British Library, the national library of the UK, will reportedly gain legal powers to archive millions of websites after media reports exposed long delays in introducing the measures. The move by UK ministers to fast-track the provision of new legal powers to British Library follows warnings from the Library and National Museum of Scotland that historical record is being lost. The new initiative will introduce powers to allow six major libraries to copy every free website based in the UK as part of their efforts to record Britain's scientific, political and cultural history.
In October 2009, the Guardian reported that senior executives at the British Library and National Library of Scotland (NLS) were disappointed at the government's failure to execute the powers in the six years since they were established by an act of parliament in 2003.
The libraries had then warned that they had already lost millions of pages recording certain events, such as the MPs' expenses scandal, the release of the Lockerbie bomber and the Iraq war. They would lose millions more, as they were not legally authorised to archive these sites, it was feared. The powers are similar to copyright laws which requires publishers in the UK to provide the libraries - chiefly the British Library and the NLS, but also the National Library of Wales, the Bodleian in Oxford, Cambridge University library and Trinity College Dublin - with copies of every printed book, magazine, journal and newspaper.
In an attempt to head off criticism, Culture Minister Margaret Hodge has now launched a consultation, due to end in March. The initiative would allow the libraries to copy and archive free sites using the .uk domain name and all other UK-based sites. There are more than 4 million free websites active in the UK and proposed new domain names such as .sco for Scotland and .cym for Wales will also be included.
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