Web Science and Digital Libraries Research Group

  The Disintegration Loops:  Generational Loss in Web Archives Michael L. Nelson As part of the Internet Archive's Information Stewardship Forum (March 18–20, 2026), I decided to use my five minute lightning talk to raise the issue of generational loss in web archives.  Or more directly, making copies of copies (...of copies…) – something that web archives currently do not do well.  My title is based on William Basinski 's four volume release " The Disintegration Loops ", in which he played the audio tapes of "found sounds", recorded decades earlier, in loops , with the whole process lasting over an hour.  The effect is hauntingly beautiful, with each loop slightly degrading the magnetic tape, resulting in a generational loss.  The degradation of each loop is right on the edge of the just-noticeable difference , until the entire track is reduced to just a shadow of its former self. I first discussed this topic in my 2019 CNI closing keynote ( slide 88 ), w...

The Web Archiving and Digital Libraries Workshop (WADL) , held in conjunction with JCDL 2023 , took place onsite and online on June 30th, 2022. The workshop was organized by Dr. Mat Kelly , Dr. Brenda Reyes Ayala , Dr. Zhiwu Xie , and Dr. Edward A. Fox . Notably, the Web Science and Digital Libraries Research Group ( @WebSciDL ) from Old Dominion University contributed significantly to the event with multiple presentations. The opening session commenced with Dr. Mat Kelly welcoming all participants and providing an overview of the day's schedule. Subsequently, the Chairs and attendees were introduced, setting the tone for an interactive and productive workshop. . @machawk1 is kicking off the 2023 Web Archiving and Digital Libraries ( #WADL2023 ) workshop at #JCDL2023 https://t.co/Z1p19f1kfk pic.twitter.com/GTP7nsSOPr — Shawn M. Jones, PhD / @shawnmjones@hachyderm.io (@shawnmjones) June 30, 2023 Talks 1  Dr. Sawood Alam from the Internet Archive , also a WS-DL alumnus, started ...