The Wellcome Library has collected web based material for inclusion in the UK Web Archive since its beginning in 2005. Three new search features on the UK Web Archive site make it easier to go back and see how websites looked in the past or to use the archive for research. The archive is free to view and has already collected over 4,000 selected websites since it was set up in mid-2005.
It's now possible to search the archive for the URL of a website, to search for its 'Title' or to search for a key word. URLs and titles are pretty self explanatory. Try searching for the title, Wellcome Trust, to see how many of our own websites have been archived since 2005. Or you can search for library.wellcome.ac.uk to find archived copies of the Library website. The i icon between the search boxes provides some search help.
Full text searching allows users to really dig deep into the archive. Any word can be used, from Aardvark to Zombie (both return plenty of hits) or numbers such as 2012. Full text searching allows users to find words and phrases within individual pages of archived websites. Results are returned as links to pages within the UK Web Archive.
It is still possible to browse the archive by either 'Subject', alphabetically by the first letter of the title or one of the 'Collections' of websites arranged on a theme.
These search features are new and we welcome your feedback and comments. You can do so through the UK Web Archive's 'Contact' page
Author: Dave Thompson
