Government Information Belongs to Everyone: Democracy's Library in 2026
The Internet Archive's Democracy's Library in 2026 continues preserving and providing free public access to government information, emphasizing that such data belongs to all citizens to ensure transparency and accountability.
Background
Democracy's Library is an initiative by the Internet Archive (the nonprofit behind the Wayback Machine) that aims to compile, preserve, and make freely accessible all government publications from federal, state, and local levels — reports, data sets, regulations, and more. This matters because government information is increasingly published only in digital formats on agency websites, which can disappear or be altered with changes in administration. The Internet Archive collects and keeps these materials permanently, on the principle that citizens need continued access to the records of their government to hold it accountable. The piece is part of a series of blog posts from June 2026 tracing the library's progress since its launch.