Library and Archives Canada (LAC) on Tuesday launched My Account on its website as part of its efforts to improve the web experience of researchers.
The My Account platform allows you “to personalize multiple features on a single interface” — which is computer-speak for a lot of users. But it’s not quite as complicated as it sounds.
You must first set up a free account through the above link. (In that link, click on the hyperlink, My Account.) Once you’ve done that, you’ll see your My Account page.
(I still can’t find the link to my personal account on the home page. If it’s not there, it should be.)
After you’ve set up your personal My Account, you can use the My Research feature, which is designed “to enhance your interaction with (LAC’s) collection, offering the ability to save lists and document categories, save notes, and share your discoveries with others.”
At first, I struggled with how My Account and My Research work, in large part perhaps because I jumped into the deep end without reading the few instructions. For some reason, the features don’t seem intuitive to me.
You must use Collection Search under the Search the Collection tab on the home page. (My error was looking at Military Heritage, even though the few instructions say to use Collection Search.)
In Collection Search, I looked for my grandfather Fred Dever’s WWI service file. The Advanced Search provides the most options and allows you to narrow down to databases, such as Military.
Then I clicked on the box, Add to My Research, to the right of the document description to save it.
Below is what my own My Research looks like now.
I like that it is easy to rename the folder, add notes, and share the folder by email.
What I haven’t figured out is how My favourites works, which is why it’s still empty. I guess that will come from trial and error — and advice from readers.
Once I’ve used My Account a few times, I expect to like it and benefit from another way to keep track of my research on LAC’s website.
Right now, I’m struggling with the learning curve.
LAC should create a short video on My Account to help new users like me.
