I went with my husband and a friend to the first-ever "Genealogy Night" sponsored together by the city's genealogical societies and the Irish Society of the National Capital Region. Unfortunately, our camera was not working last night, so there aren't any pictures.
We were a bit late but arrived in time to join several dozen interested people hear the last of the talk given by Kyle Browness of the Library and Archives Canada. He talked about how the Library and Archives Canada (LAC) has taken the initiative by putting on the Irish Studies Symposia of 2006 and 2008 at www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/irish-history and also by visiting The Shamrock and the Maple Leaf, which contains photos, letters, books, and music on the website at www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/ireland.
He talked about how they have put the full symposia onsite. You can go to the website and choose over 40 or so presentations to read, to listen to, or watch them on video.
Kyle said that the music content in The Shamrock and the Maple Leaf will triple over the summer, and that the photos on Flickr.com have doubled since they were first put on in November, 2008.
He also noted that the response to all of these resources that the LAC has put on the Internet has been good, and they are very hopeful that this reaction will continue in the future.
He said they did this because the presenters want everyone to share in the knowledge that was extended during the two days of each of the symposiums about Irish-Canada, which covered a wide range of topics. They are important to family history researchers because they give a historical context to Ireland and to the Irish-Canadian immigration.
Tomorrow, I will cover the first of the talks given by Mike More, the Chairman of the Ottawa Branch of the Ontario Genealogical Society. And the day after, I will cover the presentations given by Brian Glenn of the British Isles Family History Society of Greater Ottawa and Lesley Anderson of Ancestry.ca.
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