’s just a click away from Google search results, opening a portal to a fuller, richer web—one that remembers what others have forgotten.”
This collaboration with Google underscores the importance of web archiving and expands the reach of the Wayback Machine, making it even easier for users to access and explore archived content. However, the link to archived webpages will not be available in instances where the rights holder has opted out of having their site archived or if the webpage violates content policies.
For more information about the Wayback Machine and how you can explore the web’s history, visit https://web.archive.org/.
We want to hear from you: How does the appellate court’s decision affect your reading or research? What does it mean to you that 500,000+ books are no longer available in our lending library?
We are disappointed in today’s opinion about the Internet Archive’s digital lending of books that are available electronically elsewhere. We are reviewing the court’s opinion and will continue to defend the rights of libraries to own, lend, and preserve books.
Take Action Sign the open letter to publishers, asking them to restore access to the 500,000 books removed from our library: https://change.org/LetReadersRead
Join us on October 22nd & 23rd to help celebrate the vital role of libraries in preserving our shared digital culture.
October 22: Tour the Physical Archive
Please join us on Tuesday, October 22 from 6-8pm as we take a peek behind the doors of the Physical Archive in Richmond, California.
We are excited to offer a behind-the-scenes tour of the physical collections of books, music, film, and video in Richmond, California.
With this special insider event we are opening the doors to an often unseen place. See the lifecycle of physical books—donation, preservation, digitization, and access. Also, samples from generous donations and acquisitions of books, records, microfiche, and more will be on display.
October 23: Join our annual celebration—in-person & online!
In a world where major entertainment websites vanish overnight and streaming media disappears from platforms without warning, our digital culture is at risk of being erased. What safeguards are in place to preserve our collective memory?
Join us October 23rd for the Internet Archive’s annual celebration. This year’s gathering, “Escaping the Memory Hole,” explores the vital role that libraries play in protecting our digital heritage. As corporate decision-makers increasingly control what stays online, libraries like the Internet Archive stand as guardians of our shared digital culture, ensuring that it remains preserved and accessible for future generations.
Event details
5pm: Entertainment and food trucks 7pm: Program in our Great Room 8pm: Dancing in the streets
Location: 300 Funston Ave. at Clement St., San Francisco
