Imagining permanence on the web

Tracing the meanings of long-term preservation among the subjects of web archives

Bibliographic Data

ID6443475
AuthorsKieran Hegarty (0000-0003-4480-3561, RMIT University, corresponding author)
Year2023
Volume27
Issue2
Pages898-913
Publication date2023-07-22
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueNew Media & Society (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1461-4448 • E-ISSN: 1461-7315
PublisherSAGE Publishing (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1177/14614448231187031
OpenAlexW4385144116
LanguageEN
Citations received1
References cited31

This article explores how web archiving impacts the online communication practices of individuals whose personal websites have been archived by major public libraries. Drawing on interviews with website creators and analysis of their written reflections on the archiving process, it demonstrates how web archiving alters the meanings people attach to their online activity. In most cases, the preservation of their website in a national web archive sees individuals perceive their communication practices as having wider cultural and historical significance. These meanings are shaped by the distinctive interaction between archiving and archived actors and propelled by imaginaries surrounding the culture and history of the collecting institution. Based on these findings, this article argues that web archiving can be productively understood as an intervention in the dynamics of online sociality and calls for reflexive archival and research practices that attend to the short- and long-term impacts of altering the visibility of online material

Institution · Internet privacy · Media studies · Reflexivity · Social science · Sociality · Sociology · World Wide Web · Caching and Content Delivery · Computer Science · Social Media and Politics · Web Data Mining and Analysis

Tools

Open DOIOpen Access