Attention boomers, devoted (and nostalgic) gamers, and students of popular culture:

A new section of the Internet Archive Software Collection,  the largest vintage and historical software library in the world, providing instant access to millions of programs, CD-ROM images, documentation and multimedia. is the Internet Arcade.

The coin-free Arcade, featuring more than 900 games, is

a web-based library of arcade (coin-operated) video games from the 1970s through to the 1990s, emulated in JSMAME, part of the JSMESS software package. Containing hundreds of games ranging through many different genres and styles, the Arcade provides research, comparison, and entertainment in the realm of the Video Game Arcade.

 The game collection ranges from early “bronze-age” videogames, with black and white screens and simple sounds, through to large-scale games containing digitized voices, images and music. Most games are playable in some form, although some are useful more for verification of behavior or programming due to the intensity and requirements of their systems.

The collection may be browsed by subject and keywords.  The launch follows last December’s introduction of the Console Living Room that features browser-friendly emulators for a huge library of 70s and 80s console games.

It takes a little time to adjust to the keypad controls, and I couldn’t get sound on a couple of the games I tried, but it’s truly amazing that you can play these classics from a browser.

Of course, the Internet Archive is home to so many collections of value to K12 libraries.

Among them:

Wayback Machine: 435 archived websites

OpenLibrary  More than 1,000,000 free ebook titles in an open-editable catalog

Internet Archive BookReader The platform makes scanned books available to anyone with a web browser and internet connection.

Open Source Software Collection

Moving Image Archive

Audio Archive includes Audio Books & Poetry, Live Music Archive, and News & Public Affairs

Understanding 9/11: A Television News Archive

TV News Search & Borrow

TV from Around the World

Classic TV Commercials

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