QUADERNS ISSN (online): 2014-2242 / www.cac.cat DEL CAC The Communication Library and General Newspaper Archives (UAB): Fifty years of public service supporting teaching and research Marta Civil i Serra Marta Rial Pan Superior Technique of the Communication Library and General Librarian of the Communication Library and General Newspaper Newspaper Archives. Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB) Archives of the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB) Marta.Civil@uab.cat Marta.Rial@uab.cat ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7288-4998 ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0001-8044-0844 Teresa Santos Prados Manager of the collection of the Communication Library and General Newspaper Archives of the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB) Teresa.Santos@uab.cat Paper received on 2 July 2023 and accepted on 9 October 2023 How to cite: Civil i Serra, M., Rial Pan, M. & Santos Prados, T. (2023). The Communication Library and General Newspaper Archives (UAB): Fifty years of public service supporting teaching and research. Quaderns del CAC, 49, 25-34. doi: https://doi.org/10.34810/qcac49id420785 Abstract Resum The Communication Library and General Newspaper Archives La Biblioteca de Comunicació i Hemeroteca General de la at the Universtat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB), founded 50 Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB), nascuda fa 50 years ago and closely tied to the Faculty of Communication anys i estretament vinculada a la Facultat de Ciències de la Studies (UAB) —the longest-standing communication studies Comunicació (UAB) —degana dels estudis de comunicació a programme in Catalonia— has evolved to become a key actor Catalunya—, ha evolucionat com a actor actiu per als estudiants, for students, teachers, researchers and journalists, and for so- docents, investigadors, periodistes i la societat en general, al ciety in general, keeping apace with digitalisation. compàs de la digitalització. This article sets out to further explore the evolution of this L’article que presentem es proposa d’aprofundir en l’evo- facility and the knowledge in its collections, both of which have lució d’aquest equipament i en el coneixement de les seves made it a benchmark in the arena of university libraries and col·leccions, que l’han convertit en un referent en l’àmbit de in support for teaching and scholarly research specialising in les biblioteques universitàries i també en matèria de suport a communication. The quality and uniqueness of the holdings l’ensenyament i a la recerca científica especialitzada en comu- also provide a glimpse into a time period and a country. nicació. La qualitat i la singularitat dels seus fons ens permeten, al mateix temps, entendre la història d’una època i d’un país. Keywords University libraries, communication research, communication Paraules clau training, critical thinking, digital humanities, innovation. Biblioteques universitàries, recerca en comunicació, formació en comunicació, pensament crític, humanitats digitals, innovació. 1. Introduction that guarantees the preservation of the collection in optimal environmental conditions. University libraries have also been University libraries have traditionally been affiliated with higher a source for the development of scholarly research and journal education institutions and have unique features based on the articles and support for teachers and curricula, with a direct merger of three fundamental elements: a specialised human impact not only during bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral team to serve and support the wide array of users, unique programmes but also in training and lifelong learning. bibliographic and document collections that allow information The purpose of this article is to study the Communication to be transformed into knowledge, and a specific facility Library and General Newspaper Archives (UAB), which 25 Quaderns del CAC 49 - October 2023 (25-34) The Communication Library and General Newspaper Archives (UAB): Fifty years of public service M. Civil and Serra et al. has become a true driving force, impetus and support for At a second level, we drew from primary sources, with six research, development, transfer and innovation in the field of personal interviews with professionals associated with the communication studies in its first 50 years of existence (1972- history of the Communication Library and General Newspaper 2022). Archives. Even though providing an in-depth definition of the concept We first interviewed Miquel de Moragas i Spà, emeritus chair of communication studies would be the purpose of another of the Department of Media, Communication and Culture article, we can note that by communication studies we (UAB), founder of the Faculty of Communication Studies, the mean the set of scholarly disciplines associated with the Communication Library and the then called General Newspaper social sciences that study and analyse the phenomenon of Archives (UAB), dean of the faculty (1978-1980 and 1982- communication in a broad sense, from social communication to 1984) and vice-rector of research (UAB) (1985-1989). He was journalism, including the history of communication, institutional also the founder and first director of the Olympic Study Centre communication, marketing, advertising, public relations, (CEO-UAB) (1988-2009) and the Institute of Communication audiovisual communication, cinema, the media, communication (InCom-UAB) (1997-2009), two institutions with permanent policy and the communication economy, just to mention some partnerships with the Communication Library and General examples. Newspaper Archives. He donated his personal collection to this Over the years, interdisciplinarity and the furtherance of the library in 2019. digital transformation have also made its purview of expand to We also interviewed Enric Marín, current dean of the Faculty other subjects which may originally seem more closely related of Communication Studies (UAB) and secretary-general of the to engineering and computer science, like the information and Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona from 1998-2002; Jaume communication technologies, videogames and, more recently, Soriano, coordinator of Communication Library and General artificial intelligence. However, they also have a component that Newspaper Archives (UAB); Tomàs Fabregat, head of the indisputably links them to social communication. Communication Library and General Newspaper Archives; Oskar The research we are presenting in this article has a twofold Hernández-Pérez, manager of the General Newspaper Archives objective: to analyse the change that this university library (UAB); and Martín Becerra, professor at the Universidad has spearheaded as a public facility open to society which is Nacional de Quilmes (Argentina), who has contributed his evolving to adapt the needs of its contemporary target users, experience as a library user while pursuing his predoctoral and to present its document holdings and study their most training at the UAB in the late 1990s. We have also consulted salient features. secondary sources (bibliographies and periodicals documents), Regarding the collections, the mainstays are the teaching which are listed in the references section. and learning support materials. Via coordination between To develop this article, we have organised the text into four the faculty and the library’s human team, all the publications main sections. The first section examines the background needed for the classes taught in the faculty are added to the and historical context that enabled this public university, a library’s collection. This is a deliberate institutional focus to pioneer in Catalonia, to be created. The second focuses on the offer students equal opportunities. main collections in the Communication Library and General This basic collection more geared towards teaching and Newspaper Archives (UAB). Next, the third section focuses on learning is complemented and enriched with the special the evolution of this facility as a library open to users. Finally, collections from institutional or personal donations, documents the fourth section, which contains the conclusions, strives to that enable us to preserve and disseminate the history and detect the main future challenges in a changing environment culture. Their prime value is their uniqueness. where university libraries are becoming meeting points yet Both of them are tools that allow users to better specialise, may also be sites that facilitate innovative training and service cross-check information and gain the knowledge and skills learning.1 needed to learn how to be critical with information, both to develop properly during university education and for students’ future professional lives 2. Background and historical context In order to tackle the subject of this study, we first took into account the complete collection of the Communication Library The Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB) was founded and General Newspaper Archives (UAB), to which we have on 6 June 1968 within a social context of constant upheaval access because of the authors’ employment relationship with it. marked by the onset of the late Franco regime and the yearnings In July 2023, this complete collection was comprised of for freedom and democracy spearheaded by intellectuals and 138,016 books, 17,547 doctoral theses and research projects, university students, who were acting against the stream, seeking 29,263 audiovisual and graphic documents and 18,878 open spaces that had no censorship while also seeking to avoid periodical publications and communication journals, in addition ideological control, the constraints placed by the regime and to the collection of digital documents, which is constantly the influence exerted by the Church at different levels of the growing (Servei de Biblioteques UAB, 2023). education system. 26 Quaderns del CAC 49 - October 2023 M. Civil and Serra et al. The Communication Library and General Newspaper Archives (UAB): Fifty years of public service Based on the organisation of the first four faculties (Humanities, recalls Miquel de Moragas i Spà, founder of the Faculty of Medicine, Sciences and Economic Sciences), which had been Communication Studies (UAB) and the Communication Library operating since academic year 1968-1969, the UAB gradually and General Newspaper Archives (UAB). In his opinion, one of added new official university degrees to the programmes offered the most salient aspects was the possibility of creating a regular by its faculties, first with programmes offered at different sites and a newspaper library from scratch and to use scientific and in Barcelona and later by moving the campus to Bellaterra, in scholarly criteria to decide what publications to purchase in Cerdanyola del Vallès, which would mark the identity of this new order to gradually lay its foundations with the goal of being able public university that took root outside the urban environment. to guarantee and maintain entire collections over time (Moragas i Spà, 2023). 2.1 The Communication Library and General Newspaper The first book purchased for the Communication Library was Archives (UAB), a space to foster specialised research El espíritu del tiempo by Edgar Morin, a volume that analyses With the founding of the Faculty of Information Sciences (UAB) in mass media and culture written by one of the founders of academic year 1971-1972, the bachelor’s degree in Journalism interdisciplinary communication studies. In the opinion of was launched, which became an official university degree for Miquel de Moragas i Spà, the choice of this book per se entailed the first time thanks to Decree 2478/1971 of Spain’s Ministry a reflection and an academic decision, because it was ‘viewed of Education and Science (BOE, 16-10-1971). In practice, this poorly at that time by more academic, official sociology’. new programme prompted the gradual disappearance of the Regarding newspapers, ‘the job was to go to a newsstand on programmes that had been offered by the School of Journalism [Barcelona’s] La Rambla every morning and buy the daily press of the Church at the Institució Cultural del Centre d’Influència for the Newspaper Archives: the Barcelona newspapers and Le Catòlica since 1964.2 Monde, the International Herald Tribune and The Times, among One year later, in 1972, the Communication Library and others. These copies which were bound are part of the current Newspaper Archives was founded, along with the bachelor’s holdings of this large periodicals library at the UAB’ (Moragas degree in Advertising in the same faculty. It had initially been i Spà, 2010). housed on Carrer de les Egipcíaques in Barcelona (behind the The diversity of journalistic genres was one of the key factors Library of Catalonia and the Institute of Catalan Studies in that helps us to understand the quality and current value of Raval neighbourhood), but it moved to the Bellaterra campus the Library and Newspaper Archives today compared to in academic year 1972-1973 (Moragas i Spà, 1992 and 2021) other university communication libraries. ‘Even though it may It was an opportunity design with a new public university have seemed strange at first, publications beyond general which sought to exist in a democracy, a plural university with newspapers and scholarly journals were added, like specialised its sights set on Europe, especially on the educational models gossip, travel, automotive magazines and the local and regional of French, German, British and Italian universities, as well as press. They are fields where the materials may not be consulted those on the other side of the Atlantic, especially in Colombia, as much, but thanks to the efforts to define the collection at that Mexico, Brazil, Argentine and Chile. time, they have been conserved. And I should say that because In the field of research, there was also a desire to learn from it has these holdings, [doctoral] theses on gossip magazines benchmark research centres like the International Centre for and the local press have been defended at the UAB over the Higher Communication Studies for Latin America (CIESPAL) years’ (Tomàs Fabregat, head of the Communication Library created in Quito (Ecuador) in 1959 by the United Nations and General Newspaper Archives (UAB), in Civil i Serra, 2020). Organization for Education, Science and Culture (UNESCO). This While laboratories filled with test tubes are the field of centre became a model worth following due to its research on experimentation for researchers in medicine, chemistry or mass communication, its impact on local regional development physics, ‘libraries were the laboratory for making scientific and its efforts to build bridges between the practical knowledge policy of researchers in the humanities and social sciences’ of professional journalists and the theoretical and academic (Moragas i Spà, 2019). Thus, the Communication Library and output of professors and researchers. The connections General Newspaper Archives (UAB) was a major touchstone, with members of academic associations also fostered the especially for Latin American researchers, who would visit international outreach of the Faculty of Information Sciences at temporarily or do research stays on campus and spend part the UAB and, by extension, its Library and Newspaper Archives, of their time researching in the reference room. ‘In contrast, from the very beginning. European researchers had other theoretical influences and The possibility of students doing curricular internships in the access to European publishing trends in Paris and Milan. But Newspaper Archives was a chance for them to gain professional I don’t recall having been in any university library in Europe— experience at a time when there were more students than not even in the one in Lugano (Switzerland)—that has a Latin- means of doing internships. European collection like ours, because the other European The Newspaper Archive was launched as an auxiliary service university libraries only contained European works and perhaps for the journalistic practice that the bachelor’s students were works from North America, but only some of them’ (Moragas i doing, and this allowed it to grow in different journalistic genres’, Spà, 2023). 27 Quaderns del CAC 49 - October 2023 The Communication Library and General Newspaper Archives (UAB): Fifty years of public service M. Civil and Serra et al. Between 1972 and 1987, the Communication Library and 2.2 The strategic bid for a new building and new name the then called Newspaper Archives (UAB) was housed in the In 1998, construction began on the new library building in Faculty of Law, initially on the first floor and later on the ground Plaça Cívica, which opened at its new site on 8 April 2002 floor. In 1987 they were moved to the basement of the new thanks to the strategic efforts of the UAB’s governing team to Faculty of Information Sciences building, a facility that also merge three iconic facilities: the Communication Library, the included classrooms, laboratories (for writing practice) and General Newspaper Archives and the General Library. radio and television sets. In 1994, its name was changed to The new building needed a name, and at the meeting of the the Faculty of Communication Studies (Berrio, 1997; Moragas governing team, the then-secretary general and current dean i Spà, 2021). of the Faculty of Communication Studies (UAB), Enric Marín, The training of journalists in the 1970s and 1980s entailed helped to come up with a solution, with a clear proposal: ‘without the consolidation of a professional journalistic and academic a doubt, what we have here is the Communication Library and model that was comparable to other professional fields within General Newspaper Archives; therefore, this should be its new the social sciences and humanities which already had prior name’ (Marín, 2023). ‘The desire to turn the current building in university recognition, like law, political science, economics, Plaça Cívica into the General Library in 1999 would have been history and philology. an irreparable mistake’ (Perona Páez, 2010). Therefore, seen Within this university context, the Faculty of Information from hindsight, this particular definition of the name has been Sciences (UAB) was the only faculty that offered a university one of the assets that has assisted in the international outreach degree in communication in Catalonia (Journalism since 1971- of this scholarly facility in teaching and research. 1972 and Advertising since 1972-1973, which 20 years later After this historic juncture, with the move to its new site, the were renamed Advertising and Public Relations). Starting in holdings of the Communication Library and General Newspaper academic year 1992-1993, the UAB expanded its offerings to Archives (UAB) came to include the local collection, the reserve include an Audiovisual Communication programme, the same collection and the doctoral theses from the entire campus as year that Universitat Pompeu Fabra started offering its three long as they were published on paper. classic degrees in Journalism, Audiovisual Communication and The new facility also houses the headquarters of the Library Advertising and Public Relations.3 Service (UAB) and three research centres: the Document Centre This was a historic moment when there were institutional on Communication (CEDOC), part of the library’s own structure; efforts to create a unified communication library in Catalonia the Institute of Communication (InCom-UAB); and the Olympic among all the universities. However, this did not come to Study Centre (CEO-UAB), which became the Sport Research fruition, as Universitat Pompeu Fabra and other universities Institute (IRE-UAB) in 2018.4 after it wanted to create their own libraries, so this idea became The turn of the twenty-first century came with new habits a failed attempt, as Miquel de Moragas i Spà (2023) recalls. that forced the Communication Library and General Newspaper Getting back to the educational programmes offered at the Archives (UAB) to adapt to new environments, with the digital UAB, it is noteworthy that the Faculty of Communication transformation which enabled it to expand open-access to the Studies also started offering the second-cycle programmes documentation available until then. It was also headed towards in the bachelor’s degree in Documentation in academic year a new structural change in education and research as Spain 1999-2000 for a specific ten-year period. joined of the European Higher Education Area (EHEA) and the After joining the European Higher Education Area (EHEA) in European Research Area (ERA), which entered into force in 2010, the faculty made the transition to turn the three degrees 2010. into European bachelor’s degrees in Journalism, Audiovisual In the field of research, the Budapest Open Access Initiative Communication and Advertising and Public Relations, and in promoted by the Open Society Institute in December 2001 academic year 2019-2020 it expanded its offerings with the pushed to accelerate the international efforts for open access bachelor’s in Interactive Communication and Communication in on the Internet, which the European Commission had adopted Organisations. as a priority. However, the growing book and periodicals collection at the Communication Library and General Newspaper Archives 2.3 The avenues of work of the Communication Library (UAB) had prompted a new need on campus in the mid-1990s: and General Newspaper Archives (UAB), a public service the space set aside for the Library and Newspaper Archives open to society was becoming too small and daily practice made it essential As an integral member of the Library Service (UAB),5 the to create a new building that would meet the library’s needs, Communication Library and General Newspaper Archives (UAB) thinking not only about the present but more important about participates in its seven main lines of work. the future. This request was defended and approved as one First, it processes, conserves and disseminates the UAB’s of the priority lines of action of professor Carles Solàs’s team book and document holdings in order to serve the university’s during his first mandate as the rector of the UAB (1994-1998). teaching, research and innovation needs. Secondly, it organises 28 Quaderns del CAC 49 - October 2023 M. Civil and Serra et al. The Communication Library and General Newspaper Archives (UAB): Fifty years of public service activities and promotes the dissemination of its holdings and are the following (the description includes the address where services (bibliographic exhibitions, training courses for users, they can be consulted, whenever possible): new acquisitions, user guides, etc.). Thirdly, it partners with • Marca Collection: Primarily Catalan magazines on artistic teaching projects and innovation strategies. Fourthly, it and literary topics (1805-1960) (https://bit.ly/3PJZRQ2). optimises support for research accreditation and assessment, • Local UAB Collection: Documents published by the an essential task for teaching and research staff who want Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona since it was created to consolidate their professional academic careers. Fifthly, it (1968-today). promotes implementation of Open Science and Open Data. • UAB Theses: Theses read at the university since it was Sixthly, it contributes to the visibility of the UAB’s entire body created, initially on paper and currently digital (https://ddd. of scholarly output. And seventhly, it promotes the community’s uab.cat/collection/tesis). ability to efficiently and ethically use information, which enables • Daniel Jones Collection: Books, magazines and thematic users to be trained in media literacy and know how to be critical dossiers on communication compiled by Dr Daniel Jones in the consumption of the information they receive. (1950-2007), a professor in the Faculty of Communication Studies (UAB) and the Faculty of Communication and International Relations-Blanquerna (Universitat Ramon 3. Special collections in the Communication Library and Llull) and an expert researcher in communication structure General Newspaper Archives (UAB) and policies (https://bit.ly/46gvEz7). • Joaquim Romaguera Collection: Books, magazines and Special collections and holdings are prized resources for libraries thematic dossiers on cinema compiled by the writer, film and contribute significant added value to users’ research and critic and researcher Joaquim Romaguera (1941-2006) learning experiences. They afford a unique perspective on (https://bit.ly/3RFqJ6x). history, culture and society and are useful tools for teaching, • Miquel de Moragas i Spà Collection: Books, magazines, learning and research. Furthermore, the management, thematic dossiers, manuscripts and personal and conservation and dissemination of these materials helps to professional documentation of professor Miquel de Moragas protect the cultural heritage for future generations (Santos, i Spà (Barcelona, 1943), the driving force behind the Faculty 2010; Farré Fiol & Gómez Escofet, 2013; Calvet Renedo, 2011; of Communication Studies (UAB) and the Communication Camps i Miró, 1998). Library and General Newspaper Archives (UAB). Some of the features of these special collections are: • Ràdio Barcelona Scripts: Radio scripts with the daily 1. Exclusive content: Special collections tend to include programming of Barcelona’s EAJ-1 Radio España station, unique materials that cannot be found in other libraries: later called Radio Barcelona (1925-1958) (https://bit. manuscripts, historical documents, photographs, maps, ly/46ACGhX). drawings or personal collections with archival materials that • Radioteatro Scripts: Scripts of radio plays broadcast in the afford a unique perspective on history, culture and society Radioteatro programme of Ràdio Barcelona, directed by and enable us to trace people’s lives and activities. Armand Blanch (19??-1981). 2. Specialised research: Special collections are particularly • Fanzine Collection: Self-published publications made with useful for specialised research. Researchers find specific few resources. Even though some fanzines were produced materials there which allow them to more deeply explore individually, the bulk of the collection is comprised of a topic and discover details that would not be available collectively authored works. The contents are heterogeneous, otherwise. This can be particularly important for areas of but they share the fact that they address phenomena and research that require access to original materials. bring visibility to actors that do not appear in other media 3. Teaching and learning: Special collections are also from the same period. invaluable tools for teaching and learning. Professors can • Mallorquí Collection: Creative work and professional and use materials from these collections to improve their classes personal documentation of the writer, scriptwriter and and offer their students a richer and more comprehensive translator José Mallorquí (1913-1972). learning experience. • Olympic Study Centre (UAB) Collection: Specialised 4. Preservation of the cultural heritage: Libraries that house documentation on the 1992 Barcelona Olympics and the special collections also play an important role in preserving impact of the Olympics on society (study of the ceremonies the cultural heritage. These libraries strive to ensure that and coverage of the Olympics and their economic and urban the materials are conserved properly and will be available value to cities, among other topics). for future generations. By doing so, they contribute to protecting history and culture. Other noteworthy collections are still being internally processed and described include: Some of the most prominent collections that are part of the • Nova Cançó Collection: Documentation collected between Communication Library and General Newspaper Archives (UAB) the 1960s and 1980s by Josep Porter Moix, manager of 29 Quaderns del CAC 49 - October 2023 The Communication Library and General Newspaper Archives (UAB): Fifty years of public service M. Civil and Serra et al. this artistic and cultural protest movement, which promoted describing, preserving and disseminating sound fragments from the creation and dissemination of contemporary songs in Catalan and Spanish broadcasters on the radio bandwidths in Catalan during the Franco regime. Catalonia and the Catalan radio stations that distribute their • La Crida Archive Collection: Documents from La Crida a la contents on the Internet. Solidaritat en Defensa de la Llengua, la Cultura i la Nació Catalanes (The Call for Solidarity in Defence of the Catalan 3.1 The uniqueness of the CEDOC section pf the Language, Culture and Nation), a Catalanist movement that Communication Library and General Newspaper was founded in 1981 and dissolved in 1993. Archives (UAB) • La Voz de España Administrative Collection: Administrative The Document Centre on Communication (CEDOC) is a section documentation from the dubbing studio La Voz de España of the Communication Library and General Newspaper Archives (1936-2010). (UAB) specialising in compiling, classifying, conserving and disseminating documents and materials that analyse the All of these collections are connected to and complement each contemporary political situation in Catalonia and Spain. other, and they enable us to delve more deeply into the political, CEDOC was launched in 1973 by collecting the underground social or trade union movements of each period. For example, periodicals that were not open to consultation in the UAB li- the collection of radio scripts from Ràdio Barcelona helps us to braries. This undertaking was started by professor Eugeni Giral, hear and experience the history of the first half of the twentieth along with his collaborator Toni Estupiñà. The job of document- century, just like the Nova Cançó collection sheds light on a ing the media got underway at that time, fostered by the cen- cultural protest movement in the late Franco regime and the tre’s location in what was then Faculty of Information Sciences start of the transition to democracy. (UAB). This is why is was named the Document Centre on Com- Also worth noting is the added value provided by the Universitat munication (CEDOC), and today, this acronym recalls its origins. Autonòma de Barcelona’s (UAB) publications generated on The transition and attainment of democracy, with the onset campus, which are part of the holdings of the Communication of the activities of political parties, trade unions, platforms and Library and General Newspaper Archives (UAB). associations, led CEDOC towards the conservation, preservation On the occasion of the opening of the new building in and dissemination of the materials that these organisations 2002, professor Armand Balsebre reflected on the role this produced, which are often quite ephemeral. At the same time, university facility plays in preserving the heritage: ‘Deposited CEDOC has also worked on recovering the testimonies of the in the collections of the Library and Newspaper Archives is political activities of the Franco regime and the anti-Franco the legacy of our historical memory and scholarly knowledge movement as the forerunners of the transition and democracy of communication in the twentieth century, precisely a century (Giral, 2010). that today we describe, without rhetorical exaggerations, as the The most significant volume of documentation at CEDOC century of communication. It has to be protected, because it comes from the anti-Franco movements and is particularly contains part our ourselves, of us communication professors, valuable because it includes publications that originated students and researchers. This heritage value also dovetails underground. The documents compiled come from a variety with a value that is more symbolically important: by protecting of organisations: political parties, trade unions, neighbourhood the conservation and growth of the document collections associations, nongovernmental organisations, municipal entities of the Library and Newspaper Archives, the hallmark of our and all types of social movements. identity as researchers who process information, accumulate CEDOC is the home to more than 45,000 documents. By knowledge and then redistribute it to society (through teaching, volume, books are the most common (more than 21,000), publications, scholarly conferences, everyday contact with the along with periodicals (more than 9,000) and paper posters media), we are also protecting the source of the knowledge that (more than 15,000), although it also includes other types of reaches our society’ (Balsebre, 2002). materials like brochures and stickers. The digital preservation efforts and its associated learning Noteworthy among the periodicals is the collection of Catalan in the field of the humanities led the Universitat Autònoma political press, most of it from the Franco era and the 1960s de Barcelona (UAB) to create a Digital Humanities network in and 1970s. Part of this collection is digitalised and can be 2016, a sub-network of the Cultural Heritage CORE (Community consulted online in the Digital Repository of Documents (DDD- Oriented at Special Challenges), with which the Communication UAB): https://ddd.uab.cat/collection/ppc. Library and General Newspaper Archives (UAB) shares an area The Viladot Collection, which contains anti-Franco press of interest. compiled by the journalist Albert Viladot (1954-1993), is a very One outstanding example of the library’s work in the field of important part of this periodicals collection (Culla, 1993). the digital humanities is the Radio Sound Archive of Catalonia Regarding the collection of political posters on paper, more project (https://arxiuradio.uab.cat), an initiative of the Institute of than 6,000 documents have been catalogued and digitalised Communication (InCom-UAB) and the Communication Library and can be consulted online at the Digital Repository of and General Newspaper Archives (UAB) geared at compiling, Documents (DDD-UAB): https://ddd.uab.cat/collection/carpol. 30 Quaderns del CAC 49 - October 2023 M. Civil and Serra et al. The Communication Library and General Newspaper Archives (UAB): Fifty years of public service This collection is one of CEDOC’s most important ones and Similarly, Oskar Hernández-Pérez, manager of the General primarily reflects the political activities during the years of Newspaper Archives (UAB), believes that ‘the transformation Spain’s transition to democracy. It contains election propaganda of spaces fosters collective cocreation; in this way, the Library from the different elections (European, Spanish, regional and and General Newspaper Archives make the collections available local) and advertisements from political parties, trade unions to users so they can participate in codesigning new uses of our and civil society organisations. holdings. After all, the spaces themselves are not transformative: The collection of political posters is a living collection that they have to be defined and the community that inhabits them continues to grow today, albeit with newer methodologies, given has to feel like they are theirs’ (Hernández-Pérez, 2023). that nowadays political posters are native digital documents and In the opinion of the current coordinator of the Communication are compiled automatically via the capture of the publications Library and General Newspaper Archives (UAB), Jaume Soriano, of political parties on the social media. CEDOC is thus carrying ‘the Library’s main strength is the team of people who manage on its original mission of preserving and disseminating this the service, as well as the possibilities afforded by the space’. ephemeral documentation.6 Regarding the milestones achieved, he believes that one of the Other unique collections affiliated with CEDOC are books on most important ones is ‘the Library’s ability to agilely adapt to poster art, Western Sahara and the Basque Country, along with the changes in the science system in recent years, especially political stickers (https://ddd.uab.cat/collection/adhpol) and the the addition of digital scholarly literature and services published archives of organisations such as the Socialist Party of National open-source’. The challenges still facing the library include the Liberation (PSAN) (https://ddd.uab.cat/record/168400) and optimisation of the periodical collections and the steps started the Party of Labour of Spain/Catalonia (PTE in Spanish, PTC in to expand the collection with the hardware and software that Catalonia) (https://ddd.uab.cat/record/144582). would enable it to serve teaching and research in videogames. “On the other hand, I think that it might also be worthwhile to foster partnerships with other institutions and centres within 4. A facility open to society the UAB and off campus. One example is the presentation of the Radio Sound Archive of Catalonia on 13 February 2023, The Communication Library and General Newspaper Archives which was held at the Institut d’Estudis Catalans (Institute of (UAB), just like the other facilities comprising the Library Service Catalan Studies) headquarters thanks to the Societat Catalana (UAB), offers open access and equal opportunities for everyone. de Comunicació (Catalan Communication Society). This is the By turning part of the second storey into the COMTEC Centre, type of activity we have to continue doing” (Soriano, 2023). an extension of a usable space shared with the Faculty of On the other hand, the current dean of the Faculty of Communication Studies (UAB), the Communication Library and Communication Studies (UAB), Enric Marín, believes that General Newspaper Archives (UAB) has taken yet another step ‘one thing we don’t dare say, even though it is true, is that to open itself up not only to students in the faculty but also to comparatively speaking our library is better than many American society at large (Fabregat, 2021; Hernández-Pérez, 2022). This university communication libraries. Why? We are very powerful is an open space with three main areas: an experimentation as a university communication library and general newspaper area, an agora (with modular, movable stands and audiovisual archive because from our European perspective—and this is equipment) and a creation-coworking space opened in April thanks to Miquel de Moragas i Spà—it encompasses all the 2021, still during the COVID-19 pandemic. traditions from Europe and Latin America (in addition to those The COMTEC Centre is part of a broader Faculty of from North America), and these two aspects are virtually Communication Studies (UAB) project called the COMTEC non-existent in many communication libraries in the United Project, which focuses on training teachers, researchers States. We’re not always aware of this, and it is our unique and administrative and services staff. It also seeks to be an hallmark; it is what enables us to be considered the benchmark environment and space of contact where outside companies communication documentation centre in southern Europe, can hold demonstrations or new product launches. and that is indisputable. And from the strategic standpoint, Geared primarily at teaching innovation, the COMTEC Centre we should now be aware of the innovation in communication coexists with students’ spontaneous use of it for group work, coming from the Pacific’ (Marín, 2023). studying or even as a place to relax. The goal is to ‘define the In the opinion of Martín Becerra, a professor and researcher at space around the three areas: to host innovation activities from the Universidad Nacional de Quilmes (Argentina) and an expert participative perspectives and using codesign and cocreation in the media and cultural industries, in the 1980s and 1990s methodologies’ (Hernández-Pérez, 2022). the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona afforded many Latin ‘Much of the project’s success will depend on being able to American researchers the opportunity to make a personal effort integrate it into the institutional routine and structures and to earn a doctorate there, given that in their home countries only incorporating innovation into its management’, claims Tomàs bachelor’s degrees and maestrias were available (the latter is Fabregat, head of the Communication Library and General halfway between a European master’s and doctorate). Newspaper Archives (UAB) (Fabregat, 2021). ‘The entire Library Service (UAB)—and in particular the 31 Quaderns del CAC 49 - October 2023 The Communication Library and General Newspaper Archives (UAB): Fifty years of public service M. Civil and Serra et al. Communication Library and General Newspaper Archives special collections. Regarding its future challenges, it remains (UAB)—was a kind of temple or sanctuary that enabled me to be seen whether it manages to collect the scholarly output of to access contents that would otherwise have been impossible interest currently being developed elsewhere in the world, such to reach. In academic year 1996-1997, when I began my as Asia and the Pacific. postgraduate degree at the UAB, the Internet was very new and In terms of collections, it must continue to support teaching of course the majority of publications were not online. Basically, and learning with the acquisition of course materials, which are without this vast number of hours I spent here in the library, I now primarily digital. This evolution towards a predominantly wouldn’t have been able to pursue my postgraduate programme. digital collection will enable spaces to be freed up which can At that time—and I imagine today as well—it was the best then be adapted to the university community’s new needs. equipped communication library, at least in Ibero-America, with Regarding the special collections, their use as the foundation an amazing service, as I recall it: you needed a book and requested of academic studies and journalistic research should be it, and just a few days later the book had been added to the encouraged. Furthermore, we must remain alert to the library’s catalogue.’ In this sense, Martín Becerra also stresses possibilities afforded by incorporating artificial intelligence into that ‘access to materials in different languages, with different the management and dissemination of the heritage collections. traditions of thinking and authors from a variety of perspectives, Technological advances should help improve the management was always extremely enriching. Plus, the library was a place of the special collections by making it quicker to describe and for gathering, reference and learning with other classmates, classify the documentation, thus boosting the accessibility as we shared our readings and interpretations. And thanks to options, as well as by establishing relationships among the training at the time, many Latin American researchers in documents and collections in a quick, efficient fashion. the field of communication were able to be educated at the The library’s evolution in this direction will not be possible Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, and back in our countries without the involvement of its staff, a human team that is we launched doctoral programmes starting in the early 2000s’ increasingly multidisciplinary. Ongoing training programmes (Becerra, 2023). In his opinion, the Communication Library and will be essential in ensuring that their knowledge and skills are General Newspaper Archives (UAB), along with the libraries at up-to-date, which will enable the staff to successfully rise to the University of Buenos Aires and Oxford University, are the the new challenges. It will also be increasingly necessary to three main international touchstones among university libraries forge alliances with other university services, as well as outside specialising in communication studies around the world. stakeholders. The Communication Library and General Newspaper Archives’ The effort of digitalising the collections of the Communication (UAB) focus on supporting students, teachers, researchers and Library and General Newspaper Archives (UAB) and making journalists in their daily tasks is still alive and well 50 years them open-access means that this scholarly facility remains later. a benchmark as a service open to society which offers equal opportunities. The work in Digital Humanities also leads us to believe that new pathways in preserving the cultural heritage 5. Conclusions and transforming information into knowledge will continue to arise. In the past 50 years, university libraries have been restructured Finally, we must continue to motivate students, researchers, both physically and socially. They are no longer spaces with a teachers and journalists to familiarise themselves with the collection on physical shelves and have instead become libraries document holdings of the Communication Library and General that open their space to the world around them, to society, with Newspaper Archives (UAB) so that they consult and analyse the goal of being useful to the users who want to consult them. them to contribute new views and interpretations of recent The reorganisation of the space, with open rooms adaptable to contemporary history. many uses and teaching innovation, have also forced them to The innovative approach to ensure that users participate in co- reconsider where to store the physical collections that also take designing new uses of the holdings of the Communication Library up space. and General Newspaper Archives (UAB) will unquestionably Over five decades (1972-2022), the Communication Library expand this university facility’s current public service dimension and General Newspaper Archives (UAB), which has been by generating new knowledge, which will also give back to associated with the Faculty of Communication Studies (UAB) society and enable us to achieve new milestones that have been since it was founded, has managed to earn a reputation as unimaginable until now. an international benchmark in communication research and studies. Its intelligent historical drive from the very beginning to build a collection that encompasses the diversity of European and Latin American thinking and trends, along with those of their North American counterparts, has made it a unique library due to the qualitative value of its unique book, periodicals and 32 Quaderns del CAC 49 - October 2023 M. Civil and Serra et al. The Communication Library and General Newspaper Archives (UAB): Fifty years of public service Notes References 1. Service learning (SL) is an ‘educational proposal whereby Balsebre, A. (2002). Un magatzem de paraules per a la students are trained via participation in a project geared recerca. Un espai obert per a la reflexió i el pensament. at resolving a community’s real need, thus improving Biblioteca informacions, 25, 12. ISSN 1130-9318. people’s living conditions or environmental quality. This https://ddd.uab.cat/record/128911 type of training, which is being implemented in certain Berrio, J. (1997). Organització de la recerca sobre comunicació classes at the university, is a way of linking education with a Catalunya”. In: J. Berrio, (dir.), Un segle de recerca the territory, with tangible proposals in which students sobre comunicació a Catalunya. Servei de Publicacions. learn how to resolve current social challenges. Source: Calvet Renedo, S. (2011). 40 anys de la Biblioteca de UAB [online]: https://bit.ly/3F4fSeS Comunicació i Hemeroteca General. Biblioteca de 2. In Catalonia, Journalism programmes had begun in 1952 Comunicació i Hemeroteca General (UAB). as a section of the Escuela Oficial de Periodismo (Official https://ddd.uab.cat/record/71526 Journalism School) founded in Madrid in 1941. In May Camps i Miró, T. (1998). El fons Marca. Biblioteca informacions, 1963, this body closed its doors, which ushered in a period 18, 4-6. ISSN 1130-9318. of uncertainty, with the risk this entailed of the country, in https://ddd.uab.cat/record/128653 the midst of the dictatorship, being left without this type Civil i Serra, M. (2020). Transferència de coneixement i accés of programme. However, this situation also paved the way obert. Entrevista a Tomàs Fabregat, cap de la Biblioteca for the organisation of new types of programmes ‘outside de Comunicació i Hemeroteca General (UAB). Portal de the direct oversight of the regime, and this fortunately la Comunicació (InCom-UAB), 5 May. occurred’ with the creation of the School of Journalism of bit.ly/3NzoWw7 the Church in the Institució Cultural del CIC, which were Culla, J. B. (1993). El Fons Albert Viladot, al CEDOC. founded in Barcelona in 1964 (Berrio, 1997: 24). Biblioteca Informacions, 5, 3. ISSN 1130-9318. 3. Later, first-, second- and third-cycle programmes were https://ddd.uab.cat/record/238485 gradually added in the other universities in Catalonia, Fabregat, T. (2021). Repensar les Biblioteques: el COMTEC both public ones: Universitat de Barcelona, Universitat Centre. Biblioteca Informacions (26 April). ISSN 1130- de Girona, Universitat de Lleida, Universitat Politècnica 9318. https://bit.ly/3QcIwkx de Catalunya, and Universitat Rovira i Virgili, and private Farré Fiol, C. & Gómez Escofet, J. (coords.) (2013). Col·leccions ones: Universitat Ramon Llull, Universitat Abat Oliba– singulars a les biblioteques de la Universitat Autònoma CEU, Universitat Internacional de Catalunya, Universitat de Barcelona. Servei de Publicacions de la Universitat Oberta de Catalunya and Universitat de Vic– Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Central de Catalunya. https://ddd.uab.cat/record/107702 4. When the Olympic Study Centre (CEO-UAB) became Giral, E. (2010). El CEDOC. Biblioteca Informacions, 39, 22. the Sport Research Institute (IRE-UAB) in 2018, the ISSN 1130-9318. https://ddd.uab.cat/record/129390 Communication Library and General Newspaper Archives Hernández-Pérez, O. (2022). Un curs de COMTEC Centre. (UAB) came to house the entire historical document Biblioteca Informacions (6 October). ISSN 1130-9318. collection of the CEO-UAB. https://bit.ly/3LLZdAq 5. As of July 2023, the Library Service (UAB) is comprised Moragas Spà, M. de. (1992). Del carrer Egipcíaques al campus of a network of facilities which work in coordination: de Bellaterra: l’any 1987 es va inaugurar el nou edifici the Science and Technology Library (UAB), the d’una facultat que vol evitar l’aïllament. Capçalera, 32, Communication and General Newspaper Library (UAB), 6-8. ISSN 2565-1099. https://bit.ly/3ZEHn8n the Social Sciences Library (UAB), the Humanities and Moragas, M. de (2010). El primer llibre de la Biblioteca de General Map Library (UAB), the Medical Library (UAB) Comunicació. Biblioteca informacions, 39, 10. ISSN and the Veterinary Library (UAB) on the Bellaterra camps; 1130-9318. https://ddd.uab.cat/record/129386 the University Library of Sabadell (UAB); and the libraries Moragas i Spà, M. de (2019). Speech of Miquel de Moragas, of the Medical teaching unit in Vall d’Hebron (UAB) and Premi Amic de les Biblioteques (UAB). Fundació Amics the Josep Laporte (UAB) teaching unit in Barcelona. UAB, 28 November. bit.ly/3JBWSXB 6. In Catalonia, there is another benchmark political Moragas i Spà, M. de (2021). Els primers anys. Estudis de documentation centre, the Pavilion of the Republic Comunicació a la UAB. Antecedents i inicis (1971- (Universitat de Barcelona) which also specialises in 1985). Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. political documentation, but its contents focus on the Perona Páez, J. J. (2010). Simfonia de paraules, imatges i sons. Second Republic, the Civil War and the exile, historical Biblioteca informacions, 39, 11. ISSN 1130-9318. periods prior to the materials housed at CEDOC. https://ddd.uab.cat/record/129389 33 Quaderns del CAC 49 - October 2023 The Communication Library and General Newspaper Archives (UAB): Fifty years of public service M. Civil and Serra et al. Santos, T. (2010). Els fons especials de la Biblioteca de Comunicació i Hemeroteca General. Biblioteca informacions, 39, 20, ISSN 1130-9318. Servei de Biblioteques (UAB) (2023). Biblioteca de Comunicació i Hemeroteca General (UAB). Guies de les Biblioteques. Servei de Biblioteques (UAB). https://bit.ly/48CfYrD Personal interviews Becerra, Martín. Professor at the Universidad Nacional de Quilmes (Argentina). Telephone interview, 01 July 2023. Fabregat, Tomàs. Head of the Communication Library and General Newspaper Archives (UAB). Face-to-face interview in Bellaterra. In: M. Civil i Serra (2020): “Transferència de coneixement i accés obert. Entrevista a Tomàs Fabregat, cap de la Biblioteca de Comunicació i Hemeroteca General (UAB)” [online], in Portal de la Comunicació (InCom-UAB), 5 May. bit.ly/3NzoWw7 Hernández-Pérez, Oskar. Manager of the General Newspaper Archives (UAB). Face-to-face interview in Bellaterra, 15 June 2023. Marín, Enric. Associate Professor in the Department of Media, Communication and Culture (UAB), current dean of the Faculty of Communication Studies (UAB) and General Secretary of the UAB during the years 1998-2002. Face-to-face interview in Bellaterra, 17 May 2023. Moragas i Spà, Miquel de. Honorary Professor of the Department of Media, Communication and Culture (UAB). Face-to- face interview in Bellaterra 10 May 2023. Soriano, Jaume. Associate Professor of the Department of Media, Communication and Culture (UAB) and current coordinator of the Communication Library and General Newspaper Archives (UAB). Online interview, Bellaterra, 15 May 2023. 34 Quaderns del CAC 49 - October 2023