The Canadian Research Knowledge Network (CRKN) along with the Canadiana Content Sub-Committee (CCSC) and the Preservation and Access Committee (PAC) are delighted to announce the inaugural call to the CRKN membership for Canadiana collection development projects. Our goal for this call is to evolve how CRKN chooses and adds materials to the Canadiana collection, with a renewed focus on current research needs, addressing gaps resulting from historical biases in the Canadiana collection, and making valuable historical material at CRKN member institutions accessible to the world.
Canadiana was built on the microfiche collection of the Canadian Institute for Historical Microreproductions, founded in 1978 to make early printed materials relating to Canada more widely available. Today, the Canadiana collection continues to be a valuable resource for understanding Canada's past, but we acknowledge that it reflects a period when research in Canadian history was based on perspectives very different from today. As custodians of the Canadiana collection, CRKN and its members now have the opportunity to redefine the principles guiding the collection and help ensure that development of the collection is firmly grounded in our commitment to reconciliation.
CRKN is seeking two types of project proposals through this call: digitization projects and digital content sharing projects (intended for adding already-digitized materials to Canadiana). Content must be owned or accessible at a CRKN member institution or one of their partner institutions, or alternatively must be available at Library and Archives Canada. Projects must also adhere to a set of content and format criteria. As the theme of the call is “Exploring Communities,” we especially encourage the submission of materials such as local newspapers, special interest publications, trade journals, or community zines. Learn more about project criteria and how to submit a proposal at our website.
This call is based on years of work by the former Heritage Content Priorities Task Group (HCPTG) and the CCSC surveying the CRKN community on their digitization and digital collections needs, and developing criteria and priorities for Canadiana from these findings. This work grounds our new approach to Canadiana collection development in members’ needs and preferences and ensures that we can respond to the voices of our community. CRKN thanks the HCPTG and CCSC for their dedicated work on these tasks, and the PAC for overseeing each step of the process.
This call is part of a larger effort to enhance the Canadiana collections and infrastructure, and as always, we encourage feedback from the CRKN membership and Canadiana community. For more information on the call to the membership for Canadiana collection development projects, or for any questions or comments, please contact Francesca Brzezicki, Heritage Engagement Officer, at fbrzezicki@crkn.ca.
Please visit the CRKN website for full details on the call. We look forward to receiving your project proposals!