The National Archives website: http://www.nara.gov, circa 1997

The National Archives website: http://www.nara.gov, circa 1999

The National Archives website: http://www.archives.gov, circa 2005

The pilot NARA Archival Information Locator “NAIL” online catalog

The Archival Research Catalog (ARC) online catalog, circa 2002

The current National Archives website: http://www.archives.gov (2014)

todaysdocument:

Happy 25th Birthday, World Wide Web!

March 12, 2014, marks the twenty-fifth anniversary of the World Wide Web. For most of that time, the National Archives has had some online presence. In 1994, the National Archives started a pilot project to make information about the agency available electronically through Gopher (remember that?) at gopher://gopher.nara.gov. Our first website, www.nara.gov, was launched in 1996. (“NARA” in the URL coming from the full name of the agency: the National Archives and Records Administration.)

Twenty-five years and many redesigns later, we’ve come a long way from gopher. But the Archives’ mission of making our holdings more readily available to the public has not changed. You can find us now at www.archives.gov, with an upgraded online digital catalog plus a bevy of social media offerings including Twitter, YouTube, Flickr, Pinterest, blogs, and of course, Tumblr to connect with the public.

via Prologue: Pieces of History » The National Archives on the 25th anniversary of the World Wide Web

What has the web changed about how you work or learn?  What do you remember most about life before the internet?

Happy Birthday World Wide Web…you changed many lives!

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