BBC E-mail: British Library archives websites

[Ann Okerson <ann.okerson@yale.edu>]

Given our preservation thread, of possible interest...

** British Library archives websites **
The British Library is now able to store web pages and e-mails alongside
other documents in its archive.
< http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/1/hi/entertainment/arts/3231483.stm >

British Library archives websites 

The British Library will soon be able to store web pages and e-mails in
its archive after a legal change.  The library had pushed for electronic
items to be included because of the rise in web-based publishing.

"This new legislation will now mean that a vital part of the nation's
published heritage will be safe," said MP Chris Mole, who supported the
move.

The archive will comprise selective "harvesting" from the 2.9 million
sites that have "uk" suffixes.

The new law was given royal assent on Friday.

The library already has six legal deposit archives which hold a copy of
everything published in the UK and Ireland since 1911. The new formats -
which also include CD-Roms - will join these archives, and be available
for future study.

Under the new law, proposed in a Private Member's Bill, future mediums
will also be able to be stored as they are developed.

The law follows a voluntary system that has been used since 2000.

The number of journals published electronically in the UK is expected to
jump from 52,000 in 2002 to 193,000 in 2005.

The deposit libraries already hold more than 51 million printed items.

Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/entertainment/arts/3231483.stm

Published: 2003/10/31 17:12:58 GMT

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