Digitised newspapers from a researcher's perspective

Otto Latva has used digitised newspapers in several research projects. He is currently leading two projects in which newspaper material plays an important role. The HumBio project funded by the Research Council of Finland studies the human relationship with the disappeared, endangered, introduced, and non-native as well as invasive marine animals and plants in Finland from a humanistic perspective, with digitised newspapers providing valuable source material. The Memories of Porpoises project investigates the shared past of humans and the now extremely endangered Baltic harbour porpoise in the Finnish sea area from the 19th century to the present. The main data used in this project are interviews conducted in the coastal area of Finland, but information on the historical occurrence of harbour porpoises is also sought from newspapers.

Latva has made extensive use of digitised newspapers even before the research projects mentioned above. In particular, the digitisation of all issues of the Finnish country life magazine Maaseudun tulevaisuus has been an important source of data for Latva's research, as it contains a large amount of long-term information about our relationship with farm animals, for example. In addition, the recent comprehensive digitisation of Swedish-language newspapers has provided important local-level data for coastal and marine studies. Along with newspapers, the database also contains many magazines, which have provided Latva with significant research material in addition to his other sources of data.

Benefits of digitised newspapers in research use

According to Otto Latva, the large number of already digitised newspapers allows for a convincing sample for research purposes. The same stories appear in newspapers, so a complete digitisation of all material is not absolutely necessary for research. However, access to various newspapers is essential, as diverse source material is often needed for the same study.  

Digitised materials provide a quick view into long-term changes, and newspapers allow for a less precise time span in the search compared to when browsing microfilms and printed newspapers, for example. As an example, Latva mentions his 2020 Finnish-language research article discussing the shared past of cod, squid and Finns, in which he used digitised material from the National Library of Finland. By studying newspapers and magazines, Latva was able to determine exactly how Finns' relationship with octopuses changed during the 20th and the 21st centuries. He discovered when octopuses first appeared on the menus of Finnish restaurants, when they were first sold in grocery stores, when they appeared in aquariums, and generally how these animals were treated during different times in the context of Finnish culture. 

Latva sees the digi.kansalliskirjasto.fi service as helpful. The different search methods work especially well. For example, the proximity search helps when studying the relationship between two species, because often the search terms you want to use do not appear in the text directly one after the other. The service also simplifies data processing. The search results can be transferred into Excel and conveniently sorted, for example, from newest to oldest. This has been useful in Latva’s ongoing article on the Finnish public debate on fish farming. 

Tutkain service from a user's perspective

The Tutkain agreement has enabled a new way of using newspapers, as they are now available at any time and place. According to Otto Latva, as remote working has increased, a visit to the Library's workstations of cultural material would be more occasional than accessing the materials from your own computer. Digitised materials can be accessed on the train and bus on business trips or at a researcher's residency, for example. This is vital because of the limited research time available. 

Latva also recommends digitised magazines to his students. Newspapers provide background information on different time periods and public debate on various topics, even if the main source of data is something other than newspapers or magazines. Many students found the amount and range of information incredible. 

The renewed Tutkain agreement has also made newspapers and magazines available from 2018 to 2021, which were previously only accessible on the workstations of cultural material. Latva is happy with the addition of years' worth of material. There is also a need for newer material in his and his working groups’ research. Latva immediately came up with an example from his own research: when investigating the relationship between the beach rose (Rosa rugosa) and humans, he needed articles from the Letter to the Editor section from recent years.

More information on the Tutkain agreement is available at:

• Newspapers in Turku University Library https://utuguides.fi/c.php?g=93737&p=604900
• Rautiainen J (2022). Digitoituja lehtiaineistoja pääsee jatkossakin tutkimaan missä ja milloin vain – Tutkain saa jatkoa. [Digitised newspaper material remains accessible regardless of time and place – Tutkain continued] Tietolinja, 2022(2). Permanent address (linked page in Finnish): https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi-fe2022121571949 

Text: Sara Kannisto, Turku University Library
Translation: Alisa Helander