A collaborative model for web archiving ephemeral art resources at the New York Art Resources Consortium (NYARC)

Abstract

The vast expanse and volatility of art ephemera based on the World Wide Web pose significant threats to the completeness of the art historical record. Towards its mission to enhance the resources available for current and future research through collaboration, the New York Art Resources Consortium (NYARC) collects, preserves, and provides access to art ephemera born in digital formats native to the web. It leverages its member institutions’ collecting strengths and resources to establish a permanently sustainable web archiving programme. This article introduces NYARC's web archiving practices at the principal stages in a typical web archive's lifecycle, describes how each benefit from collaboration among its member libraries and external programme partners, and identifies opportunities for further art libraries and consortia to participate in this important effort to preserve at-risk art historical resources.

Web archiving of indigenous knowledge systems in South Africa

“…Also, many other studies focused on the use of technology to manage IK, such as digitisation of IKS (e.g., Bishop, 2019; Bourget, 2020; Kapepiso, 2018; Durcan, 2016; Nakarta et al, 2014); digital preservation of IK (e.g., Amunkete, 2020; Zuraidah and Aliza, 2010; Mutula, 2014; Biyela, Oyelude and Haumba 2016); and web archiving initiatives in academic institutions (Bailey et al, 2017; Hendry and Stock, 2014; Khumalo and Nkala, 2015; Niu, 2012). Very few studies were found on the digital preservation of IKS in Africa.…”

“…The collaborative effort between Drexel University, Slippery Rock University, and the University of Scranton is also a good example of how academic institutions have been able to embark on successful Web archiving initiatives through collaboration (Antracoli et al, 2014). The New York Art Consortium (NYARC) is also able to collaborate to collect, preserve and provide access to “art ephemera born in digital formats native to the web” Duncan and Blumenthal (2016: 116).…”

Appraisal Practices in Web Archives

“…The need for tools that allow seed lists (lists of URLs to archive) to be developed was articulated by Pearce-Moses & Kaczmarek (2005). Duncan & Blumenthal (2016) describe how networks, such as professional consortia, are useful resources for curating seed lists. In addition there has been discussion of the use of social media and their Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) as a means for discovering web content for archiving events such the Arab Spring (Arnold & Sampson, 2014) and the protests in Ferguson and the #Black-LivesMatter social movement (Rollason-Cass & Reed, 2015).…”