WARCnet survey: COVID-19 Web Collections

Abstract

• This survey aimed to explore the methodologies and strategies employed by heritage institutions in collecting and documenting COVID-19-related developments on the Web. With a primary focus on European efforts, the survey sought to understand the scope and collection tactics of COVID-19 Web archives. Conducted under the auspices of the WARCnet project (https://arquivo.pt/wayback/20230210155343/https://cc.au.dk/en/warcnet), this collaborative research was part of a broader effort to foster high-quality national and transnational research on the history of web domains and transnational web events, using the digital cultural heritage preserved in national web archives. The project, which ran from 2020-22, was supported by the Independent Research Fund Denmark (Humanities). The survey was launched in July 2022 and concluded in September 2022. The results yielded significant insights and have been presented at the RESAW conference 2023 (Exploring the Web During a Highly Transformative Age - Marseille, 5/6 June 2023, https://arquivo.pt/wayback/20230605075641/https://resaw2023.sciencesconf.org/) and are the focus of a chapter in the upcoming conference proceedings (2024). The survey also formed the basis of a comprehensive chapter for the upcoming 'Companion to Transnational Web Archive Studies' (Bingham, Nicola, Karin de Wild, Friedel Geeraert, and Caroline Nyvang. "Surveying the Landscape of COVID-19 Web Collections in European GLAM Institutions." In The Routledge Companion to Transnational Web Archive Studies, edited by Niels Brügger. Publisher: Taylor & Francis (Forthcoming)). The ultimate goal of these efforts is to enrich the understanding of how cultural heritage institutions have responded to the need for documenting the COVID-19 pandemic on the Web, highlighting the importance of such archives for future research and historical understanding.