Digital Magazine and Newspaper Editions: Best Practice Cases
Results
� The archive is now considered a major research resource and is widely used by
students and academics.
� While most of the Guardian Web site is free, access to the archived articles is not
free. The archive is licensed to public and academic libraries for the research
purposes of their members. Individuals can also get access to the archived
articles for a reasonable daily access charge.
� They offer a less comprehensive archive on their Web site as a free service that
has helped build their Web readership and popularity.
Lessons Learned
� The archive is extremely valuable for many types of research. Genealogy, the
environment, changes in advertising practice and product pricing, and politics
are among the most popular research uses. The capability to see what was
written about a historic event on the day it occurred has proven both valuable
and popular.
� The archive is so comprehensive that casual users get lost very quickly. Simple
queries will yield scores of results that can overwhelm the novice researcher.
Therefore, they are working on creating an easier interface featuring content
themes.
� They will continue to focus on the library market.
Gilbane Group Conclusions
� The Guardian offers several types of archive services. They have developed the
feature set for each service to meet the needs of the searcher/reader. For some
types of research tasks, comprehensive data are better; for others, an archive of
recent or popular articles can be more helpful.
� For most publications that have digital editions, the creation of a digital archive
should be a relatively easy decision. The archive is a popular feature for many
Web sites. For some publications, it will make sense to invest in digitizing print
and microfilm issues, especially if there is significant research value in the
content.
� Modern technology can make archiving more cost-effective than ever before.
The additional costs and complexity often come from cleaning up source
content.
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