Library of Congress considers which blogs to save

Should we preserve the millions of blogs being produced for future generations? That is the question the Library of Congress is mulling over as it weighs in on the collection and preservation of Web-born digital data, reports Computer World.

According to Laura Campbell, associate librarian for strategic initiatives, the library manages about 295 terabytes of digital data. She said the library is selective about what they choose to capture and store. Personal blogs are part of the collection. But there are limits to how much online data can be archived.

"I don't think you would want to save most of what's produced," she said. "We have the story of the common person at any time in history," she said, adding that the library is also collecting podcasts and information posted on social networking Web sites.

"We are doing a sampling and [we] go get blogs on certain subject areas that we have chosen and selected," Campbell said. "It won't be everything by any stretch."

The library is developing tools to make the process of collecting data for the Internet more automated. "We're learning by doing," said Campbell, who described the current approach used by library workers as an iterative process of continuing assessments and adjustments.