In order to democratize the consultation of reading materials, the National Library is working on a project to scan journalistic media from Uruguay, from the 19th century and the first half of the 20th, the director, Valentín Trujillo, informed the Presidential Communication. The work is coordinated with the municipalities, the Directorates of Culture, the Congress of Mayors and the 116 public libraries that make up the national system.
Digitization will allow part of the collection of the dependency of the Ministry of Education and Culture, until now accessible only physically, to be consulted from anywhere in Uruguay through the internet, explained Trujillo, this Friday 27. This is a gradual process, not immediately, because it implies digitizing this historical and patrimonial material, in each department of the country, he specified.
The plan will make it possible to scan the archives corresponding to media outlets throughout the country, from the 19th century and the first half of the 20th. For this, the authorities of the institution coordinate actions with the departmental governments, both through the Congress of Mayors and the departmental directorates of Culture, and the services that make up the National System of Public Libraries.
Trujillo pointed out that, for this year, six books will also be published by hand, with special paper and wood and iron ink. The work will be carried out in La Galatea, the printing press that belonged to the married couple of writers José Pedro Díaz and Amanda Berenguer and was fully restored. In operation since 1944, the main creations of the members of the generation of ’45 were printed here.
The director recalled that, within the framework of Book Day, a card was printed on the old machine with a phrase by José Gervasio Artigas, referring to the importance of the library and the freedom of citizens, how reading and books directly influence the freedoms of the republics and represent a struggle against tyranny.
In addition, he reported that access to some 5,000 books was released on the day, as a way to promote the consultation of these materials throughout the national territory. Presidency
