Internet Archive is a non-profit research library preserving web pages, books, movies & audio for public access. Explore web history via the @waybackmachine.
San Francisco, CA
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The web is disappearing 🕳️
According to a Pew Research Center report, 26% of pages from 2013-2023 are no longer accessible.
But that’s not the whole story.
In a new study published in Internet Archive's book, VANISHING CULTURE, data scientists working with the Wayback Machine have found:
16% have been restored through the Wayback Machine.
56% are preserved before they disappear.
Preservation is the remedy for cultural loss.
📚 Read VANISHING CULTURE free from the Internet Archive
📖 Download & read: archive.org/details/vanishin…
🛒 Purchase in print: betterworldbooks.com/product…
#VanishingCulture #DigitalMemory #InternetArchive #BookTwitter
ALT Infographic titled “URLs Preserved in the Wayback Machine” based on a dataset of 5.4 million URLs. It shows 26% of web pages are dead and 74% are still alive. Of the total, 10% have vanished completely, 18% are endangered (not yet preserved), 16% have been restored through the Wayback Machine, and 56% are preserved. The visual uses a flow-style diagram to show how preservation reduces permanent loss.
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Welcome to the public domain, STEAMBOAT WILLIE (1928)! archive.org/details/Steamboa…
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Internet Archive Responds to Appellate Opinion in Hachette v. Internet Archive
"We are disappointed in today’s opinion about the Internet Archive’s digital lending of books that are available electronically elsewhere. We are reviewing the court’s opinion and will continue to defend the rights of libraries to own, lend, and preserve books."
-Chris Freeland, director of library services
🔗 blog.archive.org/2024/09/04/…
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Sorry, but archive.org is down temporarily-- working to restore service.
(details: this is our second blast of abusive traffic from an AWS customer today apparently from an AI company harvesting Internet Archive texts at an extreme rate)
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Did you know that the Internet Archive has a physical archive that houses millions of books (as in: actual, physical, paper books)? For every book that we lend to users online, we have a physical copy that is preserved in our archive. A 🧵
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1/3 As most of you know, we are currently facing a lawsuit brought by 4 corporate publishers who want to stop the Internet Archive from lending books. #EmpoweringLibraries
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Friend of the Court Briefs Filed in Internet Archive’s Appeal — Hundreds of librarians joined prominent library organizations & non-profits in filing amicus briefs in Hachette v. Internet Archive. Read why they believe our appeal should succeed: blog.archive.org/2023/12/29/…
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Sorry to say, archive.org is under a ddos attack. The data is not affected, but most services are unavailable.
We are working on it. This thread will have updates.
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Yes, the Internet Archive is an actual place! We offer tours every Friday at 1pm - stop by the next time you're in the Bay Area.
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⬇️
Guess what's back.
Yes, archive.org and openlibrary.org are back, as well as web.archive.org (Wayback Machine) and all those amazing items.
Some of the features are not up yet, but rest assured we're working on it and our tired devs will prevail.
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📚 Attention Readers & Researchers 📚
More than 500,000 books have been removed from our lending library due to the publishers' lawsuit. Have you been affected? Share your story with us and help us fight to restore access. #LetReadersRead
👉 forms.gle/G2GXK6xwMZ3t8oHh9
ALT Internet Archive logo in white on a black background.
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They also removed ‘Fahrenheit 451’ 🔥 List of the 1,300 banned books the publishers removed from our library linked in this FAQ: help.archive.org/help/why-ar…
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📢👇
The Internet Archive, a digital library aiming to make published materials accessible to everyone, is in danger of being shut down by four major publishers. If the publishers are successful, free access to knowledge will be in jeopardy. jacobin.com/2024/02/internet…
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Update: archive.org is back online in a provisional, read-only manner. Learn more in our latest post: blog.archive.org/2024/10/21/…
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2/3 Yesterday, both parties in the lawsuit filed summary judgment briefs. Today, we are hosting a press conference about this development. #EmpoweringLibraries
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3/3 The press conference is invitation-only but we’ll be live-tweeting key moments throughout the morning. Stay tuned. #EmpoweringLibraries
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Take action: Sign the open letter to publishers, asking them to restore access to the 500,000+ books removed from our library ⤵️ change.org/LetReadersRead
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📢 The Internet Archive needs your help.
At a time when information is being rewritten or erased online, a $700 million lawsuit from major record labels threatens to destroy the Wayback Machine.
Tell the labels to drop the 78s lawsuit.
👉 Sign our open letter: change.org/p/defend-the-inte…
🧵
ALT Defend the Internet Archive. Protect the Wayback Machine. Tell the music labels: Drop the 78s lawsuit. Sign our open letter on change.org
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You want your MTV? ⬇️
Internet Archive has assembled a searchable index of 460,575 web pages previously published on MTV's website. You can search the MTV News archive on the organization’s Wayback Machine. bit.ly/4cI0kME
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If you were surprised that the Internet Archive is an actual place, just wait until you find out that we have an actual, physical collection of printed, paper books 🤯 For every book we lend to users online, there's a physical copy preserved in the Physical Archive. A 🧵
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This is why libraries need to be able to own digital media instead of just renting it from corporate landlords…who is preserving these shows?
HBO Max made a sudden announcement today that it will remove numerous titles THIS WEEK, including lots of animation. Why is the streamer purging its animation library? Why do it without warning mid-month? It's unclear at the moment. Here’s the new list of what’s being removed.
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up again.
This has been a back and forth with the attackers. We have made some adjustments, but geez.
at least, Happy Memorial Day!
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“Martin Scorsese’s The Film Foundation said that basically half of all American films made before 1950 are lost, & none of the major distributors are looking for them. Even worse, they said that more than 90% of films made before 1929 are lost forever.”
nofilmschool.com/missing-mov…
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2/ We use the Scribe, a book scanner our engineers invented, along with the software that it runs.
Our scanning centers are located in universities and libraries around the world, from Boston Public Library to the University of Toronto to the Wellcome Library and beyond.
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Today’s lower court decision in Hachette v. Internet Archive is a blow to all libraries & the communities we serve.
But it’s not over—we will keep fighting for the traditional right of libraries to own, lend, and preserve books. Learn more & take action👇 blog.archive.org/2023/03/25/…
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🏛️❤️⬇️
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Yesterday's DDOS attack on @internetarchive repeated today. We are working to bring archive.org back online.
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4/ Now imagine this: scanners like Eliza have done this 2,000,000 times.
That's what it takes to provide you with a free digital library.
blog.archive.org/2021/02/03/…
#empoweringlibraries
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Latest update (Oct 11, 10:22am PT) ⬇️
The data is safe.
Services are offline as we examine and strengthen them. Sorry, but needed. @internetarchive staff is working hard.
Estimated Timeline: days, not weeks.
Thank you for the offers of pizza (we are set).
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We want to hear from you: How does yesterday's opinion from the appellate court affect your reading or research? What does it mean to you that 500,000+ books are no longer available for lending? Please share your story ➡️ forms.gle/JgwWLxhvKgAZdV9T7 #LetReadersRead
ALT What does the court's opinion in Hachette v. Internet Archive mean to you? Share your story #LetReadersRead
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The 90s are back! Relive the decade with this publicly available version of popular drawing software, Kid Pix! As featured in our monthly collections highlight email: mailchi.mp/archive.org/email…
ALT Kid Pix by Craig Hickman
ALT Internet Archive drawn with Kid Pix
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3/ Eliza is one of our fastest and most accurate scanners. Next she will execute quality control checks and fix any errors. Then she ships the book back to our Physical Archive for long-term preservation.
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Archive.org is back!
(and it may not have been an AI company, maybe just an eager user)
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At the Internet Archive, this is how we digitize a book. We do this so that everyone, everywhere has access to a great research library. #digitization #preservation #access
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This is how we digitize the books in our physical library collection. We turn every page by hand to avoid damaging the spine and pages ❤️ 📖 #lovebooks #EmpoweringLibraries
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This is why libraries need to be able to own digital media. battleforlibraries.com/
#DigitalRightsForLibraries
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Latest update (Oct 10, 2:08pm PT) ⬇️
Update: @internetarchive’s data has not been corrupted. Services are currently stopped to upgrade internal systems.
We are working to restore services as quickly and safely as possible.
Sorry for this disruption.
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We are working to restore service to archive.org.
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It’s time to stand up for libraries! ✊The Hachette v. Internet Archive lawsuit will be heard in court on Monday. Will libraries be able to continue owning, lending and preserving books? Show your support here: battleforlibraries.com/ @fightfortheftr
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"Epic Games is officially cool with the Internet Archive preserving early Unreal games" from @gamedevdotcom gamedeveloper.com/business/e…
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Welcome to the public domain, THE SKELETON DANCE (1929). 🎞️ 🎶👻 Walt Disney's first Silly Symphony cartoon is a masterpiece of synchronized animation & music featuring dancing skeletons in a graveyard.
Learn more. ➡️ blog.archive.org/2025/01/01/…
#PublicDomainDay #CopyrightFree
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We've been preparing for this since 2009. Check out 301Works: archive.org/details/301works…
Google is turning off its goo.gl shortener links next year engt.co/468D8VL
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Latest update (5:36am, Oct 10) ⬇️
Sorry, but DDOS folks are back and knocked archive.org and openlibrary.org offline.
@internetarchive is being cautious and prioritizing keeping data safe at the expense of service availability.
Will share more as we know it.
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The lawsuit against our library is about more than the Internet Archive - it is about the role of all libraries in the digital age. blog.archive.org/2023/12/15/…
ALT "We need libraries to be independent and strong, now more than ever, in a time of misinformation and challenges to democracy. That's why we are defending the rights of libraries to serve our patrons where they are, online." Brewster Kahle, Internet Archive founder and digital librarian
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Today, we filed our final brief in Hachette v. Internet Archive, the publishers’ lawsuit against our library. For 4 years we've been fighting for library rights—what our founder @brewster_kahle calls “a battle for the soul of libraries in the digital age.” blog.archive.org/2024/04/19/…
ALT Internet Archive logo in white on black.
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Yesterday we filed our final brief in the lawsuit by 4 corporate publishers against our nonprofit library: blog.archive.org/2024/04/19/…
Here’s why we’re still fighting for library digital rights, and why YOU should care 🧵
ALT Internet Archive logo in white on black.
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We are continuing to experience service disruptions due to a recurrence of a ddos attack. We’ll post updates in this thread.
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🔗 Websites vanish. Links break. But knowledge can live on with your help. Use the Wayback Machine’s Save Page Now tool to archive webpages that are important to you. 🕰️💾
📌 Try it now: web.archive.org/save
ALT Logo for the Internet Archive's Wayback Machine
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Here’s an insider report on what’s going on behind the scenes to bring @internetarchive services online: teddit.net/r/internetarchive…
ALT Insider Report I am in town (SF) for our events next week, I talked to many people with more to come, and I'm sneaking out this verified fact: People are working so incredibly hard. The teams have getting the site back secure and safe as the number one priority. They have taken no days off this past week. They are taking none this weekend. There is a small set of people working on organizing the events next week. The rest, the developers and admins, this is all they are doing. The vast amount of our patrons understand the situation. A few do not and seem to think we are not doing this work literally round the clock. I spent today talking with tired and thoughtful people putting their all in. If someone out there was to do some grand gesture for this team, let me know. Otherwise, be assured: they are working with all of their energy and considerable talent.
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If you see something, save something. Use Save Page Now to save URLs at archive.org/web/
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Explore >1,000 classic sound effects rescued from crumbling magnetic tape in the Sunset Editorial Sound Effects Library from the USC Archive ⤵️ blog.archive.org/2023/05/20/…
Included in the collection is the full recording session of the famous 'Wilhelm scream'... 1/2
ALT SSE tape library - magnetic tapes in a box.
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Latest update (Oct 15, 2:20pm PT) ⬇️
Wayback Machine running strong (yippie!).
Still working to bring archive.org items & other services online safely.
@internetarchive team spirits high, but tired.
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We’re grateful to @DuckDuckGo for their $25,000 gift to Internet Archive! This support helps ensure the world’s knowledge is preserved & accessible to everyone.
Everyone using the Internet deserves simple and accessible online privacy.
We're proud to donate $1.1M to organizations that are working to make that a reality.
This is made possible through your ongoing support of DuckDuckGo - thank you! 🎉
spreadprivacy.com/2025-duckd…
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Deepest thanks to our dedicated #library scanning partners at @BPLBoston @WellcomeLibrary @UofT @uofalibrary @National_Ag_Lib @GettyMuseum @prelinger @ACPL @PTSLibrary and countless satellite scanning locations worldwide. We work together one book, one page at a time. 💪📚
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We get our books the same way as other libraries: we buy books and we receive donated books. Some of those donations come from libraries that are reevaluating their physical collections, like Hamilton Public Library: blog.archive.org/2021/05/26/…
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New Feature Alert: Access archived webpages directly through Google Search, now featuring a link to @waybackmachine.
🔗 blog.archive.org/2024/09/11/…
ALT Internet Archive Wayback Machine
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Rather than circulate the physical book we own, we lend a scanned digital copy of the book to one user at a time through the library practice known as controlled digital lending. Here’s how it works:
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Latest update ⬇️
The @internetarchive’s Wayback Machine resumed in a provisional, read-only manner.
Sorry, no Save Page Now yet.
Safe to resume but might need further maintenance, in which case it will be suspended again.
Please be gentle web.archive.org/
More as it happens.
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Now imagine that ⬇️ at library scale. This is why libraries need to be able to own digital media, instead of being forced to rent temporary access from corporate landlords.
Apple TV lost my 650 movies. That I own. Every upgrade in my Apple phone makes it worse. Our entire universe can be hacked or lost at any moment. The new billionaires that have addicted us to a new completely defenseless world need to be held accountable. Fix this fucking thing!
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"The Internet Archive can only do so much to preserve all of this, especially when the nonprofit is already staving off endless, expensive lawsuits..."
🔗 Cartoon Network's website was deleted. That should scare you all. slate.com/technology/2024/08… via @slate
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And some books come to us from libraries that are shutting down forever, like Marygrove College. The school closed in 2019 & rather than sell off the collection, the Board donated the entire library to us for preservation & digitization: blog.archive.org/2020/10/20/…
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Latest update (Oct 12, 10:17pm PT) ⬇️
Archive.org sub services coming back up when they can, safely. e.g. Email working.
Now contract crawls for National Libraries (important to make keep collections whole)
Thank you for the patience. More as it happens.
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Today, the Internet Archive submitted its appeal in Hachette v. Internet Archive. As we stated when the decision was handed down in March, we believe the lower court made errors in facts and law, so we are fighting on in the face of great challenges. blog.archive.org/2023/09/11/…
ALT Internet Archive logo in white on a black background.
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Following the buzz around Mickey Mouse & Steamboat Willie entering the public domain, we're thrilled to announce that we've unlocked the relevant works from 1928 on our site! 🎞️📚🎶 Explore our curated list now: blog.archive.org/2024/01/04/…
Welcome to the public domain, STEAMBOAT WILLIE (1928)! archive.org/details/Steamboa…
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There are hundreds of libraries that are using controlled digital lending to reach their patrons where they are reading & learning today: online. #EmpoweringLibraries
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So, for each of the 65k books now available to borrow from the Marygrove College collection at archive.org/details/marygrov…, the actual book we scanned has been preserved in our physical archive. But those physical books don’t circulate.
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Your voice matters - Sign the open letter to publishers, asking them to restore access to the 500,000 books they’ve removed from our library ✍️ change.org/LetReadersRead #LetReadersRead
📚 Attention Readers & Researchers 📚
More than 500,000 books have been removed from our lending library due to the publishers' lawsuit. Have you been affected? Share your story with us and help us fight to restore access. #LetReadersRead
👉 forms.gle/G2GXK6xwMZ3t8oHh9
ALT Internet Archive logo in white on a black background.
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How does a book end up on the Internet Archive? 📕📖 Visit the Physical Archive in person on October 22 to see the lifecycle of physical books — donation, #preservation, digitization & access blog.archive.org/2024/08/19/…
#digitalbooks
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Sorry, archive.org is having trouble (front end load balancers are overloaded).
We are working on it. Back as soon as we can.
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Our founder @brewster_kahle just posted a note about what happened today ▶️ blog.archive.org/2023/05/29/…
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Major record labels are demanding $700 million in their lawsuit against our library.
Help defend the Internet Archive & the Wayback Machine.
✍️ Sign our open letter on change.org ➡️ change.org/p/defend-the-inte…
@InternetArchive @WaybackMachine #libraries #preservation
ALT Image of a server rack bearing the logo and name of the Internet Archive.
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Save Page Now is back online via the Wayback Machine: web.archive.org/save
Web pages archived since October 9 will start being added to @waybackmachine.
ALT Save Page Now
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When the clock strikes midnight on January 1, creative works from 1929 & sound recordings from 1924 will enter the public domain in the US, like:
⚓️ Popeye
🕵️ The Maltese Falcon
📖 The Sound and the Fury
🇮🇹 A Farewell to Arms
🏠️ A Room of One's Own
🙌 Hallelujah
& more!
🧵👇
ALT Singin’ in the Public Domain. The Lockette welcomes new media into the public domain.
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Latest update (Oct 14 @ 12:43pm PT) ⬇️
@waybackmachine volume is back to normal: 1,500 requests per second.
Sorry we don't have other services yet. (Your good wishes have helped a good team @internetarchive )
more as it happens.
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Update—Bringing more services online: blog.archive.org/2024/10/28/…
More services & features coming soon. Services may be interrupted for ongoing maintenance as we continue to secure systems.
Thank you for your patience and ongoing support.
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So great to hear you’ve decided to take a stand against book censorship. Does this mean you’ll be dropping your lawsuit against libraries, too?
💥BANNED BOOKS NEWS💥
Penguin Random House sues Iowa in an effort to halt censorship in America.
Learn more here: bit.ly/3uvWB3R
#BannedBooks #ReadBannedBooks
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Yes! Libraries are discovery engines for finding books to buy & add to your personal collection.
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The internet forgets. You don’t have to.
📥 Use the Wayback Machine’s Save Page Now tool to capture and preserve the sites you care about.
🕰️ Try it here ➡️ web.archive.org/save
#Wayback1T @WaybackMachine #WaybackMachine
ALT Text logo for the Internet Archive Wayback Machine. Below that is the text Save Page Now, alongside a pale blue outlined file icon with a plus symbol as the lower right corner.
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And what can you do with the mouse now that he’s in the public domain? Well, it’s complicated: web.law.duke.edu/cspd/mickey…
Welcome to the public domain, STEAMBOAT WILLIE (1928)! archive.org/details/Steamboa…
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Latest update (Oct 16, 1:56PM PT) ⬇️
Wanted to share an update from Team @waybackmachine
The archives are safe & the Wayback Machine is up in read-only mode.
We hope to turn more web crawling on within a day to make sure our web collections remain whole.
Next up: Save Page Now.
Thank you for the support!
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Archive.org is temporarily offline. We are working to restore access. Apologies for the disruption!
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This is why libraries need to be able to own—not rent—digital content. 🕳️#VanishingCulture #preservation
Apple, Amazon, Netflix, Kindle, Spotify, nearly all digital platforms reserve the right to change or remove content without notice. Note, this can include retroactively revising books and magazine/newspaper articles to "improve" or "update" them.
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Wondering how you can support us in our appeal? Tell the publishers we want to buy & OWN (not RENT) ebooks we can preserve & lend for the public good👉 bit.ly/3S3rA0D #SellDontSue
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“The website for Cartoon Network, which had existed online since 1998, has been scrubbed from the internet.” 🕳️ #VanishingCulture
➡️ @waybackmachine
After 26 years, Cartoon Network's website is no more
cnet.com/tech/services-and-s…
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ILL is back up ⬆️
Interlibrary loan is back on: @internetarchive is lending/borrowing through RapidILL again.
hurrah for small successes!
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This viral tweet from 2021 has taken off again 📖 Always happy to take people behind the scenes to see the inner workings of our library!
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Thank you to everyone who has supported the Internet Archive - and all libraries - during this lawsuit. The judge will hear oral argument on Monday. Make your voice heard: battleforlibraries.com/ @fightfortheftr #EmpoweringLibraries
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Did you love this video? We might not be allowed to use books scanned by machines like this much longer... A new lawsuit by 4 corporate publishers threatens libraries' right to digitize & lend the books we own. Fight back at empoweringlibraries.org #empoweringlibraries
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Regional cookbooks are more than recipes—they're a window into our shared cultural traditions and histories. Preserving these practical guides ensures future generations can savor the stories of our past. 🍲📚 #VanishingCulture
Read more: blog.archive.org/2024/09/30/…
ALT Why is it important to preserve cookbooks? The Vanishing Culture Report
ALT “Scanning and archiving cookbooks documents not only their content, but also the hands that they have passed through; each copy has its own unique revisions and adjustments.” Katie Livingston, humanities scholar
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We are working to bring archive.org back online.
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