George Gizmo: December 2025

Thursday, December 11, 2025

Here is somethinig that I wanna share because I believe this is so very important!!!

Closing the Book on 2025: A Landmark Year for the Internet Archive

As 2025 comes to an end, the Internet Archive is marking a year filled with milestones in preserving the world’s digital memory. From hitting one trillion archived web pages to expanding access to government information and cultural collections, its work this year shows how vital long‑term digital preservation has become.archive+1

A Trillion Snapshots of the Web

This year, the Wayback Machine crossed the extraordinary threshold of archiving one trillion web pages, making it the largest publicly accessible record of the web’s history. Those snapshots are more than statistics; they capture news, personal sites, and disappearing pages that researchers, journalists, lawyers, and everyday users rely on to recover lost information and document how the online world changes over time.wikipedia+3

Since 1996, the Internet Archive has partnered with libraries and institutions worldwide to build this shared digital library, preserving everything from early personal homepages to modern government and news sites.techradar+1

Joining the Federal Depository Library Network

In 2025, the Internet Archive was formally designated as a U.S. federal depository library, becoming part of a nationwide network that helps preserve and provide public access to government publications. Senator Alex Padilla highlighted that its digital‑first model makes it especially well-suited to expanding access to federal documents in an age when most information is born digital.bleepingcomputer+1

This designation strengthens the Archive’s ability to collect, preserve, and share government materials so that citizens, researchers, and students can more easily find authoritative public information online.archive+1

Capturing Democracy in Transition

Every four years, the Internet Archive works with libraries and research organizations to preserve federal government websites during presidential transitions through the End of Term Web Archive project. The 2024–2025 crawl has already gathered more than 500 terabytes of data and over 100 million unique web pages, documenting how agencies, policies, and public information evolve as administrations change.archive+1

These collections help maintain a historical record of government activity, supporting accountability and long‑term research on topics such as climate policy, public health, and digital communications.wikipedia+1

Building “Democracy’s Library”

To make public information easier to find and use, the Internet Archive is developing Democracy’s Library, a free online collection of government research and publications from around the world. In 2025, the project expanded its U.S. holdings, working with libraries, archives, and civic organizations to gather and organize reports, datasets, and other publicly funded materials in one open, searchable space.bleepingcomputer+1

The goal is simple but ambitious: ensure that vital public information remains freely available, not locked behind paywalls or lost when websites change.archive+1

Expanding in Europe

Looking ahead, the Internet Archive is deepening its collaboration with Internet Archive Europe, a partner organization based in the Netherlands that has worked with European libraries and government agencies since 2004. Together, they focus on preserving European web content and digital collections, increasingly using artificial intelligence and other tools to improve discovery and access.techradar

This transatlantic work helps protect cultural heritage and public records that might otherwise be scattered across servers or vanish as technologies and platforms age.techradar

New Collections, New Windows into History

Beyond large‑scale web preservation, 2025 also saw the addition of many special collections that open new windows into cultural and institutional history. These include archives of software and creative work from individual developers, long‑running youth and community programs, and historic popular literature.webpronews+1

Each of these collections, whether focused on a single creator or a century‑old organization, shows how digital libraries can illuminate the past in ways that traditional collections alone cannot.webpronews+1

A Community‑Powered Library for Everyone

None of this work happens in isolation. The Internet Archive’s strength lies in a global community of users, librarians, archivists, technologists, donors, and advocates who believe in “Universal Access to All Knowledge.” Financial contributions, partnerships, and everyday use of the Archive’s tools all help sustain and grow this public resource.archive+3

For those who want to support this mission—whether by donating, collaborating on collections, or simply using and sharing the Archive’s resources—2025 has shown just how much impact a community‑driven digital library can have.archive+1