Reader Lab / Reading thread

Archives reading guides

Preserve enough context to understand a page after the live web has moved on.

Choose this path when…

A historical capture and a local reading copy each preserve something different. The archive guide focuses on selecting a relevant time and inspecting the capture. The offline guide focuses on a permitted local format and a disconnected test. Neither assumes that saving a URL automatically saves everything behind it.

Keep the original address, the retained version, its relevant date, and a note about missing content. Use a capture only for the claim or reading task it actually supports. When no suitable version is available, record that limitation rather than substituting a different source without explanation.

On this reading shelf

The field guides.