UK Web Archiving Consortium

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The UK Web Archiving Consortium (UKWAC) is a consortium of six leading UK institutions working collaboratively on a project to develop a test-bed for selective archiving of UK websites. UKWAC consists of the British Library, the Joint Information Systems Committee (JISC), the National Archives (UK), the National Library of Wales, the National Library of Scotland, and the Wellcome Library.

Using PANDAS software, developed by the National Library of Australia, consortium members will archive sites (once appropriate permissions have been obtained from website owners) relevant to their interests. For example, the Wellcome Library will focus on collecting medical sites, whilst the National Library of Wales will collect sites that reflect life in contemporary Wales. The British Library will focus on sites of cultural, historical and political importance.

Once sites have been archived, catalogued and checked for completeness, they will be made accessible through this website. Users will be able to browse the archive - using broad subject headings - or search for specific sites and topics.

As of January 2006 the project contains approximately 880 titles and over 1000 individual web sites.

UKWAC is using the Pandora Archive software developed by the National Library of Australia.

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