Web archaeology in The Netherlands: the selection and harvest of the Dutch web incunables of provider Euronet (1994–2000)

Abstract

This article describes the method and first results of the ongoing pilot research project on internet archaeology and the quest for web incunables of Koninklijke Bibliotheek - National Library of the Netherlands (KB). It is about web archiving a selection of web incunables published on the Dutch web before 2000 and has a special focus on home pages or user websites from internet provider Euronet* Internet from the period between 1994 and 2000. It explains how internet archaeology can be an innovative way to investigate the new digital cultures through insights from the past. Although many Dutch websites dating from before 2000 are still present on the web and some fine examples of web incunables could be saved, due to technical, legal and other issues it is still hard to archive them. The web collection which is a result of our research cannot therefore be considered as a representative selection of born digital heritage from service provider Euronet, but as the outcome of a learning process.