[Bcma-l] UBC Media Release 23-July-08: UBC digitization program provides instant global access to B.C. heritage

[bcma-l@museumsassn.bc.ca]

Dear BCMA listserv moderator:

The press release below, about the B.C. History Digitization Program,
was issued this morning. 

I would like to post this press release on the BCMA listserv. If you
have any questions, please contact me at 604-827-3434 or
glenn.drexhage@ubc.ca.

Kind regards,
Glenn Drexhage

Communications Officer
UBC Library/Irving K. Barber Learning Centre

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MEDIA RELEASE | JULY 23, 2008
UBC digitization program provides instant global access to B.C. heritage


Electronic collections featuring community newspapers, B.C. history,
fossil specimens, medical artifacts and works by renowned wildlife
artist Robert Bateman will all be a mouse click away, thanks to a
community initiative from the Irving K. Barber Learning Centre at the
University of British Columbia.

Such projects are among the 21 finalists selected by the Learning
Centre's British Columbia History Digitization Program.

Launched in 2006, the digitization program provides funds to make B.C.
heritage accessible to the public. Original and historical documents -
including images, sound or print materials such as books and documents -
are scanned and converted into digital files that can be viewed or heard
on a computer.

Already available online are links to the 2007 digitization projects,
which include newspapers, Indo-Canadian oral history, Salt Spring Island
photos and audiotapes, Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs history and Vancouver
city directories from 1860-1901. Find these links and other project
descriptions at:
http://www.ikebarberlearningcentre.ubc.ca/ps/2007Projects.html.

"By doing this we're giving British Columbians and people around the
world instant access to the historical and other treasures of this
province," says Chris Hives, University Archivist. "We've been getting
excellent feedback from various heritage communities about the
leadership role the Learning Centre is providing through digitization."

The 2008 projects should be completed and ready for free online viewing
with in a year. Similar to 2007, a large number of this year's projects
also involve digitizing community newspapers, among them publications
from Surrey, Prince George, the Cariboo, the Vanderhoof area and Vernon.

Photographic collections also figure prominently. For example, one
project involves the digitization of 3,200 slides illustrating the
artistic, environmental and family aspects of Canadian wildlife painter
Robert Bateman. 

Other collections to be digitized include early photographs of Bowen
Island and Prince George, along with images of expeditions to northern
B.C. in the early 20th century.

Additional efforts include the digitization of medical artifacts,
three-dimensional fossil specimens, multimedia theatre archives,
provincial flora and more. A complete listing of 2008 projects is
available at www.ikebarberlearningcentre.ubc.ca/ps/2008Projects.html.

The British Columbia History Digitization Program supports the goals of
the Learning Centre - named in honour of Irving K. Barber, who donated
more than $20 million to develop the facility - to provide lifelong
learning opportunities for the people of British Columbia. 

The digitization program provides up to $200,000 in overall annual
matching funds. The program provides three funding categories for
organizations involved with the preservation of historical provincial
material, such as libraries, archives, museums, post-secondary
institutions and community groups. The next round of program
applications will begin in mid-December. For more information, see
www.ikebarberlearningcentre.ubc.ca/ps/BCDigitInfo.html. 

- 30 -

Background 

Dr. Irving K. Barber graduated from UBC in 1950, and went on to an
esteemed forestry career. In 1978, at the age of 55, Dr. Barber founded
Slocan Forest Products Ltd., which he built into a leading North
American lumber producer.

In 2002, Dr. Barber donated more than $20 million for the construction
of the Irving K. Barber Learning Centre at the University of British
Columbia. The B.C. Government contributed $10 million and UBC matched
these sums.

The Learning Centre, constructed around the historic core of UBC's Main
Library, provides resources and services to support lifelong learning
and research for users at UBC, throughout the province and beyond.

For more information, visit www.ikebarberlearningcentre.ubc.ca.

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CONTACT

Glenn Drexhage
Communications Officer,
UBC Library/Irving K. Barber Learning Centre
Tel: 604.827.3434
E-mail: glenn.drexhage@ubc.ca

Chris Hives
University Archivist, UBC Library
Tel: 604.827.3951
E-mail: chris.hives@ubc.ca

Lorraine Chan
UBC Public Affairs
Tel: 604.822.3213
Cell: 604.828.3867
E-mail: lorraine.chan@ubc.ca

mr-08-097

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