Internet Archive

The Internet Archive began in 1996 with the goal of archiving the Internet itself. The mission of the Internet Archive is to provide Universal Access to All Knowledge. The Internet Archive, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, is building a digital library of Internet sites and other cultural artifacts in digital form. Like a paper library, the Internet Archive provide free access to researchers, historians, scholars, people with print disabilities, and the general public.

There is a lot to love about the Internet Archive, but some of my personal favorite projects and collections include:

• Open Library: Read millions books for free online with trhough Open Library's controlled digital lending.
• Software Archive: The Software Archive is designed to preserve and provide access to all kinds of rare or difficult to find, legally downloadable software titles and background information on those titles.
• Classic PC Games: Civilization II, 3D Pinball; Heroes of Might and Magic II, Fish Tycoon ...
• MS-DOS Games: Doom, Sim City, Quake, Wolfenstein 3D, Mortal Combat, Oregon Trail ...
• Wayback Machine: An archive of over 828 billion web pages saved over time.
• GifCities: GeoCities animated GIF search engine.

Digital Libraries

International Children's Digital Library

The International Children's Digital Library (ICDL) includes a collection of over 4,400 digital children's books in over 70 languages. The ICDL Foundation aim is to build a collection of books that represents outstanding historical and contemporary books from throughout the world. The project is supported by the University of Maryland iSchool and Computer Science Department.

LibriVox

LibriVox was started in August 2005. The mission of Librivox is to make all books in the public domain available, narrated by real people and distributed for free, in audio format on the internet. At time of writing, the Librivox catalog includes over 18,000 audiobooks.

Project Gutenberg

Project Gutenberg was founded in 1971 by American writer Michael Hart and is the oldest digital library. The mission of Project Gutenberg is to encourage the creation and distribution of ebooks. At time of writing, Project Gutenberg holds over 70,000 free ebooks, available to read online or download in various formats.

Digital Archives, Media History

Media History Digital Library

The Media History Digital Library is a project of the Wisconsin Center for Film & Theater Research. The library is a free online resource, featuring millions of pages of books and magazines from the histories of film, broadcasting, and recorded sound.

Queer Music Heritage

From January 2000 until March 2015 Queer Music Heritage was both a radio show and a website, and the goal of both was to preserve and share the music of our culture. The archive includes both the radio shows for listening and download, as well as articles and music celebrating the history of LGBTQ music. In 2019, the site was recognized by the Library of Congress for inclusion in the LGBTQ+ Studies Web Archive.

Vimm's Lair

Vimm's Lair has been preserving classic games since 1997. Today, the archive includes thousands of games, full-color manual scans, user ratings and reviews, and much more. Vimm's Lair is one of the oldest and mosted trusted ROM sites on the web.

World Radio History

World Radio History is a free online library published by David E. F. Gleason. The collection includes decades worth of periodicals related to broadcasting, radio, and music, as well as catalogs, books, yearbooks, technical publications, and much more. In 2023, the site received the National Associaton of Broadcaster's & Library of American Broadcasting Foundation's Excellence in Broadcast Preservation Award.

Digital Archives, General

References & Further Reading

• Archive Discovery: A How-to Guide. (2024). Sam Houston State University, Newton Gresham Library. Retrieved from https://shsulibraryguides.org/c.php?g=86819&p=558229
• HIS 295: The Historian's Craft. (n.d.). Mercer University Libraries. Retrieved from https://mercer.libguides.com/HIS295