SOSORO Launches Khmerica, Cambodia’s Largest Francophone Digital Archive

PHNOM PENH, June 16, 2026 (KPT) — Cambodia’s Preah Srey Içanavarman Museum of Economy and Money (SOSORO) has unveiled Khmerica, the country’s largest French‑language digital library, offering unprecedented access to rare publications and historical documents that illuminate modern Cambodian history and cultural heritage.

Hosted on the museum’s website, the archive features books, newspapers, journals and magazines, many of them long out of print or previously inaccessible to researchers and the public.

A full‑text search engine allows users to scan thousands of digitised pages for names, places and events, significantly expanding opportunities for academic research and cultural discovery.

SOSORO said Khmerica reflects a long‑term effort to preserve Cambodia’s documentary memory. First developed in 2005 with support from French cooperation programmes and later the Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie, the database became inaccessible in 2020. Since 2025, SOSORO has led a major restoration and expansion project to safeguard records and promote knowledge of the past.

The initial collection includes more than 20 French‑language publications produced in Phnom Penh since the 1950s, such as Cambodge d’aujourd’hui, Réalités cambodgiennes, Le Mékong, Cambodge Soir and Cambodge Soir Hebdo. Future additions will include photographs, maps, postcards, audiovisual archives and other materials.

The Khmerica represents a major step forward in preserving Cambodia’s documentary heritage, supporting education, scholarship and international research while ensuring historical knowledge is available to future generations.