Internet Archive: Free Interdisciplinary Resource

 Remember our post from last week about judicial notice and the Wayback Machine? Well, the Wayback Machine is just one part of the Internet Archive, which can be a useful resource for free research on the web.

The Internet Archive is a non-profit organization dedicated to building an Internet library. The organization’s mission includes gathering and preserving both digitized historical collections and born-digital content, and offering free permanent access to everyone. The Internet Archive also features specialized services for adaptive technologies that provide access for people with disabilities.

The collection includes books, maps, video and audio recordings, historical documents, and other content that can be useful for interdisciplinary research.  Users can browse the collections, or perform an advanced search that includes tips and explanations for using the Archive’s terms and connectors. The Wayback Machine allows users to view older versions of webpages, which could be necessary for legal claims involving false advertising, libel, violations of terms and conditions, copyright issues, or other matters. The Wayback Machine can also be a useful hack for locating prior versions of agency websites, data from all levels of government, and Native American tribal codes and court opinions.