Call for Canadiana Collection Development Projects | Canadian Research Knowledge Network

Graphic combining images from the Canadiana collection with the words "Theme: Exploring Communities."

CRKN is delighted to launch our first annual call to the membership for Canadiana collection development projects.

Overseen by the Canadiana Content Sub-Committee (CCSC) and the Preservation and Access Committee (PAC), the goal of this call is to proactively expand the Canadiana collection with member content that contributes to current scholarship while representing the wide diversity of Canadian heritage.

Proposals may be submitted for physical materials to be digitized by CRKN staff in Ottawa, Ontario and added to Canadiana, or for materials already digitized at your institution or a partnering institution that you would like to see added to Canadiana. Projects will be completed at no cost to member institutions, excluding shipping costs for sending materials to Ottawa.

Project Criteria

CRKN is seeking project proposals that fit a set of criteria determined by the CCSC and the former HCPTG. The criteria are as follows:

Availability	Content must be owned or accessible at your institution, or a partnering institution such as a museum, physically or digitally; or content must be available at Library and Archives Canada. Material must be in the public domain, or able to be licensed for reproduction.
Format	Physical material to be digitized must be textual or paper-based (books, loose papers, maps, microfilm, microfiche, etc.) Digital content to be added to Canadiana must be available as high resolution images at 300 DPI in TIFF or JPEG formats, with metadata suitable for ingestion into the collection (e.g. MARC and DublinCore). Due to current infrastructure constraints, archival materials from multi-level fonds, that are not suitable to be presented individually on an item-level basis, cannot be added to Canadiana at this time.
HCPTG Content Priorities (at least one of these criteria must apply)	Content is reflective of the diversity of Canadians such as, but not limited to, diversity of race, ethnicity, gender identity, sexuality, class, and abilities; also under consideration are diversity of time period, geographic location, types of communities such as social, cultural, or political communities, and improving representation in the digital historical record. Content is at risk due to factors such as, but not limited to, potential physical deterioration or financial constraints at its home institution.

How to Submit a Proposal

The Call for Canadiana Collection Development Projects is now closed. Please contact fbrzezicki@crkn.ca with any questions.

The CCSC will review all proposals and make final decisions on accepted projects.

Final decisions will be guided by the Criteria for Selection and Prioritization of Digitization and Preservation Projects and the Canadiana Collection Development Priorities. We recommend reviewing them as you complete your project proposal.

Anticipated Timeline

September 13, 2024: deadline to submit project proposals
September-November 2024: review of proposals
November 2024: final selection of projects
December 2024: digitization and associated work underway

Theme

The theme of this year’s call is Exploring Communities. Whether a local newspaper, special interest magazine, trade journal, or community zine, we want to see Canadian communities better reflected in Canadiana!

CRKN also welcomes project proposals that do not fit this theme but are otherwise well-suited to inclusion in Canadiana. Please see the criteria above for more information.

Examples of Past and Current Projects

This list was developed by staff and the CCSC to provide examples of past Canadiana digitization projects and the types of collections sought to enhance Canadiana. If your institution possesses similar content, please consider submitting a project proposal.

Il Cittadino canadese - current project to digitize an Italian-Canadian newspaper with Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec
RCMP Quarterly Collection - with University of Regina
University of Regina Student Publication Collection
McGill University Map Collection

This call has been made possible through the creation of the new Criteria for Selection and Prioritization of Digitization and Preservation Projects and the Canadiana Collection Development Priorities. These documents, based on the recommendations of the former Heritage Content Priorities Task Group (HCPTG), were drafted by the CCSC with review by the PAC and the Board of Directors. They form the foundation and guiding principles on which Canadiana collection development will be carried out.

Questions?

We encourage members considering submitting a proposal to reach out to us to discuss their potential project. For questions, comments, and feedback, please contact Francesca Brzezicki, Heritage Engagement Officer, at fbrzezicki@crkn.ca.

The call for projects is now closed. Please contact us with any questions.