What are ARKs?
ARKs (Archival Resource Keys) are high-functioning identifiers that lead you to things and to descriptions of those things.
For example, this ARK gets you a thing: https://n2t.net/ark:/67531/metadc107835/
You can add a '?' to get a description: https://n2t.net/ark:/67531/metadc107835/?
What's an identifier?
On the internet, an identifier is a URL or part of a URL. For example, this core ARK identifier,
is carried below inside two different URLs (Uniform Resource Locators, or web addresses):
https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/btv1b8449691v/f29
https://n2t.net/ark:/12148/btv1b8449691v/f29
ARKs are especially good at being persistent identifiers.
What's a persistent identifier?
The average lifetime of a URL is by one account is 44 days. That's the time after which you can expect a typical published URL to give you the dreaded 404 Not Found error. Irritating as that can be, it's a disaster for libraries, archives, museums, and other memory organizations. What they want are persistent identifiers, that should continue to work far into the future.
