Maintaining Content and Achieving Accessibility on the Internet’s Archive

The Internet Archive (archive.org) represents another example of working archival collections of digitally-based materials. It was founded in 1996 and works to keep Internet and digitally-based works from dissapearing forever. Thirty billion Web pages can be accessed through archive.org by way of the Wayback Machine browser program. Users type in a URL, select a date, and begin surfing on an archived version of the Web. This is a good example of what will likely be standard in future Internet archives.

The Wayback Machine was unveiled in 2001, and now contains roughly one petabyte of data. It is currently growing at a rate of 20 terabytes per month. Access to this machine is simpler than it may sound. The user simply types in the site’s URL, clicks on the “Take me back” button, and selects a particular snapshot in time that goes back as far as 1996. It must be noted that had the creators of this site not been proactive in taking essential steps in preserving digital material, the data might otherwise be lost. Large portions of the Web are considered to be “gray” literature. These writings were never registered with an ISBN or sold in bookstores. Although the value of these materials is relatively low compared to published works, value is, nonetheless, involved.

Improvement in access to library materials has been a priority among librarians for a long time. The concern over access has become heightened recently due to comparisons to Web-based search engines. One group gave their opinions on the best potential improvements in catalog access in libraries: The Task Force for the future of the catalog came from the Hunter Library at Western Carolina University. They complained that patrons had to perform a multi-step process with a variety of tools to find pertinent information in the library. The reason this task seems so difficult for some people is because typical Web search engines have made searching so much easier. Even though the quality of information one can find using the library catalog is comparatively superior, people often times prefer the simplicity of the Web.

Web search engines offer a reduced level of complexity over library searching and a reduction in the number of locations a user must look for information. The academic library, not the Web, remains the best place to find scholarly information. However, a desire has been expressed to combine the simplicity of the Web search engines with the quality of the library catalog. Some work has been done in the realm of dealing with this problem. Ex Libris’ MetaLib and Innovative Interface’s Metafind are examples of products that take a user’s search, send it to a number of different databases, and then return an integrated set of search results from all of the databases. Rather than being a component of the library catalog, these “portal” products perform as an interface to library resources.

SFX and EZProxy are some of the technologies that have helped to make patron access to library materials easier and more productive. In another effort to bring the simplicity and familiarity of the Web to library catalogs, ExLibris’ SFX links resources together. It does this with a technology called Open URL, which can link, for example, article citations to full-text articles. These links provide users with something akin to the hyperlinks they are accustomed to on the Web. With the increase in the number of available electronic journals comes the need to access a library from home. In order to access the library’s reserved online journals, the system must recognize the user’s IP address as one of the addresses at the library. Since the patron’s IP address is not from the library’s domain, the system will deny access to the user. The way that libraries are able to provide access to homebound patrons is through the use of proxy servers, such as EZproxy. Being able to use electronic periodicals from a patron’s home is a significant improvement in terms of patron access to information.

Services such as Serial Solutions have come into being for the purpose of providing better access to organizations subscribing to multiple e-journals. Serial Solutions is a cataloging service that delivers comprehensive reports indicating which full-text articles exist at a certain institution, such as a local library. This gives the library an up-to-date report showing the existence of every article included in that library’s collection of e-journals. This service is one more attempt at making access to information more successful.

Please visit www.lakehydro.com, www.carbonrock.com, and www.luckygiant.com