The Course Has Changed! Digital Transformation in the Caribbean Part of the Kingdom

The DEN Academy program inspired a collaboration. As a result, Peter, Edric, and Zetsia were able to further digitize the collections of the National Library and the National Archives of Aruba.

From Problem to Solution

Within their institutions, they were waiting for available budgets, more staff, or resources to realize digital projects. The program inspired Zetsia, Edric, and Peter to collaborate to find a solution themselves.

“When you think concretely about it, you realize that the problem won’t solve itself or that solutions from the government won’t come quickly. The training sessions made us think more solution-oriented about how we could move forward through collaborations,” says Peter Scholing, who, in his role at the National Library of Aruba (BNA), is responsible for the institution's digital collection and digitization.

Change in Mindset

The workshops by the DEN Academy made the National Library of Aruba (BNA) and the National Archives (ANA) consider how they could utilize the available resources to digitally link the two largest collections on the island. “We started looking at what we could solve ourselves, where our limitations lay, but also where we could collaborate with other institutions if knowledge or experience was lacking to achieve our goals,” Peter explains.

Edric Croes, head of the Management and Preservation department of the National Archives, confirms the transformation in mindset. “This digital transformation comes at the right time; we now see a shift where the older generation is making way for the new generation, allowing us to approach current challenges differently.” A recognizable issue both institutions faced was that one had to be physically present to view the collection. “Since I graduated, I’ve been looking for the next step to make the collection more accessible. Peter was able to solve that for the library, and we could nicely build on that,” says Edric.

The sessions also made Zetsia Ponson, information specialist and head of the Arubiana/Caribiana department of the library, think about how she could use her creativity to open more doors. “We want to show Aruba what we have to offer, so we’re now also trying to reach the public through podcasts.”

Collaborating and Coming Together

The cultural heritage of Aruba is very fragmented; certain documents can be found at the library or the national archives, but also in Willemstad, London, and the Netherlands. Collaboration thus also became a way to gather the sources in one place.  

The collaboration also leads to greater reach, says Zetsia: “I manage the physical collection of the Arubiana/Caribiana department. We want to increase the reach so that the population is better informed about what we have to offer and knows where to find us.” Previously, little attention was paid to marketing at the institutions; Zetsia now hopes to turn the tide and remove that barrier. Peter adds that it’s a two-way street: the more barriers the library and archive can remove, the greater the interest from the population in the collections.

Using Your Network

They now try to solve obstacles they encounter through their network. “Other Aruban institutions also want to use the platform to place their material online and want to be part of our network. This way, we not only preserve cultural heritage but also create a platform for information,” Edric explains. “In the region, we are progressive and are being looked at because we are already somewhat advanced with digitization, but internationally, we started this process quite late,” says Peter. Catching up on 20 years remains a challenge, but the advantage is that the institutions can use existing knowledge.

They hope that other institutions will also join this digital transformation. “We are already seeing the tangible benefits of digitization. Just look at the contributions on Wikimedia; it also has a spin-off effect. We turned collaborations into a network structure, thereby preserving knowledge for the future,” says Peter. Zetsia is also inspired to push forward: “The results of the workshops will certainly be great. We received good examples of how we can reach our target audience, the Aruban population, and also how we can collaborate better to achieve more.”

This article was written by Melissa Stamper, with contributions from Edric Croes, Peter Scholing, and Zetsia Ponson.