Stabilizing the Web: A History of Web Archival Thought

Shortly after the Web went public, the cultural value of this communication space was recognized, and efforts were made to stabilize and preserve it. In the name of cultural stewardship, independent efforts began to tackle the complex problem of preserving and archiving content from the Web. Experiments employing all variety of archival practices have succeeded and failed, and these efforts continue adjusting to media ecological shifts in Web culture. Some practices continue to develop; others have become fixed. These practices have influenced research methods in, on, and of the Web. This paper offers a history of Web archival practice analyzed in context with traditional archival thought. It assesses the impact these practices have on Web history, and potentials for future experimentation both in archiving and in research methods.

This paper explores how archival practice has, and has not, evolved to meet the demands of digital cultural heritage. Beginning with an exploration of Web Archival discourse, this paper shows how archival principles are being defined for the Web, how evidence on and of the Web has come to be understood, how the nature of records has come to include unique digital characteristics, how the function of Web archives has been appraised, how we have come to appreciate the vagaries of context in a Web archive, and finally, how Web archivists are reinventing archives in many ways.

Rather than simply presenting a summary of Web archival projects, this paper considers central dimensions of archival theory, and assesses how they have been adapted and applied to address digital media ecology. Indeed, these dimensions have evolved to define Web Archival Thought, and not simply prior archival thought applied to the Web. This evolution of Web Archival Thought has had a profound impact on research methods in digital cultural.