This paper covers the way in which the PERSEE program has addressed the issue of digitalisation and online accessibility of back collections of journals in social and human sciences. It depicts the main features of the project, considering both its volumetric and qualitative aspects. Emphasis is laid on two main points: on the one hand, the dematerialisation of the document - enhancement in the quality of online images and optical character recognition - used as an assistance to documentation as well as an enrichment of online information. On the other hand, the XML structure of the digitalised issues, allowing, amongst other features, a strict respect of intellectual propriety. As a conclusion, the results of the first year of production of PERSEE will be assessed.