Chilean new song albums rescued by National Library

Chile’s National Library added 23 albums to its digital collection, preserving music from the Nueva Canción Chilena movement.

The library, with international support from UNESCO, began the project to rescue photographic and audiovisual materials. Roberto Aguirre Bello, Head of Special and Digital Collections, explained the library secured funding through a collaborative project with the Subsecretary of Cultural Heritage and the International Affairs Office of SERPAT. The library sourced the albums from two places.

Twelve albums came from the library’s own Music Archive, donated years ago by the Alerce label. An independent researcher and collector, Luis Briceño, provided the remaining eleven albums, allowing the library to digitize the originals before returning them. The library digitized the albums using specialized equipment and international standards, focusing on both long-term preservation and public access. However, due to copyright laws, people must visit the National Library or access it remotely to listen to the 23 albums.

The Alerce label’s complete catalog is available on digital platforms. Artists represented in the collection include Inti-Illimani, Violeta Parra, and Ángel Parra. The National Library plans to continue digitizing around 120 hours of sound recordings each year, prioritizing materials based on their historical value, condition, and research demand.