Public Access to Bureau Digital Services Established

The Bureau of Digital Antiquities announces the commencement of public access to its principal digital records, publications and research services.

The Bureau’s public information system has been established to provide a stable point of access to material concerning the identification, documentation and preservation of historically significant Digital Objects. The service brings together institutional records, preservation documentation, research publications and information concerning the work of the Bureau and its constituent offices and divisions.

Central to the service is the Forgotten Web Exchange (FWX), the Bureau’s public catalogue of documented Digital Objects. FWX records provide structured information concerning historical addresses, operational status, preservation condition, provenance and surviving or reconstructed access points where these can be established.

Initial public holdings represent a limited portion of the Bureau’s documented material. Additional Digital Object Records, collections, publications and preservation assessments will be released as documentary review and cataloguing work is completed.

The establishment of public access does not mark the completion of the Bureau’s digital preservation programme. Records may be amended as new evidence is recovered, provenance is clarified or the preservation status of a Digital Object changes. Where appropriate, superseded information will be retained as part of the documentary record.

The Bureau will continue to identify endangered digital material, conduct preservation and recovery work, maintain documentary records and make historically significant digital heritage available for public study wherever legal, technical and preservation conditions permit.

Public access is available through the Bureau’s official digital service at digitalantiquities.org.

Issued under the authority of

Dr. Theodore V. Elson
Director
Bureau of Digital Antiquities