Library and Archives Canada Ignored

The mandate letter for the Minister of Canadian Heritage dated 16 December 2021 has been posted. See if you can find anything relevant in the main section copied below to the services provided by Library and Archives Canada? LAC is not alone. The responsibilities of the Minister of Canadian Heritage extend to a variety of Portfolio organizations like the national museums. None are mentioned or even hinted at in the mandate letter.

Where’s the Heritage in Canadian Heritage?

I ask that you achieve results for Canadians by delivering the following commitments.

Support artists and the cultural sector to recover from the impacts of the pandemic by:
Holding a national summit on plans to restart and position the arts, culture and heritage sectors for the future;
Ensuring sufficient compensation is available for media production stoppages related to COVID-19;
Launching an Arts and Culture Recovery Program to mitigate the impacts of reduced capacity in cultural venues; and
Implementing a COVID-19 transitional support program to provide emergency relief to artists and cultural workers.
To honour residential school Survivors and all the children who were taken from their families and communities, work with Indigenous leadership, Survivors, families, communities and experts on the planning, design and construction of a national monument in Ottawa.
Work with First Nations, Inuit and the Métis Nation to ensure that the Indigenous Languages Act continues to be fully implemented and is supported by long-term, predictable and sustainable funding in order to preserve, promote and revitalize Indigenous languages in Canada.
As our Government’s Quebec Lieutenant, you will work to ensure the needs and aspirations of all Quebecers are reflected in our agenda and act as a key interlocutor between our Government and Quebecers.
Work with the Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry to amend the Copyright Act to further protect artists, creators and copyright holders, including to allow resale rights for artists.
Reintroduce legislation to reform the Broadcasting Act to ensure foreign web giants contribute to the creation and promotion of Canadian stories and music.
Swiftly introduce legislation to require digital platforms that generate revenues from the publication of news content to share a portion of their revenues with Canadian news outlets to level the playing field between global platforms and Canadian outlets. This legislation should be modelled on the Australian approach and introduced in early 2022.
Continue efforts with the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada to develop and introduce legislation as soon as possible to combat serious forms of harmful online content to protect Canadians and hold social media platforms and other online services accountable for the content they host. This legislation should be reflective of the feedback received during the recent consultations.
Support Canadian music, film and television by:
Increasing funding to Telefilm Canada and the Canada Media Fund to support Canadian feature films and television productions;
Increasing the proportion of funding for French audiovisual content at Telefilm Canada and the Canada Media Fund from 33 per cent to 40 per cent to increase the presence of French-language productions;
Providing the Indigenous Screen Office with additional ongoing funding so more Indigenous stories can be told and seen; and
Increasing annual contributions to the Canada Music Fund to ensure better and more stable funding for the music sector.
Work with the Minister of Foreign Affairs to launch a new cultural diplomacy strategy and ensure Canadian artists realize benefits from this initiative.
Support the Minister of International Trade, Export Promotion, Small Business and Economic Development to help Canadian cultural industries succeed at home and abroad by issuing a mandate to the Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC) and Export Development Canada (EDC) to support the growth of creative industries in existing and new markets.
Support Canadian authors and book publishers by increasing funding for the Canada Book Fund, the Canada Council for the Arts and the Public Lending Right Program.
Empower racialized artists and journalists by:
Supporting productions led by people from equity-deserving groups in the Canadian audiovisual industry;
Investing in the Local Journalism Initiative to support the production of news in underserved communities; and
Developing a new Changing Narratives Fund to provide diverse communities with the tools to tell their own stories and to promote diverse voices in arts, culture and media.
You will be supported in this work by the Minister of Housing and Diversity and Inclusion.

Modernize CBC/Radio-Canada, proceeding in a manner that respects the public broadcaster’s independence, by:
Updating CBC/Radio-Canada’s mandate to ensure that it meets the needs and expectations of Canadian audiences, with unique programming that distinguishes it from private broadcasters;
Reaffirming its role as public broadcaster in protecting and promoting the French language and francophone cultures in Quebec and across the country;
Increasing the production of national, regional and local news;
Strengthening Radio Canada International, so that it can continue to advocate for peace, democracy and universal values on the world stage;
Ensuring that Indigenous voices and cultures are present on our screens and radios;
Bringing Canada’s television and film productions to the world stage; and
Providing additional funding to make it less reliant on private advertising, with a goal of eliminating advertising during news and other public affairs shows.
Modernize the institutions and funding tools that support Canada’s audiovisual sector, including video games, to make funding platform-agnostic and open to more traditionally under-represented storytellers, while promoting Canadian productions and ensuring that Canadians are better equipped to own, and benefit from, the content that they produce.
Increase the funding for the Court Challenges Program, which supports Canadians in legal cases of national significance that clarify official language rights and human rights.
Working with the Minister of Foreign Affairs, take steps to build an international coalition to develop a new UNESCO convention on the diversity of content online.
Continue to contribute to the funding of Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day celebrations in Quebec and across the country, while also supporting other important celebrations for French language communities in Canada.

 

 

More newspapers and BMD abstracts available at Arnprior & McNab/Braeside Archives

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Thanks to entrepreneurial leadership, the Arnprior & McNab/Braeside Archives, an independent non-profit corporation established in 1993 to acquire, preserve and make important historical documents available, has once again expanded the local resources available online.

The details on the additions are in this press release.

Thanks to generous funding received from the Government of Canada’s New Horizons for Seniors Program, some 2,000 newspaper issues – from 1938 to 1975 – have been digitized and are now available on the Arnprior & McNab/Braeside Archives’ website. As a result, the Arnprior Chronicle is now available online from 1885 through 1966, although there are many missing editions, including full years, in the earliest years. This is followed by the Arnprior Guide from mid-1966 to December 1975, thus providing nearly 100 years of local history online.

Offering a new gateway to local history, everyone with internet access can freely read these newspapers from their home, regardless of where they live or their mobility. Researchers no longer need to travel to view these newspapers, which is especially important for those self-isolating and during the Archives continued limited in-person access.
The digitized newspapers can be searched, using a word or phrase, or they can be browsed using the finding aid. The newest additions cover nearly 40 years, from near the end of the Great Depression, through World War II, and the subsequent three decades of growth and change in the Arnprior and surrounding area. Issues beyond these digitized dates are still available to view at the Archives on microfilm.
Besides the expanded online newspaper collection, there have been a number of enhancements to make the newspapers more discoverable and to improve the user experience. Much of this work was funded by the Ottawa Branch of the Ontario Genealogical Society.
The related birth, marriage, and death indexes, abstracted from the newspapers, have been expanded online to include 1935 and most of 1936. The individual names are linked back to the related newspaper page and now the search results are highlighted rather than hunting for the name within the page. With the additional 2,500 names, there are now more than 17,000 abstracts available for viewing. Thanks to volunteers, Arnold McIntyre and Debbie Miller, for their hard work in scouring the newspapers to create these latest abstracts.
Two other noteworthy enhancements have been made. In addition to the ability to search across all the holdings described online, there is now a search box in the newspaper finding aid to allow a search within just the newspaper collection. As well, the list of issues within each newspaper title is now divided by decade to minimize scrolling for those titles containing many issues, such as the Arnprior Chronicle.
To access the search function on the Archives’ website and the finding aids, visit https://search.adarchives.org/.

COMMENT: Who is theABMA entrepreneurial leadership referred to?
Past President: Irene Robillard
Past Archivist: Laurie Dougherty
Archivist: Kristen Mercier

My apologies to anyone missed.

Anglo-Celtic Roots: Winter 2021

To find the new issue, available as a pdf online for BIFHSGO members, I had to clear the cache (Press the keys [Ctrl], [Shift] and [Del]. … then in the new window find “Clear Browser cache”.

The contents are:

Primary or Secondary: Struggling with Sources, by Adrienne Stevenson

Hunting Gathering, by Anne Renwick

We Shall Remember Them: Corporal Johnson MM and Sapper Feathers, by Sheila Dohoo Faure

The Cream of the Crop, by John D Reid

In addition, there are the Editor’s and President’s columns and the membership report, which spills over to a second page.

Last Minute: The Muller Orphan Homes’ Dismissal Books, 1850-1900

At 1 pm ET today, 16 December, Friends of Bristol Museums, Galleries and Archives present a free online talk ‘She is capable but sullen and troublesome’. Analysis of the Muller Orphan Homes’ Dismissal Books, 1850-1900.

 Discover the types of work Muller’s orphans went on to do. Why were some deemed unsuitable for work, and what happened to them?

Speaker Kate Brooks is an Associate Lecturer in Education History at Bath Spa University, currently researching Muller’s Orphan Homes for a PhD.

To book a place for this online talk click here.

Ancestry adds Devon Parish Record Transcriptions

New as of 13 December are transcriptions of parish records of England’s 11th most populous of the original ceremonial counties. They were created from Anglican Parish Registers held at the South West Heritage Trust.

Ancestry’s collections are:

Devon, England, Church of England Baptisms, Marriages and Burials, 1538-1812  — 5,701,864 records.

Devon, England, Church of England Births and Baptisms, 1813-1920  — 2,450,290 records.

Devon, England, Church of England Marriages and Banns, 1754-1920 — 1,080,999 records.

Devon, England, Church of England Deaths and Burials, 1813-1920 — 536,763 records.

Ancestry has no images of the original records. They are available at Findmypast and in a somewhat limited collection at FamilySearch.

Family Tree Magazine: January 2022

Here’s the completetable of contents of the January FT issue.

FAMILY HISTORY NEWS. Rachel Bellerby reports on news from the genealogy & history scene Worldwide

THE FUTURE OF FAMILY HISTORY. What might the coming decade have in store for family historians?DrNick Barratt invites us to consider.

DRESS AT THE TIME OF THE 1921 CENSUS. Dress historian Jayne Shrimpton on the clothing worn by men, women and children a century ago.

THE BIGGEST NEWS OF 1923. Survival against the odds. Dr Simon Wills tells of an epic shipwreck and the story that gripped the nation.

TWIGLETS. Gill Shaw sets sail for America in search of her elusive Riboldis.

THE PRINCESS &THE PAINTER’S WIFE. Reader E. Mary White tells of the parish baptism register, on which her ancestor was listed alongside a princess.

ARE YOU READY FOR THE 1921 CENSUS? What are you looking forward to accomplishing in your genealogy year ahead? Check your notes are in order in good time for this massive new record release. Helen Tovey has some tips to refresh your research.

REGISTERING CATHOLIC ESTATES & OTHER CATHOLIC SOURCES. Stuart Raymond looks at the records resulting from several several centuries of Roman Catholic persecution.

WHERE DID OUR ANCESTORS LIVE? FamilyTree Academy tutor David Annal shows us the value of getting to grips with administrative boundaries.

DNA WORKSHOP DNA. Advisor Karen Evans steps up to help a reader, as all is not what it at first seemed (such is family history!)

CELEBRATING SOME HIGHLIGHTS OF 2021, & NEW PROJECT IDEAS FOR 2022. What are you looking forward to accomplishing in your genealogy year ahead?

SPOTLIGHT ON.. THE QUAKER FHS. Ben Beck introduces this specialist family history society.

YOUR QUESTIONS ANSWERED. Our team of researchers try to unravel some mysteries.

DIARY DATES. Events, real-world and online, to add to your new 2022 diary

SUBSCRIBER CLUB. Offers and more for FT subscribers.

THE WORLD’S A STAGE. Diane Lindsay looks on thee bright side and bids farewell to the old year

This Week’s Online Genealogy Events

Choose from free online events in the next five days. All times are ET except as noted. Those in red are Canadian, bolded if local to Ottawa or recommended

Assume registration in advance is required; check so you’re not disappointed.

Tuesday 14 Dec. 2 pm: Virtual Genealogy Drop-In, from Ottawa Branch of OGS and The Ottawa Public Library.
https://ottawa.ogs.on.ca/events/.

Tuesday 14 Dec, 2 pm: Looking Back & Peeking Ahead: 2021 at MyHeritage, by Daniel Horowitz for Legacy Family Tree Webinars,
https://familytreewebinars.com/webinar/a-myheritage-webinar-series-webinar/

Tuesday 14 Dec, 2:30 pm: Researching Ship Passenger Lists, by Andy McCarthy for Allen County Public Library Genealogy Center.
https://acpl.libnet.info/event/5834600

Tuesday 14 Dec. 7 pm: Understanding Wikitree, by Wikitree member Sarah for Lambton Branch OGS.
https://lambton.ogs.on.ca/calendar/lambton-branch-understanding-wikitree/

Wednesday 15 Dec. 2 pm: Navigating the NARA Website, by Julie Miller for Legacy Family Tree Webinars.
https://familytreewebinars.com/webinar/navigating-the-nara-website/

Wednesday 15 Dec. 7 pm: Cundell Stables: The Last Stable in Lowertown, by Karen Bailey and Marc Aubin for Heritage Ottawa.
https://heritageottawa.org/events/cundell-stables-last-stable-lowertown

Thursday 16 Dec. 8 pm: Toronto Railway Museum Online Lecture: Christmas and the Railways, by the Museum’s historians.
https://ontariohistoricalsociety.ca/event/toronto-railway-museum-online-lecture-christmas-and-the-railways/

Friday 17 Dec, 2 pm: Effective Use of England’s National Archives Website, by Paul Milner for Legacy Family Tree Webinars.
https://familytreewebinars.com/webinar/effective-use-of-englands-national-archives-website/

Maybe it’s because of our lobbying

Posted on the Library and Archives Canada webpage.

Gradual increase in services to the public in Ottawa

Starting on January 4, 2022, Library and Archives Canada’s service offerings at our Ottawa service point will gradually increase to include the following:

All collections will now be accessible, including photos, art, maps and plans, audiovisual material, literary and music fonds, preservation collection, rare books, and photo index cards.
The Textual Consultation Room (3rd floor) will now be open four days a week (Tuesday to Friday, from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m., and 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.).
The Special Collections Consultation Room (3rd floor) will be open on Wednesdays, from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m., and 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.
Exceptionally, reservations to consult the collections and resources at 395 Wellington Street in Ottawa during the week of January 4, 2022, can be made as of December 13, 2021 (three weeks in advance, rather than the usual two).

Here are more details about the reservation schedule for the next few weeks:

Beginning on December 20, 2021, time slots will be available to reserve for the weeks of January 10 and 17, 2022.
Due to the holiday season, no new appointments will be available on the following two Mondays: December 27, 2021, and January 3, 2022.
The regular reservation schedule (two weeks in advance) will resume on January 10, 2022.
To save your seat, please consult the Book your visit in Ottawa web page.

Visit our Reopening Library and Archives Canada web page for a complete overview of services available and region-specific details.

Let’s hope this good news isn’t Omicronized!

Recent Ancestry updates

In the past few days Find a Grave and newspaper indexes on Ancestry have been updated. Find a Grave added 140,432 index records (1.6%) for Canada since August while the UK and Ireland added 465.364 index records (3.5%).

Title Records
U.S., Newspapers.com Obituary Index, 1800s-current 873,029,013
U.S., Find a Grave Index, 1600s-Current 165,897,753
Canada, Newspapers.com Obituary Index, 1800s-current 31,483,712
UK and Ireland, Find a Grave Index, 1300s-Current 13,532,786
Global, Find a Grave Index for Burials at Sea and other Select Burial Locations, 1300s-Current 12,458,493
Australia and New Zealand, Find a Grave Index, 1800s-Current 9,528,642
Canada, Find a Grave Index, 1600s-Current 8,669,083
Germany, Find a Grave Index, 1600s-Current 1,675,784
Italy, Find a Grave Index, 1800s-Current 238,002
Norway, Find a Grave Index, 1800s-Current 194,340
Sweden, Find a Grave Index, 1800s-Current 141,007
Brazil, Find a Grave Index, 1800s-Current 130,541
Mexico, Find a Grave Index, 1800s-Current 48,771

Military Monday: Second World War Week

Find a huge collection of articles and podcasts on the Second World War in this History Extra special from BBC History Magazine.

https://www.historyextra.com/period/second-world-war/

The topics are: Adolf Hitler, Nazi Germany, The Holocaust, Second World War battles, D-Day, Dunkirk, Winston Churchill, Pearl Harbor, VE Day, The Battle of Britain, The Blitz, Wartime Britain, The Battle of the Atlantic, The global war, The Eastern Front.

Surprise Canadian Records from MyHeritage

When information arrived in an email from Daniel Horowitz of MyHeritage about 359 million additions in a French Historical Records collection I took a quick look for a third cousin twice removed. He was supposed to have been born in France. While I didn’t find him I noticed the records shown weren’t all French; they were in French.

The collection includes 58,114 births/baptisms, 211,983 marriages and 211,983 deaths/burials in Canada. While mostly for Quebec I spotted entries for Atlantic Canada too. There were also US events from Louisiana, Read more about the collection in this MyHeritage blog post.

Daniel also mentioned updates to Sweden, Household Examination Books, 1800–1947 with 13.2 million records added, and to Germany, North Rhine Westphalia (Arnsberg and Münster) Death Index, 1874–1938 with 4.8 million records added.