The newspaper De Werkman is now fully digitally accessible. Together with over 80 other newspaper titles from the collection of the Stadsarchief Aalst.

An important piece of Belgian history
It is the end of the 19th century, the industrial revolution is at its peak. Hard times for the working class. Aalst provides the background for a true class struggle. Priest Daens fights for the poor. For the extorted working man. With sharp pen he chanllenges the establishment in his own paper, 'De Werkman' (The Working Man). In equally beautiful old-Flemish the industrials reply in newspaper De Denderbode.

Priest Daens' fight comes to life once more in this unique collection of newspapers from between 1836 and 1966. The large historical facts but also everyday life. A political plea right next to the soccer results. An important source for both historians and genealogists, sociologists and all enthousiasts of the past.

Digitizing, OCR and publishing online
Pictura has digitized over 80 newspaper titles from that period and transformed it into computer readable text (OCR). The newspaper viewer is the window to this digital archive. You can search the complete text, relevant words are marked on screen. You read, you browse on. You keep reading and the history comes to life.

Aalst originally wanted to digitize the newspapers from the microfilms it possessed, but together with Pictura Aalst decided that the same budget would allow for much better results if they would scan from the original. Better images but also better OCR results and a direct high quality copy of the original for long-term storage.

Professional heritage partner
The Stadsarchief Aalst (City Archive Aalst) and the Documentatiecentrum en Archief voor Daensisme en hedendaagse geschiedenis van de Denderstreek (Documentation Centre and Archive for Daensism and Contemporary History of the Dender Region) cherish their unique collection and have done everything in their power to safeguard this important part of Belgian history for the future and to unlock it for the public. They pay great tribute to the historical outcry of Priest Daens: "Leest en verspreidt De Werkman" ('Read and Spread De Werkman')

In the press
The project was presented to the press on the 21st of April 2009. De Standaard even wrote two articles about it.

Would you like to know more?
Digitizing historical sources is an excellent method of storing them. Especially where it concerns valuable pieces. When they are also made accessible digitally the originals can remain safely stored away. We are happy to tell you about the options Pictura can offer you.

For digitization advice, please contact our account manager digitization, Jeroen Bloothoofd. If you would like more information about our newspaper viewer or the possible solutions for publishing your pieces online, please contact our account manager automation, Cor van der Wal. In Belgium, please contact our account manager Alexander Stierman.