February 11, 2011 Heritage Project in West Nipissing

The Ontario Ministry of Culture has provided Community Digitization Projects (CDP) in various locations across the province. Over 4 million research items (text, photos, audio, video) have been collected by various community groups. The material is available through www.ourontario.ca which is a service of Knowledge Ontario (www.knowledgeontario.ca). Knowledge Ontario is a non profit collaborative of public libraries, colleges, universities, school boards, museum, archives, historical societies, etc.

West Nipissing has been selected to be a part of the larger project. Other Communities will be added over time. The project will be coordinated through the West Nipissing Public Library. The Library will partner with the Societe historique de Field, The Societe historique de Nipissing Ouest, the Club genealogique de Nipissing Ouest, the Sturgeon River House Museum & private collections.

Digitization training will take place and provide a set of tools, services and technical support to the team members and will be able to provide digitization service in the years ahead as more material becomes available.

The Digitalization Facilitator is Bridgitte Campeau at the Sturgeon Falls Library (705-753-2620) Carmen Ouellette and Wayne LeBelle, who have extensive experience in digitalization have been hired to work on the project over the next few months.  Once trained digitalization days will be held at River Valley, Field, Cache Bay & Sturgeon Falls.  The first session will be held at Verner during Heritage Week (Feb 21-27). Progress can be monitored on Facebook (Our Ontario West Nipissing Ouest) or Twitter (00_WND. You can also contact the Knowledge Ontario/Our Ontario website mentioned above.

Photo of Sturgeon River House from late 1870s – Norman McLeod – last manager before the post moved to Sturgeon Falls in 1880.  Museum photo

This is an exciting heritage project in an area with a great history. It will be interesting to see the results of this and other current projects and to see other projects in other locations as they evolve.

Knowledge Ontario has other extensive eresources worth looking at in English & French on a wide variety of knowledge categories besides the ourontario.ca material. Get the material you wish to share in order and join the project when you have an opportunity. For further information contact the West Nipissing Library at the number above.

Canadian Digital Collection

An ambitious new search engine has been launched to allow one stop searches for centuries of Canadian history.

Canadiania.org will link 30 museum , archival and library collections in a Google like site. I haven’t used it much yet, but along with the Ontario site above the initiative has great potential for historians, genealogists etc.