Chair: Tom Anderson – Provincial Archives of Alberta
Tom Anderson is Manager, Private Records at the Provincial Archives of Alberta. He holds a Master of Arts from the University of Saskatchewan, and an MLIS and MAS from the University of British Columbia.
Braden Cannon – Provincial Archives of Alberta
Braden Cannon is a Private Records Archivist at the Provincial Archives of Alberta. He holds a Master of Library and Information Studies degree from Dalhousie University and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Film Studies from Carleton University. His research interests include community archives, Indigenous archives, and community engagement.
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This presentation, based on research conducted with community organizations conducted by Braden Cannon during his graduate studies at the School of Information Management at Dalhousie University, will focus on the importance of archives and the preservation of memory for non-profit organizations, local communities, volunteer-run initiatives, and similar constituencies. The project focused on three community organizations in Halifax, Nova Scotia to understand what kind of records they create, how they manage their records, what knowledge or awareness they have of archives, and how they can be assisted in the preservation of their records. The presentation will provide information about the research project and findings that will help community organizations get started in preserving their history, noting the unique obstacles that must be overcome in acquiring and preserving community organizational records, as well as practical steps that can be undertaken by organization members and archivists to preserve records and enlarge the archival presence of grassroots organizations.
Krista Jamieson – University of Alberta Archives
Krista Jamieson holds a Master of Library and Information Studies degree from McGill University and an MA from the University of Amsterdam. She is the Digital Archivist for the University of Alberta and is a PhD student at the University of Alberta in the Department of History and the School of Library and Information Studies.
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Digital archiving requires both the preservation and access of born digital and digitized materials. How do we do that reliably and affordably for the future when we don’t have Google’s resources? In this talk, Krista Jamieson, Digital Archivist for the University of Alberta, will go over key needs for preservation of and access to digital archives. Digital preservation requires attention to both digital storage and renderability. Reliable storage must address elements of digital and physical security, hardware failure, environmental protection, and data integrity of backups and from bit rot. Renderability, or the ability to open a file and view it as it was originally created, is an issue that is affected by ever-changing operating systems and software. Preservation for renderability usually relies on a combination of normalization, migration, and emulation to ensure software can read and display content appropriately. Neither storage nor renderability has a silver bullet solution and both require ongoing intervention by archives and archivists so that digital files do not become inaccessible or worse, lost entirely. Even files that have been fully preserved then face issues surrounding delivery. Access must be given appropriately and respect copyright, intellectual property, FOIP, and privacy restrictions. In addition to legal concerns, access must grapple with ethical rights as well for sensitive content that does not have legal restrictions. Digital archiving in an ongoing and complex endeavour. Digital materials introduce complexity that does not exist in an analog paradigm and problems that have not been fully solved. Short term digital access is easy, but how do we promise access for hundreds of years when computers haven’t even been around that long?
Irene Jendzjowsky – Provincial Archives of Alberta (retired)
Irene Jendzjowsky holds a Masters of Arts in Ukrainian and Masters in Library and Information Studies from the University of Alberta. She has worked for over 28 years in the heritage field. In 2012, Irene retired from the Provincial Archives of Alberta, where, as the Director of Access and Preservation Services, she was responsible for preservation services, outreach and exhibit programs as well as the reference and client services which included the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy program. As a member of the Archives Society of Alberta, Irene served on the education committee for a number of terms. She was and is also an active member of several organizations in the Ukrainian community. She continues to volunteer her time in the heritage field and remains a strong advocate for archives and preserving archival records. Most recently she joined the Friends of the Ukrainian Folklore Centre. She has a passion for history and Ukrainian culture and is a strong advocate for learning and sharing knowledge about the past.
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Archivists, in their profession, and archival institutions, preserve the past by acquiring, preserving and making available documentary heritage of individuals, organizations, businesses and communities in general. In so doing, they adhere to their institutional policies and procedures and professional standards. Moreover, they must pay attention and comply with legislation that affects the acquisition, preservation and making available this documentary heritage in their institutions. This brings about a tension between the archivists’ mission of preservation and the institution’s mandate of making accessible records where copyright and privacy issues are involved.
This presentation will discuss some points of Canadian copyright laws and privacy laws that archivists should consider when dealing with the records of donors who deposit them in their archives. Ensuring that procedures are in place that allow archives to comply with the laws and understanding what is required by these laws allows the archivist to have transparent conversations with the donors who then can make informed decisions when depositing their records.