Museo Histórico UNL "Marta Samatán" Archivos Digitales Universidad Nacional del Litoral

Overview

The Museo Histórico UNL "Marta Samatán" is the historical museum and archive of the Universidad Nacional del Litoral (UNL), one of Argentina's major national universities based in Santa Fe, Argentina. Its digital archives section provides online access to digitized documents, photographs, audiovisual materials, and other items from the museum's collections, which document the history of UNL and the cultural and social life of the Litoral region.

History and Founding

The museum was created by resolution of the UNL Superior Council on December 11, 2008. It is housed in a building that was originally a cosmopolitan society library, inaugurated in 1913 and donated to UNL in 1967. The institution bears the name of Marta Elena Samatán (Chile, 1901 – Santa Fe, Argentina, 1981), a teacher, lawyer, feminist, writer, and university reformist who was a prominent public figure in twentieth-century Santa Fe. The archive of the museum was formally named after Samatán in a ceremony on March 7, 2025, in recognition of her contributions to education, women's rights, and civic life. The Universidad Nacional del Litoral itself was founded in 1922.

Collections and Holdings

The museum's collections document the history of UNL from its founding, including:

• Founding documents of UNL, including the original Act of Foundation (1922)
• Records of UNL's faculties, schools, institutes, and administrative units
• Archives of LT10 (Radio Universidad del Litoral), UNL's university radio station
• Archives of the Instituto Superior de Cine y Artes Audiovisuales (ISCA), UNL's film and audiovisual arts institute
• Archives of UNL's printing press (Imprenta)
• Photographs, objects, memorabilia, and ephemera related to UNL's history and to notable university figures
• Materials on key moments in the university reform movement

The digital archives section makes selected collections available online. The museum has published 23 publications and produced audiovisual documentaries. It employs new technologies in exhibitions, including video mapping, QR codes, 3D viewers, digital totems, and 2D/3D scale models.

Relevance to Journalism and Media Research

The museum's holdings include archives of UNL's university radio station LT10 and film institute, making it a relevant resource for the history of broadcasting and audiovisual media in Argentina's Litoral region.

Access and Usage

The digital archives are accessible online at museohistoricounl.com.ar. The physical museum is open for on-site visits and also organizes itinerant exhibitions that travel to UNL's faculties and public institutions across Santa Fe province.