A new project from the University of Calgary is creating 3D digital records of some Alberta residential schools.
The Taylor Family Digital Library, in consultation with Indigenous communities in Alberta, has created accurate virtual and physical models of three former residential schools with plans for more in the future.
Prof. Peter Dawson, the project’s leader, said it is important to preserve a dark part of Canada’s history.
Image Source: U. of Calgary
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The project is entering a second phase, which is to digitally document the original grounds surrounding the three residential schools — a landscape that included hockey rinks, athletic grounds, gardens and barns — to provide a more complete account of daily life at the schools.
The scans are eventually to be archived at each former school and the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation.
Gary Price (gprice@gmail.com) is a librarian, writer, consultant, and frequent conference speaker based in the Washington D.C. metro area.
He earned his MLIS degree from Wayne State University in Detroit.
Price has won several awards including the SLA Innovations in Technology Award and Alumnus of the Year from the Wayne St. University Library and Information Science Program. From 2006-2009 he was Director of Online Information Services at Ask.com.
