Paul WoutersPaul Wouters

Web archieven vooronderzoek - zit daar muziek

in?

Web archieven vooronderzoek - zit daar muziek

in?

Reasons and dilemmasReasons and dilemmas

• online activities• no reliable archive

available• longitudinal research• comparative research• sharing Website data• cultural heritage

• online activities• no reliable archive

available• longitudinal research• comparative research• sharing Website data• cultural heritage

• new archiving paradigm• huge technical and

financial task• storage difficult

challenge• what to archive?• how often to archive?• at what level &

granularity?• future questions?

• new archiving paradigm• huge technical and

financial task• storage difficult

challenge• what to archive?• how often to archive?• at what level &

granularity?• future questions?

Time

Collecting multiple impressions of the “same” site over time

Link across base URLs

Link across similar URLs

T4

T3

T2

T1

Starting with the same base URL

Preserving bits, content, experience

Preserving bits, content, experience

• …bits – “retain the exact bit sequence of the original.”

• …content – “retain the content (e.g., the words in a text or the appearance of an image) but not the full interactive nature of a Web site.”

• …experience – “retain the entire experience of interacting with the digital material, including the look and feel, and execution of dynamic elements.”

• …bits – “retain the exact bit sequence of the original.”

• …content – “retain the content (e.g., the words in a text or the appearance of an image) but not the full interactive nature of a Web site.”

• …experience – “retain the entire experience of interacting with the digital material, including the look and feel, and execution of dynamic elements.”

Source:Arms et al, 2001: Collecting and Preserving the Web: The Minerva Prototypehttp://www.rlg.org/preserv/diginews/diginews5-2.html#feature1

In other words …In other words …• The document may not be the best basic

concept• Both boundaries and links need to be

considered• Specific attention for design needs to be

developed• Web archiving lies at the heart of history and

heritage• Scholarship central both to creation and use

of Web archives

• The document may not be the best basic concept

• Both boundaries and links need to be considered

• Specific attention for design needs to be developed

• Web archiving lies at the heart of history and heritage

• Scholarship central both to creation and use of Web archives

What is already clear (1)What is already clear (1)• Dynamics of Web behaviour difficult to

archive• All technical puzzles (what/how/how

often/storage) are also conceptual choices• Hyperlink structure central feature• Ways of searching the archives key issue• Generic archive interface should not

“blackbox” styles of research

• Dynamics of Web behaviour difficult to archive

• All technical puzzles (what/how/how often/storage) are also conceptual choices

• Hyperlink structure central feature• Ways of searching the archives key issue• Generic archive interface should not

“blackbox” styles of research

What is already clear (2)What is already clear (2)

• Web is highly skewed representation of culture• Complex relationship between action & online

representation• Context still counts - the need for off-line studies• Metadata critical, both human-made and

machine-generated• Creating Web archives entails shaping the

historical record of cultural representation

• Web is highly skewed representation of culture• Complex relationship between action & online

representation• Context still counts - the need for off-line studies• Metadata critical, both human-made and

machine-generated• Creating Web archives entails shaping the

historical record of cultural representation

Elements of a research agenda

Elements of a research agenda

• balance broad and narrow crawls• heritage archiving <-> research archiving• relationship research styles and archive accessibility• multilevel infrastructures to support small projects• role of scholars in constructing culture• ethics of Web archiving• non-academic use of Web archives• unexpected consequences (lock-ins)

• balance broad and narrow crawls• heritage archiving <-> research archiving• relationship research styles and archive accessibility• multilevel infrastructures to support small projects• role of scholars in constructing culture• ethics of Web archiving• non-academic use of Web archives• unexpected consequences (lock-ins)

Last but not least ...Last but not least ...

Serious Web archiving requires “grand coalition”

Serious Web archiving requires “grand coalition”