by DAN CALLOWAY
Published 26 December 2009 @ 18:02 UCT
SAN FRANCISCO, CA – The Wayback Machine is an Internet archive project, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that is building a digital library of cultural artifacts in digital form.
Similar to a public library, access to the Wayback Machine is free to the general public, historians, researchers, and scholars.
Institutional support for the Internet archive includes: Alexa Internet, HP Packard, Perlinger Archives, National Science Foundation, Library of Congress, LizardTech, The Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, and The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation.
The Internet Wayback Machine allows site visitors to type in a webpage address and select from a list of available times that they would like to view the site in the past. Over 150 Billion webpages are available through this Internet archive website, which has archived websites as far back as 1996 and as current as a few months ago. Keyword searching is not currently available, but this will be available in the near future.
Current developers and supporters of The Wayback Machine are support foundations, national institutions, libraries, and a number of other non-profit institutions. By and large, decisions on what website pages will be archived for future access are adults with adult concerns and desires as to what digital records are important to preserve. Now, these developers and supporters are looking to students and the general public to also contribute in this decision-making process.
If you’re interested in contributing, then visit The Wayback Machine on the Internet and join by creating an account. While on the Website, type in a favorite website URL lnk to view the site as it appeared in the past.
I joined the site today, received my virtual library card, and gave the site a spin by viewing Amazon.com’s website as it appeared in 1998. It was amazing to see just how much this site has changed in 11 years.
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