HOW TO MAKE A NEWSPAPER LIBRARY IN 7 STEPS (FOR CHILDREN AND ADULTS) - DUDAS - 2025

Learning how to make a newspaper library is important for students or adults who have many physical or digital files and who have to find some way to organize them.

The method used to make a newspaper library was to keep printed copies in a drawer, box or on a shelf. In recent years it has gone from being a physical archive to becoming a virtual space, a digital repository of periodicals.

This new form of storage considerably reduces the search time for a particular publication, as well as the amount of paper that is kept both in the offices of the newspapers and magazines, and in libraries. Less paper stored, less space required. This article refers to a digital newspaper library.

However, there are still physical newspaper libraries because they are still useful. In case you need to create one like this, the crucial thing is that the space is adequate both in terms of size and in terms of “environmental” conditions since the humidity level should be as close as possible at 0%.

Similarly, you should take care of lighting and ventilation because over the years, these elements degrade the paper and can affect the content.

Another advantage is that, in this format, the information can be placed on a website. They are found in libraries, educational centers. Today, there are also government newspaper libraries.

A newspaper library becomes a source of historical and organized information that can be useful in documentary investigations of a journalistic or even scientific nature. The information found there allows you to look back at large events at a given time.

For this reason, it is important that one of the fundamental criteria when preparing the file is the ease of access to information. A user should find what they are looking for quickly and easily.

You may also be interested in knowing the 20 most important left and right newspapers, which will be very useful for your collection.

Steps to create your own newspaper library

1- Select the publications

This step seems obvious, but it is the basis of the process since it will determine the type of newspaper library that is being discussed as well as the quality and age of the information that will be found in it.

Ideally, there will be material with a minimum of three years of continuous publication, but this is not a sine qua non rule.

In the case of including subscription publications, it is important to make the respective renewals when appropriate and to keep a written control of the expiration dates of such subscriptions.

2- Digitize the data

As in most cases, in digitization, investment in processes and equipment equates to higher quality in the result, that is, to high-quality images.

Investing in state-of-the-art scanning equipment (eg A0 color scanners that can scan pages up to one square meter) will result in very high quality digital images.

Attention must also be paid to the scanning process in order to be as efficient as possible and to include quality controls throughout the process.

This will achieve better results in less time and without the need to repeat the work.

3- Organize the information

Although the chronological order seems to be the most convenient and, in fact, it is the most common, a newspaper library may obey another organizational system. The important thing is that the information is easy to search and find.

Generally, posts are sorted alphabetically by title and then by date. That is, there is a hierarchy of organization according to which the first thing is to order them alphabetically, then, within each publication title, it is ordered chronologically.

It should be noted that initial definite articles are not considered in literacy (in Spanish: el, la, los, las; in English: the; in French: l ', le, la, les; in Portuguese: o, a, os, as; in Italian: il, lo, gli, gl, la, le, l '; in German: das, die).

4- Create an index

Once newspapers are digitized, systems such as Optical Character Recognition (OCR) technology make it possible to "read" the pages and create a text version of what is on the page.

This information is entered into the web search system and the user can then search for billions of words in a matter of seconds.

5- Develop the space on the web

Once the information has been selected, digitized and organized, it is time to make it available to the public in chronological order, from the most recent to the oldest. It is important to include a search filter that is as optimal and easy to use as possible.

Adding information of interest constantly will make your site easy to locate in different Internet search engines. The inclusion of zoom images of the consulted pages also contributes to this objective.

6- Advice on project management

If the newspaper library is institutional, a project manager must be selected who should have sufficient authority to make the decisions that are necessary at the time of selecting, digitizing, safeguarding and sharing the information.

7- Council on the management of resources

Storing information in the cloud or on a server is also an important decision.

In any case, you should have a backup of the complete file to avoid losses in case of technical failures. Digital data is no more secure than the server or servers where it is kept.

If you do not have a large enough server, it is best to do a physical backup of the data. You should also choose keywords and a database that facilitates the search.

After deciding whether it is open or restricted information, you must choose secure keys to manage access.

At this point, you need to emphasize that users should be able to read and search files easily, from wherever you are. Information that the user cannot reach is useless.

You also have to consider the costs related to digitizing your data, as well as keeping it safe, accessible and constantly updated.

Although it is likely to find grants for the initial phase of the project, the challenge is to find them for day-to-day operations.

Likewise, it is necessary to consider the access and loan policies when talking about a physical file or when it is a virtual file with restricted access. However, the current trend is for it to be open data and free access.

Again, for a newspaper library to be useful, the quality of information collected in terms of content and image fidelity must be taken into account, but above all its usability. Therefore, the main effort should be focused on organizing the information as clearly as possible.

As an example, mention may be made of the International Newspaper Coalition (ICON), an international newspaper digitization project that aims to preserve and improve access to newspapers around the world.

References

1. British Newspaper Archive (s / f). How we digitize millions of historic newspaper pages and make them searchable online. Recovered from: britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk.
2. Lambert, Troy (2017). Creating a Digital Archive: It's Harder Than You Think. Recovered from: publiclibrariesonline.org.
3. Miquel, Matías (s / f). How to make a newspaper library. Recovered from: grupopedia.com.
4. Sánchez Toro, Saúl (2008). Procedures manual for a newspaper library. Recovered from: ayudabibliotecarias.blogspot.com.