The Internet Archive, a nonprofit digital archive in the United States, has officiallyAuthorized by the U.S. Senate, becoming a member of the Federal Depository Library Program (FDLP). This not only officially included the online archive in the government data access network system consisting of more than 1100 libraries across the United States, but also symbolized that its importance in the field of public knowledge and historical preservation has been recognized again.
The resolution was proposed by California Senator Alex Padilla to the Government Publishing Office (GPO), which is responsible for federal publications and information disclosure, and was recently formally confirmed.
In a letter to the U.S. Government Publishing Office, Alex Padilla pointed out that the online archive's digital-first collection model complements the needs of existing federal government document designated libraries in their digital transformation and will help make government publications more widely accessible to the public.
Since 1813, the U.S. Congress has established designated libraries for federal government documents, allowing each member of Congress to designate up to two libraries as windows for the public to inquire about federal government public information. These documents include core government information such as budget reports, federal regulations, presidential speech records, economic reports, and census results.
Brewster Kahle, founder of the online archive, said that the library will be able to obtain original document sources more directly from government agencies, further improving the integrity and reliability of the library's data. He also emphasized that this recognition not only symbolizes the progress made in public digital resources, but may also provide reference and assistance for other libraries' digital preservation and transformation.
Founded in 1996, the Network Archive has been committed to building a "digital library" accessible to all, and preserving a variety of cultural and historical materials including websites, books, videos, newspapers, software, etc. As of 2025, the platform is about to reach the milestone of archiving 1 trillion pages of digital content, making it one of the most important open data resources in the world.
However, the online archive has also faced legal challenges in recent years. Since the launch of the "National Emergency Library" project during the 2020 novel coronavirus epidemic, the online archive has been sued by several publishing groups for providing e-book loans without obtaining authorization from publishers. The court finally ruled in 2023 thatMore than 50 e-books removed from shelvesIn addition, its recent work on the preservation of historical vinyl records"Great 78 Project"It has also been sued by the music industry. If it loses the case, it may face up to $7 million in compensation, and its overall operations may even be jeopardized.
