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Bowdoin College web archive

 Record Group
Identifier: A06.09

  • Staff Only
  • Please use the Collection Organization section below to place requests.

Scope and Contents

The web content included in Bowdoin College's web archive (2017-ongoing) is harvested and made accessible through Bowdoin's subscription with the Internet Archive's service, Archive-It. The web archive comprises the official College website (bowdoin.edu), and its subpages and subdomains as well as Bowdoin-managed social media accounts and some video content. Other non-official web content created independently by members of the Bowdoin community, primarily students and student organizations is also archived, including the website of the student newspaper, the Bowdoin Orient. The web archive currently includes six collections: Bowdoin College Website, Bowdoin College Catalogue, Bowdoin College Library, Bowdoin College Athletics, Bowdoin College Social Media, and the Bowdoin Orient.

Dates

  • Creation: 2017-ongoing

Creator

Conditions Governing Access

Open access excepting some web pages where content is restricted to the Bowdoin College community.

Use of Digital Collections

Digital materials may be used for research, educational, and non-commercial purposes without our written permission. For information about publication, visit our policies page or contact scaref@bowdoin.edu.

Biographical / Historical

The Bowdoin College web archiving program was implemented in 2017 via a subscription with Archive-It, a service of the Internet Archive using the Wayback Machine technology. Web archiving is administered by the department of Special Collections & Archives with the goal of collecting and preserving web content associated with Bowdoin College, particularly the official College website, as well as selected websites of College affiliated groups and organizations.

The College website platform is managed by the Bowdoin College Office of Communications; web content is overseen by a distributed editor community of staff and faculty across the College.

Extent

As of March 2021: 723 Gigabytes

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Abstract

The web content included in Bowdoin College's web archive (2017-ongoing) is harvested and made accessible through Bowdoin's subscription with the Internet Archive's service, Archive-It. The web archive comprises the official College website (bowdoin.edu), and its subpages and subdomains as well as Bowdoin-managed social media accounts and some video content. Other non-official web content created independently by members of the Bowdoin community, primarily students and student organizations is also archived, including the website of the student newspaper, the Bowdoin Orient.

Arrangement

The Bowdoin website archive is organized into six thematic collections that are accessible via the Archive-It website; each collection includes "seeds" (starting point URLs) that are crawled according to a schedule.

Accruals

Web content is added to the Archive through periodic and scheduled crawls. The majority of Bowdoin related websites are crawled quarterly; the Bowdoin College Catalogue is crawled each semester; and the Bowdoin Orient is crawled weekly.

Related Materials

Records relating to the web archive collections listed in this guide may be found in: records of the Office of Communications and Public Affairs, the Bowdoin Orient, the Bowdoin College Library, the Bowdoin College Catalogue, and Bowdoin College Athletics.

Processing Information

A variety of choices are involved in the process of capturing Bowdoin’s web presence. SC&A staff choose which sites (or “seeds”) to crawl, which rules are applied to broaden or narrow the scope of crawls, and which crawling technology is used. The goal of these decisions is to capture the most accurate version of a site without including excessive amounts of data (since the storage budget is limited). Despite that goal, these settings and adjustments to them can nevertheless have an inadvertent, direct impact on what is and is not captured and retained as a part of this web archive. Material that should have been captured may not be, and vice versa.

Finding Aid & Administrative Information

Title
Guide to the Bowdoin College Web Archive
Status
In Progress
Author
Caroline Moseley
Date
2020
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin
Language of description note
English

Repository Details

Repository Details

Part of the George J. Mitchell Department of Special Collections & Archives, Bowdoin College Library, Brunswick, Maine 04011 Repository

http://library.bowdoin.edu/arch/index.shtml
Contact:
3000 College Station
Brunswick Maine 04011 USA
(207) 725-3288

Acknowledgment of non-neutrality

The George J. Mitchell Department of Special Collections & Archives, like all archives and special collections libraries, is the creation of human beings who have collected, organized, and described things in ways that reflect personal, cultural, societal, and institutional biases. Although we strive to preserve and present collections in a manner that is respectful to the individuals and communities who create, use, and are represented in the collections, we acknowledge that our systems are neither neutral nor perfect. We encourage you to let us know if you encounter materials, descriptive language, or practices that are offensive or harmful, particularly those for which inadequate context or warning is offered. We are committed to modifying and updating our descriptive practices to use respectful and inclusive terminology and appreciate your help in this work. We look forward to supporting you in your research and learning together.