The September 11 Digital Archive Makes History!

March 24, 2011

In May, 2003 the Library of Congress announced that The September 11 Digital Archive — a joint project of ASHP/CML and CHNM funded by the Sloan Foundation — will become the first digital acquisition in the Library’s history. This unprecedented accession to the institution’s holdings, scheduled for December 2003, will ensure both the long-term stability and future accessibility of the Archive’s collection. Based on a recognition that the “historical record” is no longer purely made of paper, but also of email, Web sites, digital photos, online discussion forums, and other electronic forms of communication, The September 11 Digital Archive uses electronic media to collect, preserve, and present the history of the attacks and the outpouring of public responses to them. The September 11 Digital Archive addresses not only the history of the event itself, but larger questions of how the emergence of new electronic media and networks will change the collection, preservation, and writing of history. The Archive’s far-reaching collection of over 200,000 digital object has received extensive coverage in a variety of media outlets, including The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, CNN, and NPR.