Library of Congress Web Archives
Thematic collections captured around elections, disasters and cultural moments, chosen by librarians rather than by a crawler.
Opens in a new tab. We do not control this site and it may have changed since we catalogued it.
How to get the most from it
Library of Congress Web Archives sits in Web Archives under Retro, filed as coffee break.
- Set aside five to fifteen minutes and give it your proper attention.
- It works on a phone or a desktop, so open it on whatever is nearest.
- It works with the sound off, so it is fine on a train or in a quiet office.
- No account needed — you can start without signing up.
- Go in expecting something brainy.
About this category: Archives, dead websites brought back and search pointed at the past. What the web looked like before it settled down.
Good for
- Filling a coffee break properly
- Giving your brain a workout
- A quiet break at your desk
- Killing time on your phone
- Trying it with zero commitment
Library of Congress Web Archives: quick answers
Is Library of Congress Web Archives free?
Yes. Library of Congress Web Archives is free to use and needs no account.
Do I need an account to use Library of Congress Web Archives?
No. You can use Library of Congress Web Archives without signing up for anything.
Does Library of Congress Web Archives work on a phone?
Yes. Library of Congress Web Archives works on phones as well as desktop browsers.
Is Library of Congress Web Archives safe for work?
Yes, we file it as safe for work. It also works muted.
How long does Library of Congress Web Archives take?
We file it as "Coffee break": Five to fifteen minutes of proper attention.
More in Web Archives
All 12 in Web ArchivesBrowses the archives through emulated period browsers, so an old page renders the way it did rather than the way Chrome guesses.
- 10 min
- Desktop
Curated collections around specific research subjects, preserved because a university decided they would matter later.
- 10 min
Nearly a trillion saved web pages. Paste any address, pick a year, and see what was there — the single most important archive online.
- 2 min
Australia's national archive of newspapers, websites and photographs, digitised back to 1803 and open without an account.
- 1 hr+
Same mood: brainy
All brainy sitesFree chess with no adverts, no account required and an analysis engine better than the paid ones, funded entirely by donations.
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Millions of chess tactics pulled from real games and served at exactly your rating, entirely free and with no account required.
- 2 min
Read and listen to real material while tapping unknown words, which quietly become your review deck.
- 10 min
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Wikipedia's running audit of the things almost everyone believes and almost nobody has ever checked.
- 10 min
Keep exploring
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