UK libraries seek power to archive websites.

• Position: ARCHIVES - Brief article

United Kingdom (UK) ministers say the UK will host 15 million websites by 2016, but under existing copyright laws, the British Library would be able to archive only about 1% of them.

To remedy this, the UK government is trying to fast-track new legal powers to allow the library to archive millions of websites, according to Info World.

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After almost seven years of delays, Culture Minister Margaret Hodge is pushing for these powers to be enacted quickly so six major libraries can legally copy every free UK-based website in order to record pieces of Britain's cultural, scientific, and political history, The Guardian reported.

UK libraries have said that they have lost millions of pages recording events, including the Military of Parliaments' expenses scandal, release of the Lockerbie bomber, and Iraq war, and may lose millions more because they are not legally able to "harvest" these sites, InfoWorld said.

The powers...