LAC to outsource national catalogue

From an article in the Ottawa Citizen by Don Butler comes the news that the Library and Archives Canada is going to outsource its library catalogue called AMICUS to an American company – Computer Library Centre Inc. (OCLC). This also involves 1,300 other libraries across Canada. 

To read the article, go to http://www.ottawacitizen.com/Library+Archives+Canada+moves+outsource+national+catalogue/9687461/story.html

So what do you think? Is this a good or bad move for the LAC? Does it change your opinion of the future of the LAC, or are you not surprised by this move?

La Grande Vague ou la mémoire de l’eau salée (The Great Wave : Or the Memory of Salt Water)

At the Musée des beaux-arts de Sherbrooke located at 241, Dufferin Street, there is an exhibit called La Grande Vague ou la mémoire de l’eau salée which is a monument to the memory of the early Québec pioneers. 

This is an installation of two meters by ten meters representing a wave which symbolizes the crossing of our ancestors from France to America. Constructed from 400 books arranged to show the names of 400 pioneer families sculpted in bas relief -- names still belonging to 3.4 million Québecers -- it is the illustration of a grand voyage integral to the history of Québec and its cultural heritage as well as to that of the individuals who were part of it.

This exhibit will be at the 241 Dufferin, Sherbrooke until May 18, 2014.

For more information, call 819.821.2115 or visit http://mbas.qc.ca/en/la-grande-vague-ou-la-memoire-de-leau-salee

MyHeritage and a Billion Graves start to digitally preserve the world’s cemeteries

Both MyHeritage and its partner a Billion Graves is undertaking a huge project – they want to digitally preserve the world’s cemeteries. 

They say that “The effort is being conducted by both companies free of charge. The hope is to "crowdsource" an effort to digitally preserve every cemetery and gravestone in the world. The companies are working together to providing the content online for everyone to see, free of charge. This project is important and beneficial for genealogists everywhere”.

They have produced a short video at the MyHeritage blog 

http://blog.myheritage.com/2014/03/video-myheritage-team-digitizes-cemetery/

The a Billion Graves blog describing the project at http://blog.billiongraves.com/2014/03/all-billiongraves-users-be-part-of-your-own-success-story-myheritage-shows-you-how

Canadian Week in Review 31 March 2014

I have come across the following Canadian websites, social media websites, and newspaper articles this past week that were of interest to me, and I thought you might be interested in them, too.

Websites

CelticGenealogy Website

www.celticgenealogy.org

This website traces the lives of Gillis, Beaton, MacFarlane, Nelligan, MacDonald, Harper, Apper, MacNeil, Gearin, MacMaster, Campell, Robinson, Miller, Gaffney, Hayes, and Hurley in Cape Breton.

Social Media

Celtic Genealogy Blog
http://celticgenealogy.org/blog
Celtic Genealogy also has a blog which is up-to-date.

New Stories

Celebrating 50, 100 and 150
http://www.journalpioneer.com/Living/2014-03-24/article-3660548/Celebrating-50,-100-and-150/1
A full audience enjoyed “The Hundredth Summer”, a National Film Board documentary chronicling the celebrations surrounding the centennial of the Charlottetown Conference.

Researching your ancestral roots requires digging, but it's worth it
http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/arts-and-life/diversions/researching-your-ancestral-roots-requires-digging-but-its-worth-it-251847041.html
Read about how the writer of this article found out about her Métis heritage. 

'Royal' compromise first floated last year
http://thechronicleherald.ca/novascotia/1195395-royal-compromise-first-floated-last-year
The article demonstrates that how one feels about history in Canada can run deep. 

Groups unite to preserve historical landmark
http://www.comoxvalleyrecord.com/community/252052191.html
Mack Laing’s heritage home, Baybrook, stands on the largest forest midden in British Columbia and it is the Comox Valley’s foremost historical landmark of this region. The Comox Valley Nature and Project Watershed members are working to preserve the heritage home. 

Exposed: More photos of the 1870 Wolseley Expedition
http://www.northumberlandnews.com/opinion-story/4430176-exposed-more-photos-of-the-1870-wolseley-expedition
Two more picture have been added to the Wolseley Expedition that was covered by this news summary a number of weeks ago.

Canadian History Project to Present IN HIS NAME, April 23-27
http://www.broadwayworld.com/toronto/article/Canadian-History-Project-to-Present-IN-HIS-NAME-April-23-27-20140326
With a mandate to produce plays set in Canada prior to Confederation, The Canadian History Project is proud to present In His Name-Dollard Des Ormeaux and the Battle of Long Sault in April at the The Array Space, 155 Walnut Avenue, Toronto. 

P.E.I. Father of Confederation leaves lasting legacy
http://www.theguardian.pe.ca/150th-Charlottetown/2014-03-27/article-3666789/P.E.I.-Father-of-Confederation-leaves-lasting-legacy/1
Read how Edward Whalen immigrated from Ireland to Prince Edward Island, and became a publisher, journalist, orator, politician, and one of the Fathers of Confederation.

How Canada became home to some of the world’s more visually stunning — and fun — heraldry
http://news.nationalpost.com/2014/03/27/how-canada-became-home-to-some-of-the-worlds-more-visually-stunning-and-fun-heraldry
Read how Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario became the latest city in Canada to receive it own Coat of Arms.

Story of the Week

National Tartan Day

On October 21, 2010, the Minister of Canadian Heritage officially declared April 6 as Tartan Day. Did you know that the reason it is celebrated on April 6 because it is the anniversary of the signing of Declaration of Arbroath in 1320, the Scottish declaration of independence.

In Canada, Tartan Day originated in the late 1980s in Nova Scotia (my home province), where it was declared an official day by the provincial government. It then spread across the country, with many provinces joining in.

Each province and territory—with the exception of Newfoundland and Labrador—has proclaimed April 6 as Tartan Day. Most provinces and territories in Canada have adopted an official tartan, with the exception of Nunavut, and Quebec, which has an unofficial tartan.

The celebrations usually include parades of pipe bands, Highland dancing and sports, and other community gatherings with Scottish-themed events. And it usually includes a special pipe band with Highland Dancers on Parliament Hill.

The Canadian Maple Leaf Tartan was created in 1964 by David Weiser in anticipation of the 100th anniversary of Canada's confederation in 1967. It was designed to be worn by Canadians from all backgrounds regardless of their ancestry, as a symbol of national pride.

So go out and celebrate Tartan Day, and wear the Canadian Maple Leaf Tartan!

Reminder: Check the Canadian Week in Review next Monday for the latest in Genealogy, Heritage, and History news in Canada. It’s the ONLY news blog of its kind in country! The next post will be on 7 April 2014.

Reminder: Canadian Week in Review

Check the Canadian Week in Review tomorrow morning for the latest in Genealogy, Heritage, and History news in Canada.

It has the most recent news about New/Updated Websites, Social Media, and Newspaper Articles.

It’s the ONLY news blog of its kind in the country!

It has been a regular post every Monday since April 23, 2012.

Family History/Genealogy at The Canadian Jewish Heritage Network (CJHN)

If you have Jewish ancestors, have you checked the latest addition to the genealogical database at http://www.cjhn.ca/en/family-history.aspx

You can search in the following databases -

· Jewish Colonization Association individual farm settler reports from Western Canada and Quebec (1906-1951) This includes a scanned form describing each individual farming family at various points in time.

· Yiddish obituaries from the Keneder Adler (1908-1932) This Montreal-based daily newspaper has been translated and indexed.

· Hebrew Sick Benefit Association of Montreal membership listings from 1897-1945. These records have been transcribed from the membership books, translated from Yiddish.

· Canadian Jewish Casualties in the Canadian Armed Forces These listings include servicemen who died while serving in World War I, World War II, and the Korean War. These records often include additional details such as war stories and photographs. 

· Saint John, New Brunswick Jewish Residents, Businesses, Burials & Obituaries These records contain burial information dating back to 1873, hundreds of full text obituaries, detailed photographs of tombstones, and business and residential directory details about all the known Jewish residents of Saint John from 1863-1999.

· Jewish Immigrant Aid Services client name lists from 1922-1952 The CJHN) say that “The JIAS listings are the only records in this database which do not present all the available data online. Access to this information is restricted to the persons named in the file or, if deceased, their direct descendants. The archival records associated with these listings can contain a single index card to more than a dozen pages. Fees for copying and delivery apply; payment can be made to the CJCCC National Archives via Paypal or Canadian funds cheque”. 

White you are at the site, do not miss their extensive archival materials, digital images, and education material at http://www.cjhn.ca/en 

Hommage à Lac-Mégantic exhibit

There will be an exhibit called Hommage à Lac-Mégantic from March 30th to May 25th, 2014 at the  Uplands Cultural and Heritage Centre, 9 Speid Street, Sherbrooke.

“Following the tragic events in the town of Lac-Mégantic last summer, the Uplands exhibition committee has decided to honour Mégantic artists by mounting an exhibit which will bring together eleven artists of this region. 

The public is cordially invited to come and meet the participants at a vernissage to take place Sunday, March 30, from 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.. 

In addition, two “slam” poets, Marie-Pier Landry and Kyra Shaughnessy, will be present at the vernissage to share their poems inspired by the disaster.

Throughout the course of the exhibit, there will be an opportunity to make donations, which will be given to a cultural organization of the Lac-Mégantic region, selected by the participating artists”.

Remember, the Hommage à Lac-Mégantic exhibit will continue until May 25, 2014.

The website of the Uplands Cultural and Heritage Centre is http://uplands.ca