The Canadiana collection is expanding with the addition of six new collections from Canadian Research Knowledge Network (CRKN) member institutions.
Selected by CRKN’s Canadiana Content Sub-Committee through the inaugural call for development projects, the six collections tell stories from across Canada and span over 150 years of history.
This call is a new initiative, which will become a regular part of the Canadiana collection development process. It is intended to evolve how CRKN chooses and adds material to the Canadiana collection, to increase the diversity of content in Canadiana, and to expand access to the rich resources in CRKN member libraries.
This year’s call resulted in 16 project proposals from 13 institutions, of which six were selected to be added to Canadiana in the upcoming year:
Acadia University: The Athenaeum
CRKN will digitize 286 issues of The Athenaeum, Acadia University’s student newspaper, dating from 1879 to 1930. This project is part of The Athenaeum’s 150th anniversary celebrations and will help maintain access to the fragile older editions of the newspaper, which contain student perspectives on post-secondary education, life in Nova Scotia, and the political and social issues of the time.
Dalhousie University: Wayves/GAEZETTE
Dalhousie University will provide Canadiana with 281 digitized editions of Wayves magazine (originally titled GAEZETTE), a notable Atlantic Canadian LGBTA+ publication. GAEZETTE originated as a newsletter by the Gay Alliance for Equality (GAE), which was founded in the early 1970s.
McGill University: Ontario Historical County Atlases
Canadiana’s current microfilm scans of Ontario county atlases will be enhanced and expanded with 26 versions newly digitized from the original publications by McGill University. These popular resources, which contribute to our understanding of how Ontario communities developed over time, will be significantly easier to use thanks to this collection.
OurDigitalWorld: The Voice of the Fugitive and The Provincial Freeman
These 19th-century newspapers, published in Ontario by Black abolitionists Henry Walton Bibb and Mary Ann Shadd Cary, have been digitized from original paper copies by OurDigitalWorld (The Voice of the Fugitive) and Pennsylvania State University (The Provincial Freeman). A total of 161 issues, dating from 1852 to 1857, will be provided to Canadiana, expanding the existing collection of abolitionist publications and providing an important resource to those studying Canada’s role in the anti-slavery movement.
University of Alberta: La Survivance
The University of Alberta will provide 1,986 digitized issues of La Survivance, a major Franco-Albertan newspaper and official publication of l’Association canadienne-française de l’Alberta, to Canadiana. Published between 1928 and 1967, this newspaper will increase representation of the francophone community outside Quebec in Canadiana and in the digital historical record.
Western University: London Advertiser, 1925–1936
CRKN will digitize an additional eleven years of the London Advertiser newspaper from microfilm issues held by Western University, adding to Canadiana’s current collection, which ranges from 1890 to 1925 (including issues under the London Morning Advertiser and London Evening Advertiser titles). .
The next call for Canadiana Collection Development Projects is expected in 2025.
