UK Web Archiving Consortium

Project Overview

For many, the web has become the information source of first resort. From online journals and scholarly material to news, travel and sport, the web provides unlimited and immediate access to enormous resources.

Despite our apparent dependence on this medium, however, very little attention has been paid to the long-term preservation of websites. Indeed, with the life of an average website estimated to be around 44 days (about the same lifespan as a housefly) there is a danger that invaluable scholarly, cultural and scientific resources will be lost to future generations.

To address this problem, a consortium of six leading UK institutions got together in 2004 to explore the best way to collect and preserve web materials. View the project timeline here.

Using PANDAS software, developed by the National Library of Australia, consortium members archive sites (once appropriate permissions have been obtained from website owners) relevant to their interests. For example, the Wellcome Library focuses on collecting medical sites, whilst the National Library of Wales collects sites that reflect life in contemporary Wales. The British Library concentrates on sites of cultural, historical and political importance.

Once sites have been archived, catalogued and checked for completeness, they are made accessible through this website. Users can search for sites by title letter, browse the archive - using broad subject headings - or search for specific sites and topics.

For additional information on Web archiving see the two reports commissioned by the Wellcome Trust and JISC that led to the development of UKWAC.

UK Web Archiving Consortium partners have existing catalogues providing access to their collections. View the list of library catalogues here.