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Digitizing El Comercio’s pages with a Bookeye for the newspaper’s huge archive
“Our Historical Archive team has undertaken the titanic task of digitizing all the pages published in the newspaper. Using unique technology, we are digitizing all editions of “El Comercio” said Lilia Cordova Tabori of the newspaper El Comercio in Lima, Peru.
All of the past editions rest in the newspaper library, stacked on cedar shelves, starting with the first edition published on May 4, 1839. Wenceslaus Caldas and Oscar Saca are the keepers of this treasure. The archive team under the leadership of Sergio Sicheri, is made up of Carlos Battle, Briggitte Alva, Jean-Pierre Andonaire, Lilia Cordova, Marleny Lopez, Miguel Garcia and Carla Kennedy.
Digitization allows you to rediscover news of great historical and cultural importance like the war with Chile, scientific advances, discoveries, archeological sites such as of the Kuelap Fortress, occurred in 1843, and that today has been again News.
Image Access partner AyD Asociados took up the challenge and developed a unique technological solution providing the best readability and quality images possible. An exhaustive quality control, cropping images, renaming, consolidating information, and copying to the cloud and physical repositories ensures access through the institution’s online system. The daily goal is 12,000 pages comprising nine volumes. Production starts with image capture using a Bookeye 4 V1A from Image Access. Now, the Bookeye 5 V1A overhead book scanner has been fully redesigned and is ideal for projects like this with very demanding requirements. At the time of this publication, digitization was already finished through June 1979. Every month A&D generates between 200 thousand to 250 thousand pages. The project started in August of last year and it will be finished by October this year.
If the monumental “EL Comercio” archive disappeared, we would miss Peru’s greatest journalistic record. protect it and guarantee your preservation is vital. “Soon, the archive will be accessible to students and readers who can travel in time through our pages” noted Juan Aurelio Arevalo, Newspaper Director of El Comercio.
