25th anniversary of the UK Government Web Archive
From its inception a quarter of a century ago, the Archive has grown to comprise more than six billion resources. Now, plans are in place to take a further step towards preserving this material
The UK Government Web Archive (UKGWA) includes videos, tweets, images and websites, dating from the 1990s to the present. The earliest resource in the collection is the Environment Agency website from 1996, which The National Archives received from the Internet Archive.
Since its inception in 2003, the UKGWA has provided free access to approximately six billion resources. The collection is comprised of 6,400 public websites, with around 63% of these websites no longer available on the live internet. By preserving websites that are no longer accessible online, it has ensured the future of the government online presence for future researchers, historians and the public.
From 2003 to the present day, the UKGWA has evolved from
50 selected government websites to a comprehensive collection that captures the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, departmental social media accounts and the government response to the coronavirus pandemic. Anyone can utilise the collection for reference and research enquiries. After migration to a cloud-based service in 2017, the
UKGWA took a step towards modernisation by providing faster and more reliable services, as well as greater storage capability for the growing data footprint of the archive.
Moving forward, the team are working to re-design their data management systems and continuing to improve user experience. Their new automated work initiative has been inspiring archives across the globe and has generated greater capacity for the implementation of new projects, which will ensure the continued preservation of an important part of UK history.
Find out more at www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/webarchive