# End of Term Web Archive

> project to archive federal government websites at the end of presidential administrations in the United States

**Wikidata**: [Q100704297](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q100704297)  
**Wikipedia**: [English](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/End_of_Term_Web_Archive)  
**Source**: https://4ort.xyz/entity/end-of-term-web-archive

## Summary  
The End of Term Web Archive (EOT) is a recurring project that archives U.S. federal government websites at the conclusion of each presidential administration to preserve public information. Initiated in 2008, it ensures long-term access to government digital content that might otherwise be lost or altered. The archive is maintained through collaboration between multiple institutions including the Internet Archive and the California Digital Library.

## Key Facts  
- Founded in 2008 to capture federal government websites at the end of U.S. presidential terms.  
- Operated by the Federal Government of the United States with contributions from academic and cultural heritage organizations.  
- Managed and published by the California Digital Library and the Internet Archive, among others.  
- Archives are conducted every four years: editions include 2008, 2012, 2016, 2020, and 2024.  
- Utilizes tools such as Social Feed Manager and eXtensible Text Framework for harvesting and processing.  
- Hosted at https://eotarchive.org/ and available under open access terms.  
- Affiliated with major institutions like the Library of Congress, Stanford University, and the National Archives.  
- Hashtag used for outreach includes #endofterm2020 and #EOTArchive.  

## FAQs  
### Q: What is the purpose of the End of Term Web Archive?  
A: The End of Term Web Archive preserves U.S. federal government websites at the close of presidential administrations to ensure continued public access to information that may be removed or changed. It serves as a historical record of government digital presence.

### Q: How often is the End of Term Web Archive updated?  
A: The archive is updated every four years, coinciding with the end of each U.S. presidential term. Editions have been released in 2008, 2012, 2016, 2020, and 2024.

### Q: Who runs the End of Term Web Archive?  
A: The project is operated by the Federal Government of the United States and collaboratively managed by institutions such as the California Digital Library, Internet Archive, Library of Congress, and several universities.

## Why It Matters  
The End of Term Web Archive plays a critical role in preserving transparency and accountability in U.S. governance by ensuring that digital information produced by federal agencies remains accessible beyond changes in political leadership. As government communication and services increasingly shift online, ephemeral or politically sensitive web content risks disappearing without active preservation efforts. EOT addresses this challenge by systematically capturing snapshots of official websites, creating a permanent historical record for researchers, journalists, and citizens. Its collaborative model also demonstrates how public-private partnerships can effectively safeguard digital heritage.

## Notable For  
- First systematic effort to archive U.S. federal websites at the end of presidential administrations.  
- Multi-institutional collaboration involving libraries, archives, and government bodies.  
- Use of specialized tools like Social Feed Manager to capture dynamic and social media content.  
- Open access policy enabling broad use of archived materials.  
- Regular quadrennial releases since 2008, establishing a consistent historical timeline.

## Body  
### Overview  
The End of Term Web Archive (EOT) is a recurring initiative aimed at preserving U.S. federal government websites during transitions between presidential administrations. It was established in 2008 and continues to operate every four years, aligning with the conclusion of each presidential term.

### History and Timeline  
- **Inception**: 2008  
- **Editions Published**:  
  - End of Term Web Archive 2008  
  - End of Term Web Archive 2012  
  - End of Term Web Archive 2016  
  - End of Term Web Archive 2020  
  - End of Term Web Archive 2024  

Each edition captures a comprehensive snapshot of publicly accessible .gov domains and selected social media accounts.

### Operators and Affiliations  
The project is operated by the **Federal Government of the United States** and jointly published by:  
- California Digital Library  
- Internet Archive  
Other affiliated institutions include:  
- George Washington University  
- Library of Congress  
- Stanford University Libraries  
- University of North Texas Libraries  
- United States Government Publishing Office  
- National Archives and Records Administration  

### Technical Infrastructure  
EOT uses several technologies and platforms for collection and storage:  
- **Depends on Software**:  
  - eXtensible Text Framework (for processing digital objects)  
  - Social Feed Manager (to harvest social media content from Twitter, Tumblr, Flickr, and Sina Weibo)  
- **Hosting Platform**: https://eotarchive.org/  
- **Access Status**: Open Access  
- **External Data Availability**: Surrogate index files for past crawls are available via Creative Commons CC0 License at URLs hosted by the University of North Texas.

### Outreach and Engagement  
- **Hashtags Used**: #endofterm2020, #EOTArchive  
- **Twitter Handle**: @eotarchive (active since September 16, 2011)  
- **Bluesky Handle**: eotarchive.org (did:plc:qh5jxhakdkozbxjlivbmwtmn)  
- **GitHub Username**: end-of-term  

### Classification and Metadata  
- **Instance Of**: Project, Recurring Event, Website, Web Archive, Collaboration  
- **Named After**: Presidential Term  
- **Country**: United States  
- **Language**: English  
- **Wikipedia Titles Available In**: Catalan (ca), English (en), French (fr)  
- **Wikidata ID**: EndofTermWebCrawls (Internet Archive identifier)  
- **Sitelink Count**: 3  
- **Event Interval**: Every 4 years starting in 2008  
- **Goal**: Public Archive  
- **Focus Area**: U.S. Government Websites

## References

1. [Source](http://eotarchive.cdlib.org/)
2. [home page](http://eotarchive.cdlib.org/)
3. [Source](https://github.com/vphill/eot-cdx-analysis)
4. [Source](http://eotarchive.cdlib.org/partners.html)
5. [Source](https://eotarchive.org/)