Using the Library of Congress' Web Cultures Web Archive Archiving Digital Expressive Culture and Building Collections

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Published: Aug 3, 2020

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Trevor Owens
Nicole Saylor
Jesse A. Johnston

Abstract

The development of the Web brought with it a proliferation of new forms of vernacular culture and folklife. In this context, it is essential for archives focused on collecting, and preserving vernacular culture to archive web content. This essay introduces the American Folklife Center's Web Culture's Web Archive as a case study for how institutions working to ensure long-term access to records of folklife and vernacular culture can make progress in this area. The essay provides context for the development of the archive followed by examples of three research use cases supported by the archives. These include an example of close reading across multiple sites to explore the mythic creature Slender Man, analysis of change over time in trending topics on the homepage of Know Your Meme, and an example of engaging in distant reading of data associated with fifty thousand images archived from the site Memegenerator.net. The essay closes with discussion of the value of further engagement and partnerships between researchers studying vernacular culture online and archivists working to document that culture.

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Owens, T., Saylor, N., & Johnston, J. A. (2020). Using the Library of Congress’ Web Cultures Web Archive: Archiving Digital Expressive Culture and Building Collections. New Directions in Folklore, 18(1), 1–23. Retrieved from https://scholarworks.iu.edu/journals/index.php/ndif/article/view/31246
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Vol. 18 No. 1 (2020)
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Articles
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