DOCUMENTARY HERITAGE AND SOCIAL MEMORY

INFORMATION ORGANIZATION AND MEDIATION PROCESSES OF THE HISTORICAL NEWSPAPER COLLECTION OF AREIA/PB

Abstract

Historical newspapers constitute important documentary heritage, capable of preserving collective experiences, cultural identities, and historical processes of different communities. In this context, this study analyzes the processes of identification, selection, organization, and contextualization of historical newspapers mobilized in the development of the exhibition Areia em Papel e Memória, based on the collection preserved by the Francisco Tancredo Torres Library. The study aimed to understand how information organization and mediation processes contributed to the construction of social memory narratives about the city of Areia, Paraíba, Brazil. Methodologically, the research is characterized as qualitative, documentary, and descriptive, based on the survey, analysis, and thematic representation of newspapers published between the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. The procedures involved mapping the titles in the collection, documentary analysis of the selected editions, definition of thematic categories, organization of the contents, and their contextualization for exhibition mediation purposes. The results showed that information organization played a central role in transforming historical newspapers into devices for the mediation of social memory, enabling the construction of narratives related to the abolition of slavery, historical heritage, local culture, education, and social participation. It is concluded that the articulation between documentary preservation, information organization, and mediation strengthens the role of university libraries as memory institutions and expands opportunities for access to, appreciation of, and social appropriation of documentary heritage.