Papiamento digital preservation is expanding through Coleccion Aruba, which brings books, newspapers, manuscripts, recordings and other historical material together online for people in Aruba and abroad.
Digital access supports research and education
Aruba parliamentarian Xiomara Maduro highlighted an article by Peter Scholing of the National Library of Aruba in the Internet Archive publication Vanishing Culture: A Report on Our Fragile Cultural Record. The article explains how cooperation between Aruba’s heritage community and the Internet Archive helps preserve local material and make it searchable. Text-search technology can help readers locate words and phrases in historical documents, creating new opportunities for research and education.
Coleccion Aruba grew from institutional cooperation
The initiative began with digitization work at the National Library of Aruba and expanded its collaboration with the Internet Archive during the pandemic. In October 2022, the National Archives of Aruba, the National Library and UNOCA signed an agreement to work together on digitizing the island’s history, culture and heritage. The Coleccion Aruba portal officially launched on September 28, 2023, and additional institutions have since joined.
Aruba’s preservation work gained international recognition
Coleccion Aruba received the Internet Archive Hero Award in 2024 for its work preserving and opening access to Aruba’s cultural heritage. Keeping Papiamento material available online helps the language continue to be read, studied, researched and shared with future generations.
Source: Diario.
