This situation is similar in that the digital information today that drives our world and powers our economy is in many ways more susceptible to loss than the papyrus and parchment at Alexandria. An estimated 44 percent of Web sites that existed in 1998 vanished without a trace within just one year. The average life span of a Web site is only 44 to 75 days.
The Library of Congress has in its care millions of printed works, some on stone or animal skin that have survived for centuries. The challenges underlying digital preservation led Congress in 2000 to appropriate $100 million for the Library of Congress to lead the National Digital Information Infrastructure and Preservation Program. The American Government should invest money in this program because it is a good program and preserves important sites.