Innovative research
Newspapers are an essential source of information. This is true for today's newspaper, but perhaps even more so for yesterday's. Thanks to the digitization of newspapers, this contemporary heritage is preserved. At the same time, digitization opens up prospects for innovative research. The newspapers will be searchable using Optical Character Recognition, an application that allows searching the digitized files for specific words and search terms. This allows for quantitative or lexicographical research, something that was previously extremely time-consuming or simply impossible.
Vulnerable heritage
Heritage institutions do everything they can to protect their newspapers from the ravages of time. Unfortunately, they're not printed on the best paper. After all, a newspaper doesn't need to last the reader longer than a day. However, the poor paper quality is a disaster for long-term preservation: old newspapers sometimes literally fall apart into shreds. Digitization ensures that information is preserved. The news of the past offers insights for those who want to understand how our society has evolved.
A legendary newspaper
After the First World War, Vooruit evolved from a socialist mouthpiece into a broad, popular newspaper with a diverse range of columns. The names of some of its editors still capture the imagination: writer Louis-Paul Boon, art critic Paul-Gustave Van Hecke, house illustrator Frits Van den Berghe… Vooruit is not only a rich historical source for political and socio-economic history, but also for cultural history and that of everyday life.
Carried by a community
It's no wonder that heritage communities feel a strong connection to their own past. For many generations, the Vooruit newspaper in Ghent, and by extension in Flanders, was not only a daily source of information but also a guide that provided context and meaning to current events. Amsab-ISG successfully approached this community for funding for this digitization project.
