The Video Game History Foundation makes its digital library available to the public next week.

The video game History Foundation (VGHF) is making its digital library system available to the public for the first time next week.

The first public version of the library will launch on January 30, offering digital access to some of the foundation’s “exciting special collections.”

“After years of collecting, cataloging, and digitizing video game history materials, the VGHF is finally opening the virtual doors to its library, wherever you are,” the foundation said in a statement.

The news teased high-resolution images featuring Donkey Kong Arcade Flyer artwork and Final Fantasy 7 artwork.

Although it says it plans to “save the details for the big premiere,” the VGHF says its library includes “never-before-seen game development materials” and “artwork, press kits, and promotional materials from iconic video games.”

It also says it will have access to more than 1,500 out-of-print video game magazines, which will be searched in text.

The VGHF was created in 2017 by conservationist and games historian Frank Cifaldi. Since then, he has been building an extensive collection of video game-related material, with the goal of cataloguing, digitizing, and preserving the history of video games.

The nonprofit Foundation relies on donations to build its archives. “Thanks to your support, we have created a powerful tool for video game history research,” he said. “We can’t wait for you to get your first look at what we’ve been up to.”

In October, the VGHF criticized the US Copyright Office’s refusal to grant a waiver that would allow researchers to access out-of-print video games remotely.

The Software Preservation Network, supported by the VGHF, had asked the United States Copyright Office for a waiver allowing libraries and archives to provide remote digital access to video games, so researchers could access them. without having to visit their physical facilities.

To make these games accessible remotely, libraries and archives would have to break copy protection on games, but current anti-piracy rules in the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) prevent this.

The United States Copyright Office concluded that it would not grant a waiver under the DMCA, meaning remote access remains prohibited.