Canada: A New Digital Collection: IslandArchives.ca From U. of Prince Edward Island

This resource was officially launched on April 18, 2011.

Direct to the IslandArchives.ca

From the About Page:

The Island Archives Centre will protect and offer access to all of PEI’s contributions to our local and national heritage via a digital context infinitely more useful than that provided by traditional tools.  Contributions to the “official word” will include records and images of items held in libraries and museums, but will also encompass items contributed by individuals – ultimately weaving an incredibly rich and detailed historical tapestry.

The vision of the Island Archives Centre is centred around IslandArchives.ca (the digitization facility and digital collections) and is focused on developing the expertise and facilities for “lifting the words” from archival documents, and to create the tools to weave that information into new linkages and discoveries.  IslandArchives.ca will encompass a physical facility with computer systems optimized for digitization, online storage, and stewardship of digital artifacts – those “born digital” or converted from print.  IslandArchives.ca will provide the innovative tools capable of accessing all manner of material: published texts, handwritten documents, photographs, audio recordings, or movies.  By placing these items in a digital environment, we create a true Island Archives.  Learners from around the world may view our rich heritage – the actual items – from their homes and schools.

IslandArchives.ca will also provide innovative collaborative tools encouraging members of the Island community, as well as people from across the country, to contribute personal stories and visuals to this new kind of online archive.=

From the The Guardian (Charlottetown, P.E.I.):

UPEI librarian Mark Leggott said library collections typically represent a region’s cultural heritage and the UPEI library has been aggressive in trying to digitize its archives.

“Our goal is to digitize all of the cultural print heritage of Prince Edward Island,” he said.

To do that the university bought a scanner Leggott has dubbed “scan of Green Gables” that can make electronic copies of books in the library’s holdings and add them to the digitized records on IslandArchives.ca.

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The website also features about 700 maps from P.E.I. on its Island Imagined section and more than 500 recordings of interviews on Island Voices.

The university expects to have a large portion of the Island’s print heritage digitized within five years.

Additional Coverage From the CBC

A List of IslandArchives.ca Partners

Direct to the IslandArchives.ca

Filed under: Archives and Special Collections, Digital Collections, Digital Preservation, Interactive Tools, Interviews, Libraries, Maps, Resources