The local archives of La Orotava exemplify the harmonious blend of history with modern technology, which is crucial for the accurate preservation of knowledge. In its recent report for the year 2023, the archive service revealed that it has successfully digitized a total of 11,973 collections out of nearly 108,000 documents.
Mayor Francisco Linares commended the exceptional work of the archive staff in connecting citizens with the town’s history in a practical and engaging manner. He also emphasised the significance of being at the forefront in the Canary Islands in collecting and preserving oral sources that are essential for protecting the local heritage.
Encouraging citizens to contribute their materials and documents to the archive, the mayor stressed the importance of expanding the repository of information on the municipality’s history.
Among the valuable documents that have been digitized are the minutes of plenary sessions dating back to 1899, photographic collections, and various documents from the 19th century including local files and resident registries from 1869 and 1871.
Since 2012, the municipal archive has taken its services online with the establishment of social media accounts on Facebook and YouTube, making it the pioneering service in the Canary Islands to engage with the public through these platforms. Additionally, the creation of the blog archivoorotava.es has facilitated the digitization of different documents like patron saint festival programmes up to 1960 and over 1,700 posters accessible to citizens through the blog or reference computers. To aid in this task, specialized overhead scanners were obtained in 2023 for digitising old documents and large-format negatives.
The archive houses a total of 107,886 documents, occupying an approximate linear distance of 2,638 meters. This collection comprises 19,361 boxes of documentation, 4,713 administrative books, 1,021 volumes of books and magazines from the auxiliary library, an audiovisual collection of 82,791 items (including CDs, slides, DVDs, cassette tapes, and VHS tapes), 80,551 photographs, 7,090 posters, and 2,750 programmes and brochures.
The archives have been enriched in 2023 through donations from families, some of which date back to the year 1472. Donations include sets of historical accounting books and casino minutes from Orotava. Additionally, there is an auxiliary library dedicated to local history which holds 577 books and 444 magazines, and a document museum exhibiting rubber stamps and document production equipment such as a mimeograph machine from 1924, a typewriter from 1930, and various photographic and video cameras. In 2023, a gramophone in good condition dating between 1920 and 1930 was donated, along with 169 scores of different music genres.
A popular service offered by the archive is the transfer of administrative documentation from the city council. In 2023, a total of 15,085 new documents were received in 32 transfers, involving 765 boxes. Digitization has played a key role in this, with 5,792 electronic files being archived last year, making them easily accessible without physical retrieval from the archives.
