Perma.cc

Overview

Perma.cc is a web archiving and link preservation service developed and maintained by the Harvard Law School Library's Library Innovation Lab. It enables scholars, journalists, courts, and other users to create permanent, unalterable archived records of web pages cited in their work, combating the problem of link rot — the degradation or disappearance of online sources over time.

History and Founding

Perma.cc was created in response to studies demonstrating high rates of link rot in academic publications and judicial opinions. Research published in the Harvard Law Review in 2014 found that more than 70% of URLs cited in articles from major law journals no longer pointed to the same material, and that approximately 50% of URLs in U.S. Supreme Court opinions had suffered reference rot. The service was launched in Fall 2013 by Harvard's Library Innovation Lab. In 2016, Harvard received a $700,000 grant from the Institute for Museum and Library Services to expand Perma.cc's development. It has since been recognized with a Webby Award for Best Law Website (2015).

How It Works

Unlike the Internet Archive's Wayback Machine, which crawls the web automatically, Perma.cc creates page saves only upon user request. Each capture creates a permanent URL (a "Perma Link") pointing to an unalterable record of the page as it existed at the moment of capture. The service is backed by a network of over 150 academic libraries and courts, called Registrars, that administer accounts for their users at no cost. Organizations and individuals not affiliated with a Registrar may access the service through paid subscription plans.

Usage and Relevance

Perma.cc is used extensively by law journals, courts, universities, and journalism organizations. Both the Bluebook (21st ed.) and various court style manuals encourage or require the use of permalinks for online citations. The service has been adopted by U.S. federal and state courts, and documents filed in major proceedings, including Senate impeachment trial memoranda, have incorporated Perma Links.