Library of Congress Set to Archive 170 Billion Tweets

The library isn't sure how the ongoing archive will be used, but has officially started the process.

The U.S. Library of Congress is all set to archive and organize more than 170 billion tweets. Under an agreement between the government institution and Twitter in 2010, the company will be providing the Library of Congress with a full stream of all public tweets to collect. The process will begin with 21 billion tweets generated between 2006 and April 2010.

The library wrote in an announcement Friday that the archive is indicative of social media’s transformation into a primary method of communication. “Social media is supplementing, and in some cases supplanting, letters, journals, serial publications, and other sources routinely collected by research libraries.” The Library of Congress isn’t entirely sure how the archive will be utilized but report that approximately 400 inquires have been received from researchers all over the world. (CNET)

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