> (Dave Wells regarding the INSAP conference--Information Services for
Aboriginal Peoples)
> The conference sounds interesting, unfortunately, I will be in Sweden at
> the time, working on Ethnocultural Preservation research.
QUESTION: Does anyone have any experience with large-scale digital
archiving of print resources, especially First-Nations materials?
BACKGROUND:
I am interested in how others have tackled the problem of print archiving on
a large scale. For example, one of our Saksatchewan bands has reportedly
got "two barns full" of documents going back over many years. Valuable
materials have been allowed to collect in some perilous circumstances.
Three forces have prevented proper archiving from taking place:
1. Lack of funding resulting in lack of personnel and space.
2. Reluctance to "give away" resources to museums or private
individuals who are not responsible to a First Nations authority.
3. Competition on behalf of government agencies, mueums, cultural
centres, and universities to maintain overlapping archives.
I am wondering whether the problems couldn't best be handled by
an archival crew equipped to digitally archive materials on site. Each
site would receive a set of CD-ROM disks, others would be shared
among institutions who participate in the project.
Anyone who has experience, expertise, or an opinion, I am interested
in hearing from you.
Jim Bruce
Saskatchewan Indian Cultural Centre