The new publication of WARCnet Papers - a series of papers related to the activities of the WARCnet network - is now official and public. WARCnet Papers publishes keynotes, interviews, round table discussions, presentations, extended minutes, reports, white papers, status reports, and similar.

This issue is written by Matthew Weber and the essay examines how Web archives have gained legitimacy as a method for research in academia, and focuses on core areas for future development. Specific focus is given to the building of a common knowledge base, the need to address issues of accessibility and scalability, the interdisciplinary nature of Web archive research, and the future challenges of reliability and validity when engaged with Web archive studies.

The WARCnet Papers series is edited by Niels Brügger, Jane Winters, Valérie Schafer, Kees Teszelszky, Peter Webster and Michael Kurzmeier.

Click here to read the new issue.