“Link rot” happens when websites disappear or change locations, and it is a pervasive problem on the Internet. When websites are cited in the scholarly literature, the problem of link rot magnifies the threat to our ability to access knowledge.
One way to combat link rot in citations is to capture a snapshot of a live website at a given moment and cite that instead. A snapshot also preserves the page as it is, in case the content changes over time.
Perma.cc is a service maintained by a consortium of research libraries that captures website snapshots and provides a persistent identifier for them. Perma.cc captures websites in two forms, a web archive file (WARC), and a screenshot (PNG). In addition to saving the live link, Perma.cc also provides persistent identifiers to the snapshot that are more convenient for citing, and enables researcher management of the links (with folders, annotation, and public/private control). As a Perma.cc registrar, NYU Libraries is authorized to create accounts for eligible NYU researchers.
To request a Perma.cc account, follow the instructions on our Perma.cc Guide.
The Internet Archive’s Wayback Machine allows any user to save a snapshot of a live website. However, it does not provide permanent identifiers or shortlinks.
Did you know that NYU Libraries uses a version of the Wayback Machine’s software, Archive-It, to collect websites for our archives? For an example, check out the New York City COVID-19 Food Studies Web Collection.