Web Archiving @ UBC Library

Archive-It is a web archiving service from the Internet Archive that UBC Library has used to collect and access past web pages since 2013. It works to capture and preserve dynamic web pages while also being a platform for institutions/partners to share collections to allow for research, discovery, and accessibility. You can read more about Archive-it's history and projects here.

UBC Library has had a consortial subscription with Archive-it through COPPUL (Council of Prairie and Pacific University Libraries) since 2013 and uses this subscription to archive important web content for UBC researchers and the community. Links to UBC's archived web pages can be found on our Archive-It public page.

Archive-it is a useful tool for institutional web archiving, but it is not the only option. If you are interested in doing your own capture of web content, here are some resources to get you started:

Introduction to web scraping | This resource from the UBC Library Research Commons is an excellent introductory resource to understand the process of web scraping using open-source tools.

An Awesome List for getting started with web archiving | This GitHub from the IIPC (International Internet Preservation Consortium) has an extensive list of widely-used tools that are commonly used in web archiving.

Comparison of web archiving software | This Github from Data Together provides a comprehensive comparison of tools and software for web archiving projects.

Interested in learning more about web archiving? The following links will give you some background to get you started:

What is a web archive? (YouTube video) | UK Web Archives

Awesome Web Archiving (GitHub resource) | International Internet Preservation Coalition (IIPC)

Why archive the web? (YouTube video) | International Internet Preservation Coalition (IIPC)

Getting started with web archives beginner's workshop | Society of American Archivists (SAA)

The web archiving life cycle model | Internet Archive

An overview of web archiving | D-Lib Magazine

Ethics and archiving the web: Web archiving as civic duty | Rhizome.org