The Online Media Environment of the North Caucasus: Issues of Preservation and Accessibility in a Zone of Political and Ideological Conflict

As one of the world's most ethnolinguisticallydiverse and conflict-prone regions, the North Caucasus presents particular challenges for librarians seeking to preserve its rich and varied online news media content. This content is generated in multiple languages in multiple political and ideological contexts, both within the North Caucasus region and abroad. While online news media content in general is ephemeral, poorly-preserved, and difficult to access via any single search interface or search strategy, content relating to the North Caucasus is at additional risk due to ongoing insurgency/counterinsurgency activity, as well as historical, political and linguistic factors. Various options for preserving and searching North Caucasus web content are explored.