Vanishing Culture Book Launch

The Internet Archive is a non-profit digital library in the heart of the Richmond District in San Francisco, CA.  We convene the Decentralized Web Summit (https://decentralizedweb.net/) and other events dedicated to creating the Web we want (and the Web we deserve.)

Internet Archive

Celebrate the launch of Vanishing Culture, a new book from the Internet Archive exploring the fight to preserve our fragile digital history.

<h3>Download the Free Ebook:</h3><ul><li><a href="https://archive.org/download/vanishing-culture-2026/Vanishing%20Culture%20%282026%29.pdf" title="https://archive.org/download/vanishing-culture-2026/Vanishing%20Culture%20%282026%29.pdf" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">PDF</a></li><li><a href="https://archive.org/download/vanishing-culture-2026-epub/9798995425007.epub" title="https://archive.org/download/vanishing-culture-2026-epub/9798995425007.epub" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">EPUB</a></li></ul>Purchase a Print Copy:<ul><li>Buy the paperback from <a href="https://www.betterworldbooks.com/product/detail/vanishing-culture-a-report-on-our-fragile-cultural-record-9798995425014/new" title="https://www.betterworldbooks.com/product/detail/vanishing-culture-a-report-on-our-fragile-cultural-record-9798995425014/new" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">Better World Books</a> or any online bookstore.</li><li>Order a copy through your local bookstore!</li></ul>

In today’s digital landscape, corporate interests, shifting distribution models, and malicious cyber attacks are threatening public access to our shared cultural history. <ul><li>The rise of streaming platforms and temporary licensing agreements means that sound recordings, books, films, and other cultural artifacts that used to be owned in physical form, are now at risk—in digital form—of disappearing from public view without ever being archived. </li><li>Web sites like <a href="https://variety.com/2024/digital/news/mtv-news-website-archives-pulled-offline-1236047163/" title="https://variety.com/2024/digital/news/mtv-news-website-archives-pulled-offline-1236047163/" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">MTV News</a>, <a href="https://www.wired.com/story/gawker-archives-freedom-of-press-foundation-toast-la-weekly/" title="https://www.wired.com/story/gawker-archives-freedom-of-press-foundation-toast-la-weekly/" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">Gawker</a>, and others are removed from the live web by their corporate owners, leaving only web archives like those in the Wayback Machine as the last remaining public record of their reporting and cultural impact.</li><li>Cyber attacks, like those against the <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2024/10/14/24269741/internet-archive-online-read-only-data-breach-outage" title="https://www.theverge.com/2024/10/14/24269741/internet-archive-online-read-only-data-breach-outage" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">Internet Archive</a>, <a href="https://www.bl.uk/cyber-incident/" title="https://www.bl.uk/cyber-incident/" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">British Library</a>, <a href="https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/seattle-public-library-still-reeling-from-may-cyberattack/" title="https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/seattle-public-library-still-reeling-from-may-cyberattack/" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">Seattle Public Library</a>, <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/toronto-library-ransomware-recovery-1.7126412" title="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/toronto-library-ransomware-recovery-1.7126412" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">Toronto Public Library</a> and <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/calgary-public-library-investigation-cyberattack-1.7353097" title="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/calgary-public-library-investigation-cyberattack-1.7353097" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">Calgary Public Library</a>, are a new form of digital barrier, impeding access to information at community scale. </li></ul>When digital materials are vulnerable to sudden removal—whether by design or by attack—our collective memory is compromised, and the public's ability to access its own history is at risk. Vanishing Culture: A Report on Our Fragile Cultural Record aims to raise awareness of these growing issues, featuring essays from:<ul><li>Digital librarian Brewster Kahle, founder of the Internet Archive;</li><li>Humanities scholar Luca Messarra;</li><li>Book historian and social media star Allie Alvis;</li><li>Game designer Jordan Mechner;</li><li>Journalist Philip Bump;</li><li>Writer and editor Maria Bustillos;</li><li>Film archivist Rick Prelinger;</li><li>Digital humanities scholar Nichole Misako Nomura;</li><li>Writer and book artist Eve Scarborough;</li><li>And many more…</li></ul>The report details recent instances of cultural loss, highlights the underlying causes, and emphasizes the critical role that public-serving libraries and archives must play in preserving these materials for future generations. By empowering libraries and archives legally, culturally, and financially, we can safeguard the public’s ability to maintain access to our cultural history and our digital future.

<h3>Event Schedule</h3><ul><li>5:30pm: Doors open &amp; entertainment</li><li>6pm: Remarks</li><li>Reception follows.</li></ul>

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Vanishing Culture Book Launch

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