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The LibVine

What's going on at Dalhousie Libraries

Category: Archives & Special Collections

Intern Season: Maxime Lapierre

Max completed a summer internship with the Geographical Information Sciences Centre (GIS), located on the second floor of the Killam Library. This year marks his second summer full-time with the GIS Centre in addition to working part-time at the Centre during the fall and winter terms.

He is currently pursuing a Bachelor of Community Design with a focus on Geographical Information Systems (GIS) and environmental planning. The internship with the Killam provided Max the opportunity to pursue the following projects:

•   Scanning a series of aerial photographs of the Halifax peninsula, Bedford and Sackville taken in 1969. The series includes over 700 high-resolution black and white photographs that now can be used in a GIS digital environment.

•   Digitizing and geo-referencing commonly used historic maps of Halifax and city maps from the 1915 Atlas of Canada.

•   Creating a GIS dataset for Dalhousie University and the surrounding area. This project will enhance existing data, including building footprints, a road layer, and green spaces.  Over 1,500 buildings have been digitally rendered, including all Dalhousie-owned buildings and many surrounding residential and commercial buildings.

•    Working with Dalhousie School of Planning’s Dr. Patricia Manuel and Prof. John Zuck on a GIS-based project for the Williams Lake Conservation Company focused on a potential residential development in the Williams Lake/Purcell’s Cove Wildlands area.

•    Developing a process for preparing GIS data for 3D printing using the new three dimensional printer located in the Killam Library.

Having lived and travelled throughout North and South America before coming to Dal, Max says this about his recent experience as a Killam Library intern: “It has inspired a fascination with GIS that would have otherwise have not been possible. Now, I want to investigate how GIS can be used for further real-world applications—for things like disaster management and emergency preparedness models.”

Max has been a teaching assistant in several geography and GIS courses at the undergraduate and graduate levels. Additionally, he will tutor GIS for the School of Planning in the upcoming year. He is the recipient of the prestigious ESRI Canada GIS scholarship.

 

Dalhousie 3D Model Collection on DalSpace

The Dalhousie Libraries has launched its online collection of 3D models on DalSpace.

The collection currently features 3D scans created through a partnership with the Thomas McCulloch Museum in Dal’s Biology department. Right now you can see a canine skull, a nautilus shell, and a few other 3D scans, with much more to follow over the next few weeks. 3D printable versions of these objects will also be stored on DalSpace, for replication on the Killam Library’s 3D printer.

                                

The NextEngine 3D Scanner, which was used to scan both of the above objects, is available for student and faculty use on the main floor of the Killam Library. You can book time with this scanner through the Dalhousie University Libraries Room Booking System.

The Dalhousie Libraries 3D collection is completely open for student and faculty submissions as well. We are accepting 3D scans and 3D models created through other methods, such as those designed using AutoCAD, SolidEdge or 3D Studio Max. To submit a model for inclusion in the Dalspace 3D collection, simply email it to 3Dprint@dal.ca with ‘submission’ in the email’s title. If there’s any 3D models you’ve created during your time at Dalhousie, this is a great way to preserve your work and build a portfolio to show future employers.

 

Intern Season: Leah Rae

Leah Rae is doing her summer internship in Archives and Special Collections (located in the Killam Library). Her main focus is working on the Shipping Collection, an extensive collection of thousands of documents detailing around 2,000 ships from the 1800s-1970s.

“I am learning a lot about ships that I didn’t know before. I can now identify the differences between a cruiser, a destroyer, a junk and a barque,” says Leah.

Leah is originally from Vancouver. She holds a degree in creative writing from the University of British Columbia. She is also a poet and runs a magazine called Poetry is Dead with her friend, Daniel Zomparelli. She first came to Nova Scotia to visit her best friend, who was living in Hubbards. “I fell in love with the Maritimes at that point, and when I decided to do my MLIS, I was thrilled at the opportunity to go to Dal,” says Leah.

Leah has been interested in archives for a long time, and visited the Library and Archives of Canada on a school trip to Ottawa last winter. “I was lucky enough to be able to complete my practicum with Wendy Robicheau at the archives at Acadia University this spring, and am delighted to be able to spend the summer working here at the archives,” says Leah.

 

Intern Season: Riel Gallant

Riel Gallant is spending his summer working as an archives assistant in Archives & Special Collections (located in the Killam Library) through the Young Canada Works program. His summer project is digitizing Dalhousie yearbooks.

Riel scanning a yearbook from the 1960s.

The goal is to preserve high-resolution TIFF files of every yearbook page on the Archives & Special Collections’ server. Those files then get converted to PDF format, and made available to the public on Dalhousie’s DalSpace. “We’re trying to capture the feel of an old yearbook in a digital format,” says Riel.

Riel is enjoying the digitization process, even though he encountered some unexpected technical challenges at the outset. Now that he’s mastered techniques for the various scanners and software, he’s developed a process that will allow future digitizers to produce more in less time.

“Digitizing as a method of preserving is a process I find fascinating and worthwhile—it is one of the main reasons why I wanted to enrol in the Library and Information Studies program and work at the Archives. I look forward to seeing my work uploaded onto Dalhousie’s server where it will be accessible for years to come,” he says. Riel will be entering his second year of Library and Information Studies at Dalhousie in the fall.

One of the unexpected side-benefits of this project is seeing the changes at Dal through the years. “As I go through these old yearbooks, I see the styles change along with the changing political climate. It’s interesting to see that students at Dal were holding both anti and pro Vietnam rallies, that’s not something I expected to see,” says Riel.

 

 

How to Find Streaming Video of Historical Theatre Productions

Did you know that you can stream video of historical theatre productions from the Dal Libraries website?   The Theatre in Video online database contains over 250 performances of some of the world’s top plays and over 100 documentaries.  Hundreds of leading playwrights, actors and directors are re[resented in the collection, which has been compiled by Alexander Street Press.    The online database is a fantastic compliment to the massive Theatre Archives in the Archives and Special Collections.

There are two ways to find videos.  You can go to the database and search or browse for videos, or you can find the videos in WorldCat, the Library Catalogue.  In both cases, you’ll end up streaming video from the Theatre in Video player.

1. Go right to the database – Visit the Libraries Homepage and select”Databases” from the drop-down menu.  Type “Theatre in Video” in the search box:

Click on the link to enter the database:

Once you get to the database, you can search or browse by actor, director, playwright, and more.  There is also a menu for browsing:

2. Find videos in WorldCat, the Library Catalogue – Make your search in WorldCat.  Try using the title of a play or the name of an actor or playwright. You will find it helpful to narrow your results to materials at the Killam Library:

Then you can use the filter menu on the left to select  “eVideo” :

Your filtered results will only contain eVideos, which are indicated with a small film icon.  Click on the title to find the link to the Theatre in Video database:

We hope you enjoy this exciting resource!  If you want to find information on Nova Scotia theatre history, drop the Archives and Special Collections reading room on the 5th floor of the Killam Library.

New Subject Guide: History of Medicine at Dalhousie

Just in time for the long weekend!  We’ve been working behind the scenes on our digital collections and are pleased to announce that one of the first digital collections created at the Libraries has been revamped as a Subject Guide.

The History of Medicine at Dalhousie digital collection was created in the early 2000s to provide a compilation of links, images, and other resources for the study of the history of medicine at Dalhousie (it goes back to 1868!).

The website has been a valuable tool for historians and medical humanities researchers, so we’re thrilled that it has been restored and expanded as the History of Medicine at Dalhousie Subject Guide.

Halifax Medical College Students, 1889-1890 (WKK 73-815)

The guide can be found on the Libraries’ Subject Guides page (under Health Professions and Medicine).  We hope the guide continues to remain a useful resource for historian and researchers in the medical humanities!

Archives and Special Collections Receives Grant to Provide Access to MT&T Photographs

The Dalhousie University Archives and Special Collections (DUASC) is pleased to announce that it has received a grant from the Provincial Archival Development Program (PADP) to process and provide access to historical photographs from the Maritime Telephone and Telegraph (MT&T) fonds (MS-4-180).

Telephone switchboard room. Photograph from the MT&T fonds (MS-4-180)

The fonds – one of the largest in the university’s business archives – contains correspondence, legal and financial records, company reports, manuals, telephone directories, publications, and other materials created by the company.  The company’s records are a trove of primary source material on the development of communication systems in 20th century Nova Scotia.

Of particular interest is a collection of over 7,000 photographs that document the former company’s personnel, infrastructure development, and general activities over its nine decades of existence.   This collection of photographs will be the focus of the PADP project (here is the job posting!), which is jointly funded by the Dalhousie Libraries and the Nova Scotia Department of Communities, Culture, and Heritage.

Earlier this year, DUASC applied for funding from the National Archival Development Program (NADP) to provide access to the MT&T textual records – over 70 metres of material.   We received preliminary confirmation from the Canadian Council of Archives (CCA) that our application was successful, but were stunned to find out that the program was eliminated by the federal government without notice.   That project would have created two full-time, temporary positions and significantly reduced our backlog.   We are disappointed that the textual records will continue to remain inaccessible to the Dalhousie community, but are thrilled that we will be able to fully process this collection of historical photographs.   Check our Facebook page later this week for a sample of what’s to come!

 

MT&T employee. Photograph from the MT&T fonds (MS-4-180)

 

 

 

Northern Highlights of the Killam Collection

Dalhousie graduate Dr. Mary Hunter has had a passion for the Arctic since she was just five years old. A classroom display created by her kindergarten teacher ignited Dr. Hunter’s interest in what would become a lifelong love.

Dr. Mary Hunter

It wasn’t until after she graduated from medical school at Dalhousie in 1957 that Dr. Hunter had the opportunity to travel north. After experiencing first-hand all that the Arctic and Polar regions has to offer, she fell even more in love with the area. Inspired by the people, the landscape, the fresh air, the flora and the fauna, Dr. Hunter continued to make trips to the Arctic and Antarctic as often as she could, while her medical career took her to Ontario, Trinidad and England.

Dr. Hunter also built an extensive personal collection of carefully selected books about the North. The Killam Library is very fortunate to be the recent recipient of this collection, estimated to contain 250 volumes. The collection also contains ten years of back issues and a current subscription to Up Here, a Maclean’s-style magazine for the North.

A selection of the books are currently on display in the Special Collections area of the Killam (fifth floor) until Monday, June 4. After that, the books will be interfiled throughout the Killam’s collection, depending on their topic.. The books cover a wide-range of subjects, including history, nature, transportation, climate, art and literature.

Two of Dr. Hunter’s favourite books among those she donated to Dalhousie is The Long Exile: a Tale of Inuit Betrayal & Survival in the High Arctic by Melanie McGrath and A Complete Guide to Arctic Wildlife by Richard Sale.  She recommends these books to anyone who wants to gain a basic understanding of the North.

Thank you Dr. Hunter for sharing your collection with the Dalhousie community. We wish you safe travels on your next trip to the North.

 

The two display cases containing some of the books donated by Dr. Hunter. Shown with one of Dr. Hunter's favourite sculptures at Dalhousie.

 

 

A sample of just some of the books donated by Dr. Hunter.

 

This stamp identifies books donated by Dr. Hunter.

The Lost Art of Fine Binding

The elegant cover designs of English master bookbinder Douglas Cockerell (1875-1945) are world famous. In the 1930s the Dalhousie Libraries acquired Cockerell’s historical binding collection and a few of his own bindings as a generous donation from his friend William Inglis Morse.

The opportunity to add another unique item to the Douglas Cockerell Fine Binding Collection rarely arises, but last month one came on the market in Seattle, Washington. The beautiful binding was commissioned for a 1907 Oxford University Press edition of Robert Browning’s poetry, and thanks to a donation to support the development of the book collection, the Dal Libraries were able to to acquire it.

The full blue morocco Cockerell binding features gilded leaf and floral designs in all four corners and the five compartments of the spine panel. The book, which is in superb condition, is also graced with green marbled endpapers and is a pleasure to hold and leaf through.

The Douglas Cockerell Fine Binding Collection is housed in Special Collections on the 5th floor of the Killam Library. If you’d like more information about the Cockerell fine bindings or would like to see any of the items in the collection, please contact Karen Smith, Special Collections Librarian (kemsmith@dal.ca or 494-8803).

Federal Government Cuts Funding for Archives Across the Country

Yesterday, the Federal Government announced another round of major cuts to the federal public service.  Numerous departments are affected, including Library and Archives Canada which will lose over 300 positions.  In addition to staff cutbacks at LAC/BAC, the government has cancelled the National Archival Development Program (NADP) – a major source of funding for archival organizations across the country – and closed the office of the Canada Council of Archives (CCA).  The CCA was founded in 1985 as a result of federal-provincial efforts to encourage and facilitate the evolution of an archival system in Canada.  Major successes have been realized since then, in large part due to the funding programs and standards overseen by the CCA.

We are stunned.  This is not only devastating to the archival community but will impede access to Canada’s documentary heritage by Canadians for the foreseeable future.  The immediate impact on the Dalhousie Archives and Special Collections will be drastic.   We have spent significant time preparing two applications for this year’s NADP program and were recently informed that the projects had received provisional approval.  We were expecting to hire three temporary archives assistants this year – jobs that would be excellent opportunities for students or recent graduates – but are no longer in a position to move forward with the projects.   Since 2001, the Archives and Special Collections has received over $90,000 through the NADP program and other funding programs administered by the CCA.  These funds have contributed to the budgets for major projects, including:

Without the funds from CCA administered grant programs, these projects would not have been possible.  All members of the Council of Nova Scotia Archives will be affected, and the fate of provincial/territorial associations across the country is in doubt.  The Archives Association of Ontario has already announced that all of its programs and services are on hold.  More importantly, the cuts will have an immediate impact on information-seeking Canadians, especially if provincial and territorial councils are forced to curtail their activities and services.  Portions of our documentary heritage will continue to remain inaccessible to the public while project-ready jobs will go unfilled.

What can you do?  Lots!

  • Write to your MP and express your dissatisfaction with the government’s decisions to cut NAPD funding and close the CCA office
  • Follow and engage with the Canadian Association of University Teachers‘ Save Library and Archives Canada campaign
  • Come visit us to learn more about our holdings, services, and activities
  • Visit other archival organizations in your area and express your support
  • Spread the news about threats to Canada’s documentary heritage on your social media networks
  • Send letters to the editors of your local newspapers

Please join us in rejecting this hostile agenda against our public memory and documentary heritage.  A future without stable and consistent funding for archival organizations is bleak indeed.

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