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What do archive.org do with books once they've been "archived"? I have much more faith in the ability of paper books to maintain an archive of knowledge and ex

What do archive.org do with books once they've been "archived"? I have much more faith in the ability of paper books to maintain an archive of knowledge and experience, than an ever-expanding digital warehouse that is reliant on charitable donations.

kesor 3y ago
They digitalize them in high resolution and then store the physical book so that they could "rent-out" the digital copy. At least that is the idea.
- toomuchtodo 3y ago
  They end up at a physical archive in Richmond, California after scanning. Pro tip: you can send books media mail via the US Postal Service at a reduced cost.
- dredmorbius 3y ago
  Specifically: high-density, climate-controlled storage. Books are boxed, palleted, and shrinkwrapped. They can be retrieved, though not especially speedily. "Internet Archive founder turns to new information storage device – the book" (2012) "There is always going to be a role for books," said Kahle, as he perched on the edge of a shipping container soon to be tricked out as a climate-controlled storage unit. Each container can hold about 40,000 volumes, the size of a branch library. "We want to see books live forever." So far, Kahle has gathered about 500,000 books. He thinks the warehouse itself is large enough to hold about a million titles, with each one given a barcode that identifies the cardboard box, pallet and shipping container in which it resides.... If someone does need to see an actual physical copy of a book, Kahle said it should take no more than an hour to fetch it.... <https://www.theguardian.com/books/2011/aug/01/internet-archive-books-brewster-kahle https://www.theguardian.com/books/2011/aug/01/internet-archi...>
EricE 3y ago
Especially when archive.org has been caught deleting stuff from family members of the board. Lost a lot of respect for them that they were willing to delete any content when that's the supposed exact opposite of their stated goals.
- brightlancer 3y ago
  > Especially when archive.org has been caught deleting stuff from family members of the board. I didn't find that on a quick web search -- do you have a link?

kesor 3y ago

They digitalize them in high resolution and then store the physical book so that they could "rent-out" the digital copy. At least that is the idea.

toomuchtodo 3y ago
They end up at a physical archive in Richmond, California after scanning. Pro tip: you can send books media mail via the US Postal Service at a reduced cost.
dredmorbius 3y ago
Specifically: high-density, climate-controlled storage. Books are boxed, palleted, and shrinkwrapped. They can be retrieved, though not especially speedily. "Internet Archive founder turns to new information storage device – the book" (2012) "There is always going to be a role for books," said Kahle, as he perched on the edge of a shipping container soon to be tricked out as a climate-controlled storage unit. Each container can hold about 40,000 volumes, the size of a branch library. "We want to see books live forever." So far, Kahle has gathered about 500,000 books. He thinks the warehouse itself is large enough to hold about a million titles, with each one given a barcode that identifies the cardboard box, pallet and shipping container in which it resides.... If someone does need to see an actual physical copy of a book, Kahle said it should take no more than an hour to fetch it.... <https://www.theguardian.com/books/2011/aug/01/internet-archive-books-brewster-kahle https://www.theguardian.com/books/2011/aug/01/internet-archi...>

EricE 3y ago

Especially when archive.org has been caught deleting stuff from family members of the board. Lost a lot of respect for them that they were willing to delete any content when that's the supposed exact opposite of their stated goals.

brightlancer 3y ago
> Especially when archive.org has been caught deleting stuff from family members of the board. I didn't find that on a quick web search -- do you have a link?