Abstract

GALINA RUSSELL, Isabel et al. Mexico’s National Digital Newspaper Library, its History and Scope as a Source for Digital Projects. Relac. Estud. hist. soc. [online]. 2020, vol.41, n.163, pp.200-219.  Epub June 18, 2021. ISSN 2448-7554.  https://doi.org/10.24901/rehs.v41i163.707.

Mexico’s National Digital Newspaper Library (Hemeroteca Nacional Digital de México, HNDM) is a pioneering digital collection in the country. This article presents a reconstruction of the history of this institution based on oral and written testimonies in order to elucidate its origins, its relation to published collections, the series of decisions -technical and archival- that determined its current composition and functioning and, on this basis, better understand the nature of the Library and its limitations as a source for current and future digital projects. Few studies have critically analyzed how digitalized archives are constituted. Moreover, generally speaking, the digital version of documents is used simply as a substitute for the original, physical version. Following Cordell (2017), however, we argue that it is necessary to reflect upon how computers, databases, interfaces, and algorithms, to mention only a few key aspects, add imperceptible interpretative layers that mediate our relation to the object of study.

Keywords : Digitalization; digital humanities; digital hemerographies; hemerographic sources; Hemeroteca Nacional de México.

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