View source for Wikipedia:There is a deadline

{{short description|Essay about the preservation of knowledge}}
{{Essay|WP:TIAD|WP:YESDEADLINE}}
{{Nutshell|The preservation or survivability of the world's knowledge is at stake. Contribute it to Wikipedia before it's too late.}}
{{see also|Wikipedia:There is no deadline|Wikipedia:The deadline is now}}
[[File:Ancientlibraryalex.jpg|thumb|upright|The lost [[Library of Alexandria]], only one of many [[destroyed libraries]] in antiquity, lost long before [[Wikisource]] had the chance to save their contents]]

Practically every day, distinct forms of [[knowledge]] are lost forever and no copies are available. When a [[natural disaster]] hits a region or a [[List of ongoing military conflicts|war breaks out]]; [[libraries]], [[archives]], [[museums]], [[monuments]] and other artifacts of heritage, valuable buildings, [[incunable|incunabula]] and unique objects are destroyed or face the threat of destruction. These events usually remove pieces of human knowledge and sometimes entire cultures.

== Historical instances ==
There are plenty of examples of permanent loss of knowledge before Wikipedia's existence.  The following is a non-exhaustive list.<ref name="unesco20century">[http://www.unesco.org/webworld/mdm/administ/pdf/LOSTMEMO.PDF Lost Memory — Libraries and Archives Destroyed in the Twentieth Century] ({{webarchive |url=http://www.webcitation.org/69rt7I98e?url=http://www.unesco.org/webworld/mdm/administ/pdf/LOSTMEMO.PDF |date=August 12, 2012 }})</ref>

=== Before 20th century ===
[[File:Birmingham Central Library fire jan1879.jpg|thumb|[[Birmingham Central Library]] fire aftermath, 1879]]
* The Libraries of [[Library of Alexandria|Alexandria]], [[House of Wisdom]] and [[Imperial Library of Constantinople|Constantinople]] are among many [[List of libraries in the ancient world|great libraries of the ancient world]] to have been destroyed. As well, many ancient [[Chinese encyclopedias]] are partially or completely lost to history.
* The medieval archives of [[Gozo]] were destroyed during the Ottoman [[Invasion of Gozo (1551)|invasion of 1551]].<ref>{{cite news|last1=Grima|first1=Noel|title=Notarial Archives discovery: Documents from Gozo dating to 1431 saved from the bin|url=http://www.independent.com.mt/articles/2015-05-23/local-news/Documents-from-Gozo-dating-to-1431-saved-from-the-bin-6736135676|work=[[The Malta Independent]]|date=23 May 2015|archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20150811131140/http://www.independent.com.mt/articles/2015-05-23/local-news/Documents-from-Gozo-dating-to-1431-saved-from-the-bin-6736135676|archivedate=11 August 2015}}</ref>
* [[Diego de Landa#Inquisition|Diego de Landa's burning of the Maya codices]] in 1562. Only four are known to have survived. Most knowledge of Maya history is thus lost.
* The ''[[Beeldenstorm]]'' that spread through the [[Low countries]] in 1566 in which many statues and religious artifacts of the [[Catholic Church]] were destroyed by [[Iconoclasm|iconoclasts]].
* A fire destroyed more than 500 paintings located in [[Royal Alcázar of Madrid]] on Christmas Eve 1734. Other works, such as ''[[Las Meninas]]'' by Velázquez, were saved.
* The [[1836 U.S. Patent Office fire]] irretrievably destroyed most of the U.S. patent documents collected up to that time.
* A fire in the [[Birmingham Central Library]] in 1879 caused extensive damage with only 1,000 volumes saved from a stock of 50,000.<ref>{{Citation | last = | first =| authorlink = | title =Notes on the history of Birmingham Public Libraries (1861-1961)|edition= | publisher = Birmingham | year =1962 | location = | page = | isbn = }}</ref>

=== 20th century ===
* Churches, monasteries, [[convents burning|convents]] and libraries were destroyed during the [[Spanish Civil War]].<ref>{{in lang|es}} [http://dialnet.unirioja.es/servlet/fichero_articulo?codigo=2544098&orden=0 El martirio de los libros: una aproximación a la destrucción bibliográfica durante la Guerra Civil] ({{webarchive |url=http://www.webcitation.org/621F4RVjl?url=http://dialnet.unirioja.es/servlet/fichero_articulo?codigo%3D2544098%26orden%3D0 |date=September 27, 2011 }})</ref>
* Most of the [[1890 United States Census]] materials were destroyed in a fire in the basement of the Commerce Building in Washington, D.C. in 1921.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/history/www/genealogy/decennial_census_records/availability_of_1890_census.html|title=Availability of 1890 Census - History - U.S. Census Bureau|last=US Census Bureau, Census History Staff|first=|date=|website=Census.gov|access-date=2017-10-24}}</ref>
* A [[1937 Fox vault fire|storage vault fire in 1937]] destroyed all the original negatives of [[Fox Film Corporation]]'s pre-1935 movies.<ref>"[http://books.google.com/books?id=5w0r8YKan04C&pg=PA339 $45,000 Fire Drives Families From Homes in Little Ferry]", ''[[Bergen Evening Record]]'', July 9, 1937, p. 1. Quoted by Richard Koszarski in ''Fort Lee: The Film Town'', Indiana University Press, 2005, pp. 339–341. {{ISBN|978-0-86196-652-3}}.</ref> Furthermore, the vast majority of the [[silent film]]s produced in the late 19th and early 20th centuries are considered [[Lost film|lost]]. According to a September 2013 report published  by the United States [[Library of Congress]], some 70 per cent of American silent feature films fall into this category.<ref name=loc>{{cite press release |date=December 4, 2013 |title=Library Reports on America's Endangered Silent-Film Heritage |url=https://www.loc.gov/today/pr/2013/13-209.html |work=News from the Library of Congress |publisher=Library of Congress |issn=0731-3527 |access-date=March 7, 2014}}</ref>
* [[List of libraries damaged during the World War II|Hundreds of libraries and archives were destroyed]] and their contents lost during [[World War II]].<ref name="unesco20century" /><ref>[http://www.kakarigi.net/manu/preced.htm It Has Been Done Before! Reconstituting War-Ravaged Libraries] ({{webarchive |url=http://www.webcitation.org/621GMI8wp?url=http://www.kakarigi.net/manu/preced.htm |date=September 27, 2011 }})</ref><ref>[[Aftermath of the Warsaw Uprising]], [[Planned destruction of Warsaw]] and [[Polish culture during World War II]]</ref>
* A fire in the [[National Library of Peru]] destroyed highly valued historical works in 1943.<ref>{{youtube|id=7d1_XtHDLsM|title=Carlos Aguirre: El incendio de la Biblioteca Nacional del Perú de 1943}}</ref>
* More than 6,000 [[Tibet]]an monasteries were destroyed during the [[Cultural Revolution]], along with unique statues, tapestries and manuscripts.<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7307495.stm Tibetan monks: A controlled life] ({{webarchive |url=http://www.webcitation.org/61tZjAwvY?url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7307495.stm |date=September 22, 2011 }})</ref>
* The [[National and University Library of Bosnia and Herzegovina]] was shelled and burnt to the ground, along with thousands of irreplaceable texts, in the [[Siege of Sarajevo]] in 1992 during the [[Bosnian War]].<ref name="erasingthepast">[http://fp.arizona.edu/mesassoc/Bulletin/bosnia.htm Erasing the Past: The Destruction of Libraries and Archives in Bosnia-Herzegovina] ({{webarchive |url=http://www.webcitation.org/61KfgmFdY |date=August 30, 2011 }})</ref>
* Some of the original Apollo 11 [[moon landing]] tapes in high quality have been recorded over and lost.<ref name="moon landing tapes erased">{{Cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/science/2009/jul/16/moon-landing-tapes-erased|title=Houston, we have a problem: original moon walk footage erased|first1=Daniel|last1=Nasaw|first2=Richard|last2=Luscombe|date=July 16, 2009|via=The Guardian}}</ref> But all the data was copied as archived in several locations at the time.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nasa.gov/feature/not-unsolved-mysteries-the-lost-apollo-11-tapes|title=Not-Unsolved Mysteries: The “Lost” Apollo 11 Tapes}}</ref>
* In June 1981, during the [[Sri Lankan Civil War]], the [[Jaffna Public Library]] was [[Burning of Jaffna library|burnt]] by [[Sinhalese people|Sinhalese]] [[Buddhism|Buddhist]] mobs, destroying over 97,000 rare books and manuscripts in the process.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://swarajyamag.com/world/remembering-the-jaffna-public-library-destroyed-by-sinhalese-extremists|title=Remembering The Jaffna Public Library Destroyed By Sinhalese Extremists |work=[[Swarajya (magazine)|Swarajya]]|date=June 1, 2016}}</ref>
* During the [[Romanian Revolution of 1989]], a fire was started in the [[Central University Library of Bucharest]] and over 500,000 books, along with 3,700 manuscripts, were burnt.<ref name = "BCU">[http://www.bcub.ro/home/istoric The Central University Library of Bucharest], official site: "the History".</ref>

== Modern examples ==
Unfortunately, the destruction of knowledge has not ceased with Wikipedia's inception in 2001. Here are a few examples.

=== 2000s ===
[[File:Anna amalia bibliothek weimar brandschaden 03092004 nachmittag.jpg|thumb|Damage in [[Duchess Anna Amalia Library]] after the fire]]
* In 2003, the [[Iraq National Library and Archive]] and other buildings were looted and burnt during the [[2003 invasion of Iraq|U.S. invasion]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bl.uk/iraqdiary/cilippics.html|title=Photos of the Iraq National Library 2003–08|publisher=|accessdate=2012-07-05|archiveurl=http://www.webarchive.org.uk/wayback/archive/20100427132359/http://www.bl.uk/iraqdiary/cilippics.html|archivedate=2010-04-27|url-status=dead}}</ref>
* In 2004, part of the collection at the [[Duchess Anna Amalia Library]] in Germany was lost to a fire, less than two months before the collection was to be moved.<ref>{{in lang|de}} [http://www.anna-amalia-bibliothek.de/de/afterbrand.html Hilfe für Anna Amalia<!-- Bot generated title -->] ({{webarchive |url=http://www.webcitation.org/61tW7bdeY?url=http://www.anna-amalia-bibliothek.de/de/afterbrand.html |date=September 22, 2011 }})</ref>
* The [[2004 Indian Ocean earthquake]] [[Library damage resulting from the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake|damaged or destroyed]] libraries and archives in several countries.
* On 17 October 2004, a fire in the [[Parque Central Complex]] of Caracas, Venezuela, destroyed the tower's ''planoteca'', an archive containing the entire history of the country's public building plans spanning two centuries, including aqueduct and sewer systems.<ref>{{cite news|title=“BOLA DE FUEGO” EXTENDIÓ EL DAÑO EN LA TORRE DE PARQUE CENTRAL|url=http://segured.com/bola-de-fuego-extendio-el-dano-en-la-torre-de-parque-central/|access-date=27 January 2018|publisher=Segured}}</ref>
* In 2009, the Historical Archive building of the City of [[Cologne]] [[Historical Archive of the City of Cologne#Collapse of the archive in 2009|collapsed]].<ref>[http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/0,1518,611311,00.html Archive Collapse Disaster for Historians] - Spiegel Online International ({{webarchive |url=http://www.webcitation.org/61tYsBQ6C?url=http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/0%2C1518%2C611311%2C00.html |date=September 22, 2011 }})</ref>
* On October 26, 2009,  [[GeoCities]] was shut down, removing from public view 38 million pages built by users over 15 years.<ref>{{cite web|last=Shechmeister |first=Matthew |url=http://www.wired.com/rawfile/2009/11/geocities |title=Ghost Pages: A Wired.com Farewell to GeoCities |website=Wired.com |date=2009-11-03 |accessdate=2012-02-20}}</ref> It was only partially preserved by [[Archive Team]].

=== 2010s ===
[[File:Nuestra Sra. de la Luz Parish Church, Loon, Bohol (Before and After 2013 Bohol Earthquake).jpg|thumb|upright|[[Loon Church]], [[Philippines]], before and after the [[2013 Bohol earthquake]]]]
* In 2010, much of Haiti's heritage was damaged or destroyed in an [[2010 Haiti earthquake|earthquake]].<ref>[http://haiti.si.edu/ Haiti Cultural Recovery Project] ({{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/*/http://haiti.si.edu/ |date=* }})</ref> Little over a month later, Chile's heritage suffered similar destruction in [[2010 Chile earthquake|its own earthquake]].
* The [[Egyptian Museum]] was looted during the [[2011 Egyptian revolution]].<ref>[http://hyperallergic.com/17815/egyptian-museum-damage/ Breaking: Images of Egyptian Museum Damage -UPDATE 34- King Tut Objects Damaged?] ({{webarchive |url=http://www.webcitation.org/61t6Cdq22?url=http://hyperallergic.com/17815/egyptian-museum-damage/ |date=September 22, 2011 }})</ref>
* In December 2011, a fire destroyed all but 30,000 of the 200,000 books in the historic [[Egyptian Scientific Institute]].<ref>[http://www.almasryalyoum.com/en/node/554351 Amid army crackdown, Egypt’s richest library set on fire] ({{webarchive |url=http://www.webcitation.org/640PiklSv?url=http://www.almasryalyoum.com/en/node/554351 |date=December 17, 2011 }})</ref><ref>[http://www.elpais.com/articulo/cultura/incendio/durante/disturbios/Cairo/destruye/original/Descripcion/Egipto/encargada/Napoleon/elpepucul/20111218elpepucul_1/Tes Un incendio durante los disturbios de El Cairo destruye el original de la 'Descripción de Egipto' encargada por Napoleón] ({{webarchive |url=http://www.webcitation.org/642zGlJsP?url=http://www.elpais.com/articulo/cultura/incendio/durante/disturbios/Cairo/destruye/original/Descripcion/Egipto/encargada/Napoleon/elpepucul/20111218elpepucul_1/Tes |date=December 19, 2011 }})</ref>
* In May 2012, shrines forming part of the [[Timbuktu#World Heritage Site|Timbuktu]] [[World Heritage Site]] were destroyed by the Islamist group [[Ansar Dine]].<ref>[http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-18675539 Timbuktu's Sidi Yahia mosque 'attacked by Mali militants'] ({{webarchive |url=http://www.webcitation.org/68x7PsErt?url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-18675539 |date=July 6, 2012 }})</ref><ref>[http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-18665522 Islamists vow to smash every mausoleum in Timbuktu] ({{webarchive |url=http://www.webcitation.org/68x7VGUF2?url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-18665522 |date=July 6, 2012 }})</ref>
* Some buildings and churches were damaged in the [[2012 Northern Italy earthquakes]].
* In June 2012, many documents were burned during a fire at the secretarial building of [[Mumbai]].<ref>[http://www.thehindu.com/news/states/other-states/article3554517.ece Towering inferno engulfs Mumbai’s seat of power] ({{webarchive |url=http://www.webcitation.org/68x7Y97Sw?url=http://www.thehindu.com/news/states/other-states/article3554517.ece |date=July 6, 2012 }})</ref><ref>[http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/india/9346940/Mumbai-government-building-engulfed-in-fire.html Mumbai government building engulfed in fire] ({{webarchive |url=http://www.webcitation.org/68x7d6jvG?url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/india/9346940/Mumbai-government-building-engulfed-in-fire.html |date=July 6, 2012 }})</ref>
* [[List of heritage damaged during the Syrian Civil War|Syrian heritage has been damaged]], destroyed and looted during the [[Syrian Civil War]].<ref>[http://ghn.globalheritagefund.com/uploads/documents/document_2107.pdf Damage to the soul: Syria's cultural heritage in conflict] ({{webarchive |url=http://www.webcitation.org/69rQsEW5k?url=http://ghn.globalheritagefund.com/uploads/documents/document_2107.pdf |date=August 12, 2012 }})</ref>
* On October 15, 2013, the [[2013 Bohol earthquake|Bohol earthquake]] destroyed and damaged several iconic sites.<ref name="Rappler 1">{{cite news|url=http://www.rappler.com/nation/41381-ten-churches-damaged-cebu-bohol-quake|title=Heartbreaking: 10 iconic churches in Bohol, Cebu damaged|work=[[Rappler]]|date=October 15, 2013|accessdate=October 15, 2013|author=Pia Ranada}}</ref>
* On December 25, 2013, the [[Santuario da Virxe da Barca]] was destroyed by a fire resulting from lightning.<ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.elmundo.es/espana/2013/12/25/52babbf4268e3e88648b458d.html | title=Un rayo destruye un emblemático santuario en Muxía | date=2013-12-25 | accessdate=2013-12-25 | archiveurl=http://www.webcitation.org/6M85Kl1qV | archivedate=2013-12-25 | url-status=live| newspaper=El Mundo}}</ref>
* The [[Al Sa’eh Library]] in [[Tripoli, Lebanon]], with 80,000 books and manuscripts, was burnt down in January 2014.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://stateofmind13.com/2014/01/04/lebanon-loses-78000-books-to-terrorism-tripolis-infamous-al-saeh-library-burned/|title=Lebanon Loses 78000 Books To Terrorism: Tripoli’s “Al Sa’eh” Library Burned|archiveurl=http://www.webcitation.org/6MOmpHzK5|archivedate=2014-01-05|url-status=live}}</ref>
* [[Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant]] (ISIL) damaged [[Mosul Museum]] artifacts, [[Mosul Public Library]] books and other [[Destruction of cultural heritage by ISIL|cultural heritage]] sites like the ancient temples of [[Temple of Baalshamin|Baalshamin]] and [[Temple of Bel|Bel]].<ref>{{cite news|title=ISIS thugs take a hammer to civilisation: Priceless 3,000-year-old artworks smashed to pieces in minutes as militants destroy Mosul museum|url=http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2970270/Islamic-State-fighters-destroy-antiquities-Iraq-video.html|newspaper=Daily Mail|accessdate=26 February 2015}}</ref>
* In Venezuela, starting in 2010s, due to the economic decline of the newspapers, the transition to the Internet, and growing restrictions on the press, caused the loss of significant parts of media digital archives.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Yonekura |first=Kaoru |date=2 December 2020 |title=Periódicos sin archivos, país sin memoria |trans-title=Newspapers without archives, country without memory|url=https://www.cinco8.com/periodismo/periodicos-sin-archivos-pais-sin-memoria/ |access-date=2023-06-09 |website=Cinco8 |language=es}}</ref>
* On the 23rd of May 2014 The [[Glasgow School of Art]], known as 'The Mac' was badly damaged in a fire that destroyed the [[List of destroyed libraries|Mackintosh library]], a second fire in 2018 finished the job destroying much of the rest of the building and the [[O2 ABC Glasgow|O2 ABC arena]], and nightclub next door.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-glasgow-west-27541883|title=Glasgow School of Art: Fire crews battle to save building|date=May 23, 2014|via=www.bbc.co.uk}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-glasgow-west-44504659|title=Glasgow fire: Art school's Mackintosh building extensively damaged|date=June 15, 2018|via=www.bbc.co.uk}}</ref>
* The April 25, 2015, [[2015 Nepal earthquake|Nepal earthquake]] damaged and destroyed centuries-old buildings in the UNESCO World Heritage sites in the [[Kathmandu Valley]], including some at [[Kathmandu Durbar Square]].<ref>{{Cite news|url = http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-32463406|title = Nepal landmarks flattened by the quake|last = |first = |date = |work = |access-date = April 25, 2015|via = }}</ref>
* On April 26, 2016, [[National Museum of Natural History, New Delhi]] and its entire collection were destroyed by fire.<ref name="fire_guts">{{cite news|author=Vidhi Doshi|url=http://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/apr/26/massive-fire-guts-delhis-natural-history-museum |title=Fire guts Delhi's natural history museum  |newspaper=The Guardian |date=2016-04-26 |accessdate=2016-04-26}}</ref>
* A museum dedicated to [[Nicola Filotesio]] stood in the town of his birth until it was destroyed in the [[August 2016 Central Italy earthquake]].<ref name="larepubblica1">La Repubblica, ''[http://www.repubblica.it/cronaca/2016/08/24/news/terremoto_nel_centro_italia_i_danni_al_patrimonio_artistico-146561797/ Terremoto nel centro Italia, i danni al patrimonio artistico]''</ref>
* [[National Museum of Brazil fire|A fire]] burned down the [[National Museum (Brazil)|National Museum of Brazil]] on September 2, 2018, destroying more than 90 percent of its collection of more than 20{{nbsp}}million objects.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-45392668|title=Brazil's 200-year-old national museum hit by huge fire|date=2018-09-03|accessdate=2018-09-03}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://es.gizmodo.com/los-meteoritos-sobreviven-al-incendio-que-ha-devastado-1828785646|title=Los meteoritos, de lo poco que sigue en pie tras el incendio devastador en Río de Janeiro|date=September 3, 2018|website=Gizmodo en Español}}</ref> Many holdings, such as records of [[extinct languages]], were one-of-a-kind and irreplaceably lost.<ref name="BrazilLanguages">{{cite news |last1=McCulloch |first1=Gretchen |title=Linguistics Division |url=https://allthingslinguistic.com/post/177712815507/folks-theres-nothing-left-from-the-linguistics |accessdate=23 April 2020 |work=All Things Linguistic}}</ref>
* In March 2019, [[Myspace]] announced that it had lost all music uploaded between 2003 and 2015.<ref name="Myspace">{{cite news |last1=Tiffany |first1=Kaitlyn |title=Myspace, which still exists, accidentally deleted 12 years’ worth of music |url=https://www.vox.com/the-goods/2019/3/18/18271088/myspace-music-deleted-internet-archive-flickr-tumblr |accessdate=19 June 2019 |work=[[Vox]] |date=March 18, 2019}}</ref>
* By the late 2010s, several film archives in Venezuela started being damaged and lost due to neglect.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2016-04-27 |title=Archivo de la Cinemateca Nacional, una historia de deterioro |url=https://elmiope.com/2016/04/27/cinemateca-nacional-archivo-filmico-deterioro/ |access-date=2024-01-28 |website=El Miope |language=es}}</ref>

=== 2020s ===
* In January 2020, a fire damaged or destroyed much of the collection of New York City's [[Museum of Chinese in America]]. Around 35,000 of the 85,000 items had been digitized and backed up before the fire.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/fire-likely-destroyed-85000-relics-held-museum-chinese-america-180974061/|title=Fire at Museum of Chinese in America Caused Less Damage Than Initially Feared|last=Katz|first=Brigit|website=Smithsonian Magazine|access-date=2020-02-01}}</ref>
* In April 2021, the University of Cape Town [[Jagger Library]] was damaged by a wildfire, threatening its collection of African antiquities.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Wroughton |first1=Lesley |title=South Africa wildfire that burned University of Cape Town, library of African antiquities is under control |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2021/04/18/south-africa-fire-university-cape-town/ |access-date=20 April 2021 |work=Washington Post}}</ref>
* On July 29, 2021, the [[Cinemateca Brasileira]] was hit by a fire,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.uol.com.br/splash/noticias/2021/07/29/incendio-cinemateca-brasileira-sao-paulo.htm|title=Incêndio atinge unidade da Cinemateca Brasileira na Zona Oeste de SP |date=2021-07-29|accessdate=2021-07-29|language=pt-br}}</ref> the fifth in its history.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.uol.com.br/splash/noticias/2021/07/29/historia-da-tv-e-do-cinema-queima-junto-com-o-quinto-incendio-da-cinemateca.htm|title= História da TV e do cinema queima junto com o quinto incêndio da Cinemateca |date=2021-07-29|accessdate=2021-07-29|language=pt-br}}</ref>
* [[Ukrainian cultural heritage during the 2022 Russian invasion|Many Ukrainian cultural sites have been damaged or destroyed]] as a result of the [[2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine]]. The [[Ivankiv Historical and Local History Museum]], the [[Kuindzhi Art Museum]], and the [[IT 8-bit|Club 8-bit computer museum]] were destroyed by bombardment, while cultural centers like the [[Babyn Yar Holocaust Memorial Center]] and the [[Korolenko Chernihiv Regional Universal Scientific Library]] were damaged.
* On 2023-24, in the context of the [[Israel–Hamas war]], over 100 cultural heritage landmarks have been destroyed or damaged by Israeli attacks in the Gaza Strip. This includes archives, libraries, and museums, notably the complete destruction of the [[Central Archives of Gaza City]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://librarianswithpalestine.org/gaza-report-2024/|title=Israeli Damage to Archives, Libraries, and Museums in Gaza, October 2023–January 2024 – Librarians and Archivists with Palestine}}</ref>

==Future threats==
[[File:Geolocated images in Wikimedia Commons 2016-04-16.png|thumb|The current coverage of [[Wikimedia Commons]] is imbalanced (5.2M geolocated images in the map). We must preserve the current world to the future generations. Imagine a project like [[Geograph Britain and Ireland]]<ref>[http://www.geograph.org.uk The Geograph Britain and Ireland project] ({{webarchive |url=http://www.webcitation.org/68xCg8x8m?url=http://www.geograph.org.uk/ |date=July 6, 2012 }})</ref> but globally.]]

Today, many of the world's [[List of languages|languages]] are [[Endangered language|endangered]] or nearly [[Extinct language|extinct]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.endangeredlanguages.com/about/|title=The Endangered Languages Project|last=|first=|date=|website=EndangeredLanguages.com|access-date=2019-01-16}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.ethnologue.com/endangered-languages|title=Endangered Languages - Ethnologue|last=|first=|date=|website=Ethnologue.com|access-date=2019-01-16}}</ref> In some cases where parents have stopped teaching an endangered language to their children, the language is understood by [[List of last known speakers of languages|only a few elderly speakers]]. The [[Rosetta Project]] is a global collaboration of language specialists and native speakers working to build a publicly accessible digital library of material on the nearly 7,000 known human languages.<ref>[https://archive.org/details/rosettaproject The Rosetta Project items] from The Long Now Foundation</ref>

Furthermore, hundreds of websites are closed every day on the [[Internet]]; the average life of a web page is only 77 days.<ref>[http://www.archive.org/about/faqs.php Internet Archive Frequently Asked Questions] ({{webarchive |url=http://www.webcitation.org/629ouhKYT?url=http://www.archive.org/about/faqs.php |date=October 3, 2011 }})</ref> Those websites work in many cases as [[references]]. Projects like the [[Internet Archive]] or [[WebCitation]] and volunteer groups like [[Archive Team]]<ref>[http://archiveteam.org Archive Team] website ({{webarchive |url=http://www.webcitation.org/629owKO0B?url=http://archiveteam.org/index.php?title%3DMain_Page |date=October 3, 2011 }})</ref> save copies of some of them, but many others [[Digital preservation|are lost forever]]. This issue may affect Wikimedia projects too, and [[meta:Mirroring Wikimedia project XML dumps|mirrors]] are needed to assure long-term preservation of the data.

Wikipedia and its sister projects can—and must—save all these forms of knowledge, through creating articles, uploading images and recordings to [[Wikimedia Commons]], preserving languages in [[Wiktionary]] and transcribing books into [[Wikisource]]. Events like [[commons:Wiki Loves Monuments|Wiki Loves Monuments]] may help to immortalize monuments around the world before they are damaged or destroyed.<ref>[http://www.wikilovesmonuments.eu/ Wiki Loves Monuments 2011] - European website ({{webarchive |url=http://www.webcitation.org/628dCbErx?url=http://www.wikilovesmonuments.eu/ |date=October 2, 2011 }})</ref>

'''There ''is'' a deadline. This is a battle against time.'''

{{clear}}

== Gallery ==

<gallery mode=packed-hover class="center" heights=150px>
File:Alcazar de Madrid siglo XVII.jpg | [[Royal Alcazar of Madrid]] was consumed by fire in 1734. More than 500 paintings were lost.
File:NewYorkSocietyForTheSuppressionOfVice.jpg | Symbol of [[New York Society for the Suppression of Vice]], advocating book-burning
File:1933-may-10-berlin-book-burning.JPG | [[Nazi book burnings|Book burning]] in Berlin, May 1933
File:Quema de libros.jpg | Burning left-wing books during the early days of the [[Pinochet military regime]]
File:Evstafiev-bosnia-cello.jpg | A cello player in the destroyed [[National and University Library of Bosnia and Herzegovina|National Library]], Sarajevo
File:Museo de Arte Contemporáneo Earthquake in Chile.jpg | The damaged [[Museo de Arte Contemporáneo (Santiago, Chile)|Museum of Contemporary Art]] in Chile
File:Bufo periglenes2.jpg | [[Golden toad]] (''Bufo periglenes''), now extinct
File:Brand Anna Amalia 22.30Uhr.JPG | [[Library fires|Library fire]] at the [[Duchess Anna Amalia Library|Anna Amalia library]], 2004
File:The destroyed sixstory cologne city archive.jpg | Collapsed [[Historical Archive of the City of Cologne]], March 2009
File:Chiesa di San Paolo - Mirabello - Province of Ferrara - 2012 Northern Italy earthquake - (1).jpg | [[Church of Saint Paul in Mirabello]], Ferrara
File:Al Munisìpi ad Sant Agustèn.jpg | The [[town hall]] of [[Sant'Agostino, Emilia–Romagna|Sant'Agostino]]
File:15346 Purila mõis.jpg | Mural painting in the [[Purila Manor]], [[Estonia]], almost erased by age
File:Agassiz in the Concrete.jpg | Fallen statue of zoologist [[Louis Agassiz]] after the [[1906 San Francisco earthquake]]
File:Aleppo-Great-mosque-Alp.jpg | The [[Great Mosque of Aleppo]] was damaged in fighting in 2013
|Destruction of the [[destruction of the monument to Lenin in Kiev|statue of Lenin in Kiev]].
File:2018-01-09-Abriss St. Lambertus (Immerath)-6148.jpg | Demolition of the [[Church of St. Lambertus, Immerath]] (2018) to make room for a surface mine
File:Fire at Museu Nacional 05.jpg | [[National Museum of Brazil fire|Fire]] at the [[National Museum of Brazil]]
File:Incendie Notre Dame de Paris.jpg | [[Notre-Dame de Paris fire]]
</gallery>

==See also==
{{multiple image
| direction = vertical
| width = 300
| header = ''El Vaporcito'', a famous ship in [[Andalusia]] and ''[[Bien de Interés Cultural|Property of Cultural Interest]]'' in Spain, sunk in 2011.
| image1 = Vaporcito de El Puerto.jpg
| alt1 = A small white ferry carrying passengers in the mouth of the Guadalete river
| caption1 = In 2007...
| image2 = Vaporcito de El Puerto (37404662665).jpg
| alt2 = The same ferry, as a dilapidated shell, sitting on a boatramp
| caption2 = ...and in 2017.
}}

===Articles===
* [[Art destruction]]
* [[Digital dark age]]
* [[Digital preservation]]
* [[Book burning]] and [[List of book burning incidents]]
* [[Impermanence]]
* [[List of destroyed libraries]]
* [[List of destroyed heritage]]
* [[Lost work]], [[Lost artworks]] and [[List of lost films]]
* [[Rosetta Stone]]

===Documentaries===
* ''Biblioteca en guerra'' (2009, Blanca Calvo & Ramón Salaberria)
* ''Cicatrices de Sarajevo'' (2012, Miguel Ángel Viñas)
* ''[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NdZxI3nFVJs Digital Amnesia]'' (2014, Bregtje van der Haak)
* ''[[User:Emijrp/Digital Dark Age (film)|Digital dark age: help, we're disappearing!]]'' (2004, Jörg Daniel Hissen & Peter Moers)
* ''[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ec_-fgy3EGY Internet Archive]'' (2012, Jonathan Minard)
* ''Las cajas españolas'' (2004, Alberto Porlan)
* ''[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3TEgrdAlofk Lost Forever]'' (2011, Paul Mariano & Kurt Norton)
* ''Metrópolis refundada'' (2010, Evangelina Loguercio)
* ''Rescatando sombras. Cine, muerte y memoria'' (2012, Franco Lorenzana)
* ''The Destruction of Memory'' (2016, Tim Slade)
* ''The End of Memory?'' (2015, Vincent Amouroux)
* ''The House of History'' (1996, Quadir Taheri)

===Essays===
* [[User:Emijrp/All Human Knowledge]] (userbox {{tl|User preserve all human knowledge}})
* [[Wikipedia:There is no deadline]]
* [[Wikipedia:Wikipedia is a work in progress]]
* [[Wikipedia:Build content to endure]]

===Projects===
* [[Internet Archive]]
* [[Long Now Foundation]] and [[Rosetta Project]]
* [[Memory of Mankind]]
* [[meta:Wikipedia to the Moon]]
* [[Arch Mission Foundation]]

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== Further reading ==
* Báez, Fernando (2004). ''Historia universal de la destrucción de libros. De las tablillas sumerias a la Guerra de Irak''. ISBN 9788423335961
* UNESCO (1996). [http://www.unesco.org/webworld/mdm/administ/pdf/LOSTMEMO.PDF Lost Memory - Libraries and archives destroyed in the twentieth century] ({{webarchive |url=http://www.webcitation.org/69rt7I98e?url=http://www.unesco.org/webworld/mdm/administ/pdf/LOSTMEMO.PDF |date=August 12, 2012 }})
* Vines, Timothy et al. (2013). [http://arxiv.org/abs/1312.5670 The availability of research data declines rapidly with article age]. {{DOI|10.1016/j.cub.2013.11.014}}
* {{Cite journal |url=https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-024-00616-5 |title=Millions of research papers at risk of disappearing from the Internet |date=2024-03-04 |journal=Nature |last=Wild |first=Sarah |doi=10.1038/d41586-024-00616-5 |issn=0028-0836}}

== External links ==
* Translations for this essay ([http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Wikipedia:There_is_a_deadline&oldid=459294502 permalink] to original version) are more than welcome: [http://de.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Wikipedia:Kurier&oldid=95468817 German] ([http://www.webcitation.org/63ZvB1NVn webcite]), [http://blog.wikimedia.fr/il-y-a-urgence-3810 French] ([http://www.webcitation.org/63ZuwGg5b webcite]), [http://emijrp.blogspot.com/2011/12/una-batalla-contra-el-tiempo.html Spanish], [https://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipédia:Há_uma_data_final Portuguese], [https://ca.wikipedia.org/wiki/Viquip%C3%A8dia:Hi_ha_una_data_l%C3%ADmit Catalan], [https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Lotta_contro_il_tempo Italian], [https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Er_is_een_deadline Nederlands], [https://ro.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Exist%C4%83_un_termen_limit%C4%83 Romanian], [https://sv.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Det_finns_en_deadline Swedish], [https://ar.wikipedia.org/wiki/ويكيبيديا:هناك_موعد_نهائي Arabic].
* [http://www.wikilovesmonuments.org/things-get-lost-capture-them/ Things get lost. Capture them] (Wiki Loves Monuments 2012 blog post by Elke)
* [http://www.wikilovesmonuments.org/photos-of-destroyed-heritage/ Photos of destroyed heritage] (Wiki Loves Monuments 2013 blog post) ([http://wlm.org.ua/vtrachene-nepovtorne Ukrainian version])
* [https://blog.wikimedia.org/2014/12/04/joel-aldor-preserve-filipino-architecture/ Joel Aldor wants to preserve historic Filipino architecture one photo at a time] (Wikimedia Blog, 2014)
* [https://www.wikilovesmonuments.org/2015-earthquake-in-nepal-a-wake-up-call-for-monument-documentation/ 2015 Earthquake in Nepal: A Wake-up Call for Monument Documentation]  (Wiki Loves Monuments blog post, 2018)
* [http://laughingsquid.com/archive-corps-a-volunteer-collective-to-help-quickly-save-physical-archives-before-they-are-lost/ Archive Corps, A Volunteer Collective To Help Quickly Save Physical Archives Before They Are Lost] (see also [[Archive Team]])
* [https://github.com/WikiTeam/wikiteam WikiTeam] – Volunteers group to preserve wikis
* [http://tools.wmflabs.org/wmcounter/ Wikimedia projects edits counter] – Total edits in Wikimedia projects (near real time)

{{Wikipedia essays|building}}

[[Category:Wikipedia essays about building the encyclopedia]]