Challenges

The volume, encompassing 7.4 million pages, requires an industrial digitisation process, but one which can be adapted to the nature of each collection.

The variety of the documents dictates the flexibility required:
 

• Various newspapers (local papers, weeklies, etc.)
• Varying document formats (tabloid, broadsheet, etc.)
• Different levels of document preservation

Heritage Auditing: a vital step

Defining the project outline: Comprehensive Audit & Planning

An audit of the collections was required before starting the project to understand its scope and the issues.

Laurent Bidet, a digitisation expert at Arkhênum, undertook a month-long evaluation of the collections to create an inventory. This included:

• Analysing the condition of the documents and validating of the metrics (ml, etc.)
• Confirming the relevant chronological milestones
• Analysing the structure of the collections (changes to the model, number of columns, etc.)
• Assessing the feasibility of an on-site digitisation for the relevant papers

The audit report highlighted areas where precautions should be taken and primarily served as a foundation for planning and executing the project. Some collections were identified as “non-digitisable” (containing cut or creased text, bindings, inserts , etc.), making digitisation impossible. In such cases, Arkhênum contacted institutions (departmental archives, for example) with similar collections.

17 newspapers digitised

7.4 million pages to be digitised and processed

This digitisation project includes 17 newspapers, from regional dailies (such as Le Télégramme, La Provence, la Dépêche du Midi, La Manche Libre and Midi Olympique) to weeklies and specialist national magazines (Paris Match, l’Express, Charlie Hebdo, l’Histoire, Historia and Les Inrockuptibles).
Durant les 3 années du projet, 1 directeur de projet, 2 chefs de projet et 12 opérateurs vont assurer au sein d’Arkhênum le pilotage, la production et le contrôle des images numériques.

Throughout the three-year project, a project director, two project managers and 12 operators from Arkhênum will direct, produce and monitor the digital images.

The project stakeholders required that independent production sites be established in depositories: Morlaix  (Le Télégramme), Toulouse (La Dépêche du Midi), Saint Lô (La Manche Libre) and Marseille (La Provence). Arkhênum employed its expertise, setting up independent digitisation workshops and hiring and training of in-situ operators.

The remaining newspapers were digitised at Arkhênum’s permanent facilities. To ensure the uniformity of the generated digital images, a rigorous protocol was drawn up with the BnF: calibration, framing, colorimetry, etc.

The Production Department at Arkhênum, represented by Sigrid Haro, is responsible for the smooth operation of the workshops.

Newspaper archives: from digitisation to preservation and commercial promotion

The newspaper publishers’ archives will gradually transition to the BnF, which will conserve them in its long-term preservation department (SPAR) and promote their contents in its reading rooms via Gallica intra muros.

Millions of newspaper pages will be made accessible simultaneously via a service platform devised by BnF-Partenariats. This is a new and rich source of information and documentation for numerous target audiences. Publishers collaborating with BnF-Partenariats can extend their subscriptions and develop products based on unseen archives. This allows BnF-Partenariats to offer viewing licences to third parties, such as schools, universities, research centres, and so forth.

Production started in late 2023 and the platform will be available from 2024 based on services and terms and conditions adapted for any publisher. The newspaper publishers partnering with the project are among the platform’s first clients.

BnF-P sales contact: Yoann Gantch