Tenth International Conference on The Constructed Environment

Abstract

The Internet Archive is a San Francisco–based nonprofit digital library with the stated mission of “universal access to all knowledge.” Since contemporary culture now produces more and more artifacts in digital form, the Archive’s mission is to help preserve those artifacts by creating an online library for researchers, historians, and everyday people. In November 2016, Brewster Kahle announced that the Internet Archive was building a back-up library, the Internet Archive of Canada, a duplicate to be constructed in Toronto, Canada. We speculate on how a place-based internet library and archive might manifest through three topic areas: [1] A brief literature review that explores information access over time and how the Internet has altered that context; [2] A discussion of User Experience Design [UXD] and how it can contribute to a more diverse and engaging user experience. We apply a practical Interactive Experience Model, which emphasizes the relationships between the personal, sociocultural, and physical contexts of a library; and [3] An analysis of Toronto’s rapidly densifying urban context including Google’s proposed smart city, Quayside. This aspect prompts an investigation into Google’s privatization practices as a means to discuss the possible implications on books and future libraries.