A number of Estonian newspapers have been digitised, but not all. Some of the information about the digitisation is included in the ENB periodicals database. Here we have created a visual tool to get an overview based on that information.

It is more convenient to use the tool on a separate page: https://digilab.shinyapps.io/digitized_newspapers/

Digitised newspapers in Estonia gives a visual overview of the state of newspaper digitisation in Estonia. The data comes from the periodicals section of the ENB. Not all newspapers digitised in the last few years are yet marked as such.

User guide

The visual tool allows the user to select a specific period (which is by default 1800–1950) and from there select the pages that have appeared in at least a certain number of years (the default selection is 10). These parameters can be changed by moving the arrows on the left-hand side of the application.

In addition, it is possible to change the thickness of the line, as the number of newspapers displayed can vary significantly with different parameters. While initially less than 100 newspapers are displayed, displaying all the different editions can draw more than 1200 lines.

The graph shows newspapers in simple or grouped form. The grouped version arranges pages that can be considered as a continuation of the previous ones on a single line.

The graph can be interactive or an image. In an interactive graph, it is possible to get more information about the pages by moving the mouse over the lines. By using the buttons on the top bar of the menu or by selecting an area of the graph, it is possible to take a closer look at some parts of the graph. In addition, it is possible to click on the lines of the digitised newspapers, which will take you to the home page of the digital collection hosting them and to the collection of that newspaper there, if available.

Note

The tool has been supported by the research project EKKD72 "Tekstiainese kasutusvõimalused digihumanitaaria juhtumiuuringutes Eesti ajalehekollektsioonide (1850-2020) näitel".

Data was last updated in April 2023. Data and code can be accessed at OSF https://doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/B2HPX.