Tag Archives: Amicus

How to retrieve a Canadian newspaper when visiting LAC on site

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Thanks to our article on “How to Find a Canadian Newspaper on Microfilm” you may now know how to easily access our Geographical List and how to read a newspaper entry. But how can you access these newspapers while you are on site at 395 Wellington Street in Ottawa?

Some of our newspapers on microfilm are available in the self-serve section on the third floor, but most need to be requested via AMICUS, our library catalogue. Once you have located your AMICUS number, you can make a retrieval request in AMICUS by following the steps below:

To access our AMICUS catalogue, go to one of our computer workstations and open the Internet browser. You can access the catalogue by selecting the “Library Catalogue – AMICUS OPAC” link from the workstation homepage.

Use the AMICUS number to get to the correct record by selecting the “AMICUS No.” option from the drop-down menu.

Remember:
Not all the AMICUS records have been updated to show all the newspaper dates available. If you don’t see your date listed in the AMICUS record, don’t worry! You can trust the dates given in the Geographical List even if you don’t see them in the AMICUS record.

Once you have found the right record for your date range, press the “Retrieve” button. Enter your date in the first space provided and don’t forget to enter your user card barcode number.

Your retrieval request will take 2 to 3 hours to process. You can then retrieve your microfilm reels in the third floor Consultation Room. Make sure to search for them under the first letter of your last name. You will find microfilm readers available in the same room. For more information on using these microfilm readers, consult our article “Tips and tricks on how to use a microform reader”.

Questions or comments? We would love to hear from you!

How to find photographs that are not yet available online – part two

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Our previous article “How to find photographs that are not yet available online—part one” explained the best-case scenario for finding photographs that are not yet available online. But what happens when things don’t go that smoothly?

What if I find items that are close but not what I want?

If there are items in your search results that aren’t quite what you’re looking for, don’t despair. It’s quite possible that we have what you want, but that it hasn’t been described yet. The items that have already been described offer you a useful clue as to where those non-described items might be.

First, note the fonds, collection, or accession where each item is from and look at the field labelled “extent.” How many other photographs make up that collection? Perhaps there are more images relating to your topic.

Does the item have:

- an item number?
- a particular photographer?
- certain keywords?

Use variations of those keywords, item number and photographer’s name to do other online searches in Archives Search. If those don’t yield any results, try the finding aid related to each item, either online or on paper. See “How to find photographs that are not yet available online—part one” for tips on using the finding aid.

What if the finding aid is not online or the finding aid is only available in paper?

If you find a fonds, collection, or accession that seems relevant to your research but that doesn’t have an electronic finding aid, look to see if it has a paper one. If it does, you can visit us at 395 Wellington Street in Ottawa, to have a closer look at it. If there is no reference to a paper finding aid, then you have to search through the boxes from that collection. If you cannot come to Ottawa, you can contact our reference staff for guidance, or you may wish to hire a freelance researcher.

With more than 25 million images, chances are we have your “perfect shot.” You just have to find it!

Questions or comments? We would love to hear from you!

How to find photographs that are not yet available online – part one

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Library and Archives Canada (LAC) has more than 25 million photographs, one of the largest archival photographic collections in the world. To make these collections more accessible, LAC has undertaken an ongoing project to digitize them, including photographic material. Currently, some images are already digitized and described at the item-level in our Archives Search database.

Given the cost and complexity of describing and digitizing fragile archival images, photographs are described and digitized only when they are requested by users. So, if you are looking for that unique, one-of-a-kind archival photo that no one else has requested (e.g., UFO, Big Foot or Ogopogo), you better start digging!

Begin by checking what has already been described. Follow the steps outlined in our past article: “How to find photographs online” to get a sense of the type of photographs that already exist on your topic, individual, or location.

If those searches do not yield what you’re looking for, it’s time to dig deeper. This is where archival research meets detective work! Remember, from now on we’re talking about photographs that have not been digitized, so you will not be able to view the image before ordering it or visiting LAC.

Keyword Search

In Archives Search, after selecting “Photographic Material” under “TYPE OF MATERIAL” you can enter key words in the search box. Get creative with the key words; archival documents are often titled using the creator’s own language. Narrow your search by using the “ADVANCED SEARCH” features.

You may end up with image search results that aren’t exactly what you’re looking for. Don’t panic. This list is just the beginning of your journey into deeper archival research. It’s fun, trust us!

Fonds/Collections/Accessions

Have you found archival records, including photographs and textual records, all jumbled together? These groupings are called fonds or accessions or sometimes collections. This is a high-level description of an entire grouping of material, usually based on the source of the original donation.

Check out the extent field and see how many photographs are listed there. Read the descriptions carefully and see if the material described relates to the photographs you’re looking for.

They do? Great!

Now, read the description again and see if there is a finding aid.

There is? Good!

Now see if it’s electronic and attached to the description in Archives Search.

It is? Fantastic!

Open it up and see if it provides a listing of the contents of the fonds, collection, or accession.

It does? Wonderful!

Locate the box that you think contains the image you’re looking for, based on the contents of the finding aid, and order the box by following the steps outlined in our article “How to consult material that is not yet available online.”

But what happens if things don’t go this smoothly? Our next article on this topic will provide more tips from our experts on what to do. Stay tuned!

Questions or comments? We would love to hear from you!

The Canadian Coast Guard celebrates its 50th anniversary – Part II

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In a previous blog, we invited you to discover some archival holdings to mark the 50th anniversary of the Canadian Coast Guard (CCG), including photographs, as well as government and political records. In this blog, Library and Archives Canada (LAC) encourages you to explore holdings containing CCG caricatures, audiovisual records and publications.

Caricatures

Audiovisual Records

There are many films and interviews on the CCG. It would be nearly impossible to list them all here, but the following are a few examples that may pique your curiosity.

Visit our film, video and sound recording database for more audiovisual records.

Publications

LAC has a vast collection of publications! Here are some books on the CCG that may interest you:

For more publications, visit AMICUS.

If you wish to search the records on-site at LAC, please order them at least five business days before your visit. You may order them online by using our Request for Retrieval of Documents form or by calling 613-996-5115 or  1-866-578-7777 (toll free) and selecting option 8 in the automated menu.

Questions or comments? We would love to hear from you!

Why Consult Newspapers on Microfilm?

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We have already discussed how to find Canadian newspapers on microfilm; and you might have wondered why we have to turn to microfilm in the first place? Aren’t these newspapers available online?

The short answer is that only some of them are (*). Most newspaper editions available electronically for free are limited in their content, and the issues usually start only in the 1980s. If you are interested in full-page content and original layouts, or need to access older issues, some major dailies like the Globe and Mail, the Toronto Star and the Winnipeg Free Press offer historical versions in PDF format for a fee. As well, your local library may subscribe to a particular daily, or you may also purchase access yourself.

Another option is to access Library and Archives Canada’s newspapers on microfilm, an extensive collection that:

  • includes major newspapers, as well as local, labour, ethnic and student papers;
  • allows you to research aspects of newspaper publishing, such as design, layout and advertising, not contained in the electronic versions; and
  • provides access to content excluded in the electronic versions, including photographs, classifieds and obituaries.

Come visit us in Ottawa to consult these newspapers on microfilm and discover our collection, or contact us for more information.

* The following are examples of free digital newspaper collections:

Questions or comments? We would love to hear from you!

The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee – Caricatures, stamps and other documents!

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Colour photograph of Queen Elizabeth II in a crowd, smiling.

Queen Elizabeth, 1990 Source

In addition to photographs, you can also find in the collection of Library and Archives Canada (LAC) caricatures, stamps, audiovisual materials and, of course, books; all of which illustrate and discuss Queen Elizabeth II.

 Caricatures

As a public figure, Queen Elizabeth II is the subject for editorial cartoonists. Here are a few examples from the caricatures collection at LAC, some of which are digitized and available online:

Philatelic Documents

A vast number of stamps with Queen Elizabeth II as the main theme were issued. The first one dates from 1932 when she was only a child. The Canadian Postal Archives (Philatis) database, which is accessible from the LAC website, is where you can find Canadian stamps that relate to Elizabeth, Princess and Queen. Moreover, a search using the keywords “Queen Elizabeth II, philatelic” in our Archives Image Search database provides access to over 30 online records.

Audio-visual

The LAC collection includes many films and sound recordings of Elizabeth II. Although these recordings are not available online, you can easily discover our collection by making a keyword search of the Film, Video and Sounds database, which is found on our website.

Here are a few examples:

Publications

Don’t forget our large published collection! To find a publication about Queen Elizabeth II, consult AMICUS.

In the meantime, here is a publication (in PDF format) available online:

A Crown of Maples: Constitutional Monarchy in Canada. Canadian Heritage, Gatineau, 2008 (archived) [PDF 55.9MB].

Stay tuned for our next and final blog on The Queen, which will focus on government records and private archives.

Questions or comments? We would love to hear from you!

Remembering the TITANIC at LAC – PART II: Published Materials

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The sinking of the TITANIC was a source of inspiration for musicians and filmmakers and Library and Archives Canada has some interesting pieces of audio-visual and music material in its collection! Let’s continue exploring:

MUSIC

  • TITANIC [music], words by Charles Lavell, music by Norman Fraser, 1912 (AMICUS No. 18261190)
  • Men be British!, words and music by C.A. Frame, 1912. (AMICUS No. 23424302)
  • The ice king’s bride: song, words by Cecil E. Selwyn, music by Arthur A. Penn, 1913.  (AMICUS No. 22493644)
  • The loss of the TITANIC: song, words and music by Arthur S. Leslie, 1912 (AMICUS No. 23430367)
  • Back to TITANIC, original music composed and conducted by James Horner. Includes My heart will go on performed by Céline Dion, (AMICUS No. 23393515)
  • TITANIC [music]: a voyage in piano music by Rebekah  Maxner (AMICUS No. 39465379)

FILMS AND AUDIO RECORDINGS

  • G. Kleine collection R8745-0-3-E,3 film reels (7 min). Collection consists of short documentary clips about skating in Montreal, skating on the canal and the sinking of the TITANIC.  (MIKAN 189395)
  • The discovery of the TITANIC [sound recording] by Robert D. Ballard, with Rick Archbold, 1989. (AMICUS No. 8749059)
  • TITANIC troubles [sound recording], part of The time capsule series of books by Ouita Petty, 1996, (AMICUS No. 16078395)
  • TITANIC [sound recording]: survivors in their own voice (1915-1999), (AMICUS No. 33891610)

BOOKS

  • RMS Titanic : the first violin : the life and loss of  the Titanic’s violinist, John Law Hume by Yvonne Hume with a foreword by Millvina Dean, Titanic’s last survivor (AMICUS No. 40112009)
  • Poems that will interest everybody [microform]  by Angus McLaughlin (AMICUS No. 19488790)
  • The wreck of the Titanic by Andrew O’Malley* (AMICUS No. 3767902)
  • Titanic disaster : report of the Committee on Commerce,  United States Senate, pursuant to S. Res. 283, directing the Committee on Commerce to investigate the causes leading to the wreck of the White Star liner Titanic : together with speeches thereon by Senator  William Alden Smith of Michigan, and Senator Isidor Rayner of Maryland (AMICUS No. 6660067)

*E-copy available.

For information on how to order published material, please read our post “How to Consult Material that Is Not Yet Available Online”.

 Questions or comments? We would love to hear from you!

 

How to Search for Birth, Marriage and Death Records

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Did you know that there are two sources for finding birth, marriage and death records?

From early times to the present, baptisms, marriages and burials have been recorded in church parish registers. In the late 1800s and early 1900s, provincial and territorial governments introduced the civil registration of births, marriages and deaths.

As civil registration is not a federal jurisdiction, Library and Archives Canada does not hold copies of birth, marriage and death certificates, but….

…help is at hand!

To learn about how to find these records from other sources, visit our Genealogy and Family History page.

Many genealogical societies and individuals have indexed parish registers and published the result of their work. These publications are called “Church Indexes” (known as “répertoires” in French-Canadian genealogy).  Most of the volumes are for marriages but also exist for baptisms and burials.

We hold many of these indexes; here’s how to find them in our collection:

Use our AMICUS catalogue to search not only our collection, but the holdings of libraries across Canada.

1. On the Basic Search screen, select “Title Keyword” from the drop-down menu.  Enter your search terms, such as a place name (province, town, township or county) plus a term for the kind of information you are looking for.

Examples:

  • Trois-Rivières marriages or Trois-Rivières
  • mariages Edmonton cemeteries
  • Collingwood deaths

2. On the Basic Search screen, select “Subject Keyword” from the drop-down menu.  Enter your search term, such as a place name (province, town, township or county) and the word genealogy or genealogies or registers. Note that subject headings for each publication are in English and French, so you may use the language of your choice.

Examples:

  • Saskatchewan genealogy
  • Russell genealogies
  • Niagara registers

Did you know?
Published material, such as books, may often be borrowed via interlibrary loan*. Simply provide the bibliographic citation, along with the AMICUS number, to your librarian, and they may request it from LAC.

(*) Update: End of Interlibrary Loan (ILL) Services

ILL services at Library and Archives Canada (LAC) will end in December 2012. Users of LAC‘s current services should note the following dates:

  • November 13, 2012: End of loan requests from international libraries.
  • November 16, 2012: End of renewals. All items loaned after this date will be non-renewable.
  • December 11, 2012: End of loan requests, location searches, and ILL-related photocopying services.

LAC‘s ILL listserv (CANRES-L) and Canadian Library Gateway will also be archived in December 2012.

LAC will continue to facilitate interlibrary loan activities among other institutions through the ILL form in AMICUS, and through ongoing administration of Canadian Library Symbols.

Through our modernized service channels, LAC will emphasize increased digital access to high-demand content. LAC is working with Canada’s ILL user community in order to inform this approach to accessing the institution’s unique holdings.

For more information, please visit “Interlibrary Loan at Library and Archives Canada“.

Questions or comments? We would love to hear from you!

How to Order Newspapers on Microfilm via Interlibrary Loan

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If you read our post on How to Find a Canadian Newspaper on Microfilm, you already know what newspapers we have! Now you might ask: “How can I access them?”

Easy! Borrow any newspaper on microfilm from our collection through interlibrary loan (ILL)*.

For example, to access all the issues of the Montréal Journal for June 1904, just follow these steps.

  1. Go to our Microform Holdings section that lists localities by province. Then, select Montréal to find the Montréal Journal.
  2. Record the information provided for that daily newspaper. In this case: Journal.NJ.FM.1147 16 dé 1899- 7 mr 1905 AN 7046754.
  3. Go to your local library and consult a librarian to order the newspaper for a specific date. He or she will need the information you recorded earlier to retrieve your newspaper.
  • Title: Journal
  • Place of publication: Montréal (to avoid getting the Journal for a different city)
  • AMICUS Number: AN 7046754
  • Dates you need: June 1904

The following information is not needed:

  • Microfilm reel number (only required for archival material on microfilm, not newspapers)
  • Shelf number (e.g., NJ.FM.1147)
  • Entire date span (e.g., 16 dé 1899- 7 mr 1905)

Did you know?

  • The loan period is four weeks (eight weeks for Yukon, Northwest Territories, Nunavut, and outside Canada), including travel time.
  • Each person can borrow 12 reels at a time per title.
  • If your date range is covered on more than 12 reels, you must order those for the remaining dates once the first set of reels has been returned and checked-in.
  • There are no renewals.
  • If you are searching a wide range of dates, start by requesting six reels, then ordering another six a couple of weeks later. This will give you enough time to access the reels you have on hand while others are on the way.

Happy reading!

(*) Update: End of Interlibrary Loan (ILL) Services

ILL services at Library and Archives Canada (LAC) will end in December 2012. Users of LAC‘s current services should note the following dates:

  • November 13, 2012: End of loan requests from international libraries.
  • November 16, 2012: End of renewals. All items loaned after this date will be non-renewable.
  • December 11, 2012: End of loan requests, location searches, and ILL-related photocopying services.

LAC‘s ILL listserv (CANRES-L) and Canadian Library Gateway will also be archived in December 2012.

LAC will continue to facilitate interlibrary loan activities among other institutions through the ILL form in AMICUS, and through ongoing administration of Canadian Library Symbols.

Through our modernized service channels, LAC will emphasize increased digital access to high-demand content. LAC is working with Canada’s ILL user community in order to inform this approach to accessing the institution’s unique holdings.

For more information, please visit “Interlibrary Loan at Library and Archives Canada“.

Questions or comments? We would love to hear from you!

How to Consult Material that Is Not Yet Available Online

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For Archival Material – Use Archives Search

When searching for archival material (i.e., diaries, photographs etc.), use Archives Search. You will be able to search database records, known as “archival descriptions”. Sometimes the contents of the record have not yet been digitized. When this is the case, use one of the following methods to consult the material:

  • In person at 395 Wellington Street, Ottawa: Please order any material that you may require, at least five days prior to your visit, by using our Request for Retrieval of Documents Form.
  • Via interlibrary loan*: If the material you require is available in microfilm format, you may borrow the microfilm reel(s) by interlibrary loan. Locate the alpha-numeric reference number, indicated in the archival description (e.g., C-1234) and provide this number to your local librarian.
  • Ordering reproductions: If you require an item in our collection that has not yet been digitized, follow the steps outlined in our blog post: “How to Order Digitized Reproductions and Help Build the Digital Collection” to order reproductions.

For Published Material – Use Library Search/AMICUS

When searching for published material (i.e., books, newspapers, etc.), use either our Library Search or, for more search features, use our AMICUS catalogue. The search results will often be database records (known as “bibliographic records”) and not full-text online documents. There are three ways you may consult the material:

  • In person at 395 Wellington Street, Ottawa: You may order published materials in advance of your visit. Please contact us by telephone and select option 8 in the automated menu. You may request up to five items per day.
  • Via interlibrary loan*: Most published items can be borrowed by interlibrary loan through your local library. Please provide your librarian with the item’s AMICUS number.
  • Ordering reproductions: If you require an item in our collection that has not yet been digitized, follow the steps outlined in our blog post: “How to Order Digitized Reproductions and Help Build the Digital Collection” to order reproductions. Please note that copyright protection may limit what we can reproduce.

(*) Update: End of Interlibrary Loan (ILL) Services

ILL services at Library and Archives Canada (LAC) will end in December 2012. Users of LAC‘s current services should note the following dates:

  • November 13, 2012: End of loan requests from international libraries.
  • November 16, 2012: End of renewals. All items loaned after this date will be non-renewable.
  • December 11, 2012: End of loan requests, location searches, and ILL-related photocopying services.

LAC‘s ILL listserv (CANRES-L) and Canadian Library Gateway will also be archived in December 2012.

LAC will continue to facilitate interlibrary loan activities among other institutions through the ILL form in AMICUS, and through ongoing administration of Canadian Library Symbols.

Through our modernized service channels, LAC will emphasize increased digital access to high-demand content. LAC is working with Canada’s ILL user community in order to inform this approach to accessing the institution’s unique holdings.

For more information, please visit “Interlibrary Loan at Library and Archives Canada“.

Questions or comments? We would love to hear from you!