The platform gets its federal library designation as part of its mission to keep knowledge accessible for all, says founder Brewster Kahle.
The Internet Archive is now a federal depository library, meaning it can provide free access to bills, laws, regulations, presidential documents, studies, and other documents.
The Federal Depository Library Program (FDLP), run by the US Government Publishing Office (GPO), was established in 1813 to open up free access to official federal documents. Currently, there are 1,150 FDLs across all 50 states; all of them, except a few, are physical libraries.
According to San Francisco’s KQED, the GPO has been pushing for digital preservation since 2016 and intensified its efforts recently. To add new entrants to the FDLP program, members of Congress are allowed to designate up to two qualified libraries.
