Earlier this week I had the opportunity to be involved as a volunteer member of the external review committee for the Documentary Heritage Communities Program of Library and Archives Canada.
The day before the committee meeting we were treated to a tour of the LAC Preservation Centre—something I've done before—every time I learn something new.
In the room where CEF Service Files are digitized were boxes of processed files, some marked for additional attention, and with a small box beside each large one to account for additional processing material added. Digitization is running about 6 weeks ahead of the date on which the files are posted online. There's more material than originally thought. Files for 30 (?) additional soldiers have been found and the round number of soldiers often mentioned 640,000 is actually closer to 642,000.
It's clear that LAC staff have a lot of work to do in relation to materials sent on loan to other institutions—in preparation, shipping and returning items to the collection. Shown is one of a collection of boxes used for shipping and constructed to ensure the materials are well protected in transit.
I can't say much about the committee meetings—the final decision on projects to be funded is made by the Librarian and Archivist and committee recommendations are confidential.
Two committee members scrutinized each qualified proposal strictly against the evaluation criteria and benefited from a written review by an LAC subject expert. To be successful organizations making proposals need to be scrupulous in ensuring they clearly address the criteria, project timelines are reasonable and that budgets are well justified.
Over lunch the external review committee for the Documentary Heritage Communities Program was privileged to meet with Librarian and Archivist of Canada Guy Berthiaume.
(Photo credit David Knox).
No comments:
Post a Comment