Pandora Archive
Encyclopedia
PANDORA - Australia's Web Archive is the national web archive
for the preservation of Australia
's online publications. It was established by the National Library of Australia
in 1996, and is now built in collaboration with a number of other Australian state libraries and cultural collecting organisations, including the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies
, the Australian War Memorial
, and the National Film and Sound Archive
.
The name, PANDORA
, is an bacronym that encapsulates its mission: Preserving and Accessing Networked Documentary Resources of Australia.
The PANDORA Archive collects selected Australian web resources, preserves them, and makes them available for viewing. Access to the archive is made available to the public via the Pandora web site. Web sites are selected based on their cultural significance and research value in the long term.
There is no legal deposit provision in the Australian Copyright Act 1968 for digital format publications so that permission is sought from publishers before a web site can be copied to the PANDORA archive.
The archival management system called PANDAS (PANDORA Digital Archiving System) is used to add a title into PANDORA. This was developed and is maintained by the National Library of Australia. The latest version is PANDAS 3 which was deployed in mid 2007.
In August 1998 the State Library of Victoria
became a participant in adding content to the Archive. By March 2004 all of the mainland State libraries, the Northern Territory Library
, the National Film and Sound Archive
, the Australian War Memorial
and the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies
had become participants. The State Library of Tasmania
is not participating in PANDORA, but is running its own project called Our Digital Island.
As of February 2008 there were 17,951 discrete websites/titles within the Archive comprising 2.01 TB of data.
Web archiving
Web archiving is the process of collecting portions of the World Wide Web and ensuring the collection is preserved in an archive, such as an archive site, for future researchers, historians, and the public. Due to the massive size of the Web, web archivists typically employ web crawlers for...
for the preservation of Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
's online publications. It was established by the National Library of Australia
National Library of Australia
The National Library of Australia is the largest reference library of Australia, responsible under the terms of the National Library Act for "maintaining and developing a national collection of library material, including a comprehensive collection of library material relating to Australia and the...
in 1996, and is now built in collaboration with a number of other Australian state libraries and cultural collecting organisations, including the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies
Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies
The Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies is an independent Australian Government statutory authority. It is Australia's premier institution for information about the cultures and lifestyles of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. It is located on Acton...
, the Australian War Memorial
Australian War Memorial
The Australian War Memorial is Australia's national memorial to the members of all its armed forces and supporting organisations who have died or participated in the wars of the Commonwealth of Australia...
, and the National Film and Sound Archive
National Film and Sound Archive
The National Film and Sound Archive is Australia’s audiovisual archive, responsible for developing, preserving, maintaining, promoting and providing access to a national collection of audiovisual materials and related items...
.
The name, PANDORA
Pandora's box
Pandora's box is an artifact in Greek mythology, taken from the myth of Pandora's creation around line 60 of Hesiod's Works and Days. The "box" was actually a large jar given to Pandora , which contained all the evils of the world. When Pandora opened the jar, all its contents except for one item...
, is an bacronym that encapsulates its mission: Preserving and Accessing Networked Documentary Resources of Australia.
The PANDORA Archive collects selected Australian web resources, preserves them, and makes them available for viewing. Access to the archive is made available to the public via the Pandora web site. Web sites are selected based on their cultural significance and research value in the long term.
There is no legal deposit provision in the Australian Copyright Act 1968 for digital format publications so that permission is sought from publishers before a web site can be copied to the PANDORA archive.
The archival management system called PANDAS (PANDORA Digital Archiving System) is used to add a title into PANDORA. This was developed and is maintained by the National Library of Australia. The latest version is PANDAS 3 which was deployed in mid 2007.
History
The first two titles were downloaded in October 1996. By June 1997 the Archive contained 31 titles.In August 1998 the State Library of Victoria
State Library of Victoria
The State Library of Victoria is the central library of the state of Victoria, Australia, located in Melbourne. It is on the block bounded by Swanston, La Trobe, Russell, and Little Lonsdale streets, in the northern centre of the central business district...
became a participant in adding content to the Archive. By March 2004 all of the mainland State libraries, the Northern Territory Library
Northern Territory Library
The Northern Territory Library is the Northern Territory's major reference and research Library, responsible for collecting, preserving and providing access to the Territory’s documentary heritage and connecting people to the world of information. The library is located in Parliament House in the...
, the National Film and Sound Archive
National Film and Sound Archive
The National Film and Sound Archive is Australia’s audiovisual archive, responsible for developing, preserving, maintaining, promoting and providing access to a national collection of audiovisual materials and related items...
, the Australian War Memorial
Australian War Memorial
The Australian War Memorial is Australia's national memorial to the members of all its armed forces and supporting organisations who have died or participated in the wars of the Commonwealth of Australia...
and the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies
Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies
The Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies is an independent Australian Government statutory authority. It is Australia's premier institution for information about the cultures and lifestyles of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. It is located on Acton...
had become participants. The State Library of Tasmania
State Library of Tasmania
The State Library of Tasmania is the organisation which runs the library system in the state of Tasmania, Australia. The State Library operates as part of the Tasmanian Department of Education, and maintains close ties with Tasmanian schools and senior secondary colleges.The headquarters of the...
is not participating in PANDORA, but is running its own project called Our Digital Island.
As of February 2008 there were 17,951 discrete websites/titles within the Archive comprising 2.01 TB of data.
See also
- Internet ArchiveInternet ArchiveThe Internet Archive is a non-profit digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It offers permanent storage and access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, music, moving images, and nearly 3 million public domain books. The Internet Archive...
- Library of Congress Digital Library projectLibrary of Congress Digital Library projectThe Library of Congress National Digital Library Program is assembling a digital library of reproductions of primary source materials to support the study of the history and culture of the United States...
- National Digital Information Infrastructure and Preservation ProgramNational Digital Information Infrastructure and Preservation ProgramThe National Digital Information Infrastructure and Preservation Program is an archival program led by the Library of Congress to archive and provide access to digital resources. The U.S. Congress established the program in 2000...
- Web archivingWeb archivingWeb archiving is the process of collecting portions of the World Wide Web and ensuring the collection is preserved in an archive, such as an archive site, for future researchers, historians, and the public. Due to the massive size of the Web, web archivists typically employ web crawlers for...
External links
- PANDORA: Australia's Web Archive
- National Library of Australia
- New look marks milestone for PANDORA Tour de Force, August 2000. Retrieved 13 September 2006.
- The Work of Pandora, September 2006.