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The Internet Archive is in trouble!

We all know how important it is to be literate in this day and age. Things can change at a pin drop, and even worse, things can change in a way that removes evidence that something happened. Today, I’m going to talk to you a little bit about why the Internet Archive is worth saving and how we can help make that happen.

What is The Internet Archive

The Internet Archive is a digital library of sorts. It’s a non-profit that provides a lot of the tools that you may already use; like The Way Back Machine. It is one of the most robust and only methods we have of looking back at the internet at a moment in the past. It’s a critically important tool. Not just in terms of being able to look at how janky some internet tools looked way back when. But it’s also important historically and for preservation.

It’s so important to be able to look back at where we have come from and learn from it. Some things are available like books and other media that simply wouldn’t exist if not for preservation efforts like this.

Why are they at risk?

Four major publishers have sued the Archive. Saying that the non-profit violates its copyrights. The publishers who have started the lawsuit are Hachette, HarperCollins, Wiley, and Penguin Random House. In the lawsuit, they claim that The Internet Archive has cost their companies millions of dollars and most confusingly, is a threat to their businesses.

Which, is nonsense. Libraries have been around since the Romans and probably before. They are cultural and community institutions. Outside of the major benefits that libraries have they have to pay for the usage of these materials. Libraries have more than paid for the publishers over the years for books. They also pay in terms of the active cost of digitising those books, something that modern publishers – simply don’t contribute to.

However, big bucks mean big lawsuits. Frankly, it is cowardly that major publishers like Penguin Random House, Hachette, HarperCollins and Wiley would use their millions to try and take down a non-profit. There is no reason for it other than using your money to outmanoeuvre someone smaller.

Doing so – to the detriment of everyone involved.

How can we help?

Using your social media accounts is one of the best ways that you can help The Internet Archive.

This is taken from the Internet Archive themselves:

Send a message to the publishers involved

Share on X (formerly Twitter): Post to your followers

Hey @HachetteUS, @HarperCollins, @penguinrandom & @WileyGlobal: Instead of suing libraries like @internetarchive, just sell them ebooks they can own & preserve for the public. #SellDontSue

Facebook & Mastodon:

Hey #Hachette, #HarperCollins, #PenguinRandomHouse & #Wiley: Instead of suing libraries like #InternetArchive, just sell them ebooks they can own & preserve for the public. #SellDontSue

Support the Internet Archive 

Donate to the Internet Archive to continue fighting for libraries.

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