1Since mid-2005, archivist-activists at the Historical Archive of the National Police of Guatemala have been digitizing a century's worth of previously suppressed police records so as to protect, mobilize and provide access to them -23 million pages to date. We find that digitization amplified the staff's repurposing of the archive to serve victims of human rights violations. Digitization enhances short-and long-term safeguards for the archive's physical integrity, probative value and enduring accessibility, but has required critical human factors and institutional solidarity, most notably partnerships with international donors and allied organizations, and Guatemalan nongovernmental organizations. Finally, technology offers a lens to analyze the persistent challenges to promoting truth and justice in Guatemala. We show how simple, often ad hoc approaches to digitization developed under political urgency can have an irreversible impact when used to amplify a unified mission driven by a committed community of archival workers. throughout this project. We extend special thanks to our University of Texas (UT) colleagues, especially everyone on the LLILAS Benson digital initiatives team, as well as all involved in hosting the celebratory event between the AHPN and UT in July 2018. Finally, we are indebted to Kentaro Toyama and Kirsten Weld for valuable input and support during the research and writing process. We also thank the anonymous reviewers for thoughtful feedback.
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