The Ivy Plus Libraries Confederation is pleased to announce the launch of the Greater China Archival Resources Web Archive.
A screen capture of 澳门档案馆 (Archives of Macao) which ‘collects, processes, preserves, and protects archival resources of historical value and makes them accessible to the public’ in Macau. ‘The Archive maintains custody of over 60,000 files, 70,000 images and 10,000 publications,’ with the earliest document dating back to the year 1630.
One of the hurdles researchers of modern and contemporary China face in their studies is knowing about, and having access to, archival collections held at Chinese archives. The Greater China Archival Resources Web Archive collects websites belonging to established, physical archives and learned archival societies located in the Greater China region, and archival projects from or about the Greater China region. Under the Chinese government, local archives administratively operate under the guidance of the local archival bureaus which themselves are part of local government and responsible for archival management for entire geographical areas. Therefore, the information available on the websites not only covers the collections that are held in each of the physical archives, but also includes policies, news, reports, research articles, and publications that are related to archival management in respective provinces, cities, or countries. Curated by librarians within the Ivy Plus Libraries Confederation, the Archive aims to provide stable reference to the born-digital content originating from Chinese archives for future access, and attempts to capture the changes of these websites over time, thus documenting political change in China.
Web archives preserve vulnerable information that may disappear from the live web and capture the ways in which selected websites have evolved over time. The Ivy Plus Libraries Confederation’s Web Resources Collection Program is a collaborative collection development effort to build curated, thematic collections of freely available, but at-risk, web content in order to support research at participating Libraries and beyond. Learn more about the Program and explore additional collections here.