"I just finished reading the October 6th edition of The E-Sylum. I felt disturbed by the piece on "Internet Archive Legal Battles."

"If the Internet Archive goes out of existence, will the NNP still be able to digitize and store numismatic literature and other materials?"

Here's the email exchange between Jeff, myself, and Newman Numismatic Portal Project Coordinator Len Augsburger. -Editor

"Len can reply in more detail, but yes, digitization can proceed, although there would likely be disruption while other arrangements are made. And the existing digitized content is backed up by the University, so none of that would be lost - again, there just might be a delay while other hosting arrangements are made.

"IA is relied on by so many organizations I think some collective action would happen to prevent a shutdown or at least set up a new entity for transition, much like for-profit companies can rise again after bankruptcy.

"Thanks for your concern."

"Yes, we've been following the Internet Archive litigation ever since it began – it's definitely a point of concern.

"Besides Internet Archive, there are other solutions in the market for digital repositories, so we are not dead in the water.

"We do have a copy of all NNP assets, which is stored on AWS (Amazon Web Services), separate from Internet Archive. Worst case, we move to another repository, which would be disruptive but not fatal."

"Wow, this is great news! Thankfully, other digital repositories are available if needed.

"Good to know that all NNP assets are stored on AWS. Thanks for keeping on top of all of these developments."

Thanks, everyone. Great discussion. To underscore the threat of losing the Internet Archive, their site has been down for several days following a hack attack. -Editor

I also had a conversation with Len this week, and we both agree that the Internet Archive is "too big to fail" - so important to so many individuals and institutions that the world will find a way to keep it going one way or another. Stay tuned for any further developments. -Editor