Publication Date
January 2002
Abstract
Website content is notoriously ephemeral. Its electronic existence is in communication with its components at one moment, gone at the next. A solution to preserving that content is to "permanently archive" the entire website. This raises concerns about technological accessibility and longevity. A website can also manifest itself as a dispersed collection of printed pages and downloaded electronic files redistributed amongst the paper and electronic records of individuals and organizations. What distinguishes that which is the record of an individual or an organization from the flotsam of reprinted and hyperlinked ephemera? Are archivists preparing appraisal methods for websites and their effluent?