Monthly Archives: April 2014

The Hidden Room: An Intimate Look at P.K. Page’s Creative Space

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P.K. (Patricia Kathleen) Page is regarded as one of Canada’s most beloved creative voices. Both a poet and artist, Page crafted beautiful images through her words and art in her home office in Victoria, British Columbia. When Page passed away in 2010, her literary executor Zailig Pollock documented the contents of her office to preserve a sense of the physical creative space that inspired her while she wrote and worked on her art pieces.

A photograph of P.K. Page’s computer desk holding her various papers, books and mementos

P.K. Page’s computer desk holding her various papers, books and mementos

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An Arpent, a Toise, a Perche, a League… Understanding Old French Measurements

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When looking through old French records, you will frequently come across old measurements that are rather mysterious nowadays. These measurements are found in records originating in France, Quebec and Louisiana. Below is a table showing the equivalencies, but many online sites offer conversion calculators, even for these old standards.

Conversion Table for Old French Units of Measurement

Old French Units of Measurement Conversion to Other Units of Measurement
1 pied 0.324 837 81 metres

 1.065 740 34 feet (English measure)
1 toise 6.0 pieds

 1.949 026 87 metres

6.394 442 03 feet (English measure)
1 perche 3.0 toises

 18.0 pieds

5.847 080 62 metres

19.183 326 1 feet (English measure)
1 arpent 10.0 perches

 30.0 toises

180.0 pieds

58.470 505 4 metres

191.833 261 feet (English measure)

63.944 420 3 yards (English measure)
1 lieue 84.0 arpents

 840.0 perches

2 520.0 toises

15 120.0 pieds

4 911.547 72 metres

4.911 547 72 kilometres

16 114.0 feet (English measure)

5 371.333 33 yards (English measure)

3.051 893 94 miles (English measure)
1 arpent carré 32 400.0 pieds carrés

 3 418.80 square metres

0.341 88 ares

36 800.0 square feet (English measure)

0.844 803 06 acres (English measure)

The 40th Anniversary of ISSN Canada

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2014 marks the 40th anniversary of ISSN Canada, the Canadian national centre for ISSN, (International Standard Serial Numbers). ISSN Canada, a unit within the Bibliographic Description section at Library and Archives Canada (LAC), has been assigning ISSNs and registering Canadian serial publications since January 1974.

What is an ISSN?

An ISSN, is a standardized international code that identifies a serial publication, including electronic serials, independent of its country of publication, language, alphabet, frequency, etc. Over a period of 40 years, ISSN Canada has helped Canadian publishers and libraries to quickly and efficiently identify, order, distribute and retrieve serial publications.

ISSN Canada is a member of the world-wide ISSN Network, which was established by a UNESCO treaty to which Canada is a signatory. ISSN Canada has exclusive responsibility for assigning ISSNs to serials published in Canada.

40 years of successful cooperation

As one of the first members, Canada has a long history of active participation in the ISSN community. ISSN Canada is the third most productive national centre within the ISSN Network, after France and the United States.

Forty years of successful cooperation among ISSN centres, and the sustained growth of the ISSN Network is an accomplishment worthy of pride and celebration for LAC. This significant milestone is an opportunity to highlight the longevity of the ISSN, identifier and to celebrate Canada’s participation in the ISSN Network.

ISSN Canada thanks Canadian publishers for their participation in the success of this program.

Access to Information and Privacy requests can now be made online

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Library and Archives Canada (LAC) is launching a form that will enable Access to Information and Privacy (ATIP) requests and payments to be made online. Processing of credit card payments will be made through the Government of Canada’s secure Receiver General Buy Button (RGBB). The request form is located on the LAC website under Transparency. With this feature, LAC joins 25 other federal government institutions who can now accept ATIP requests online.

Discover the Access Codes for Archival Records at Library and Archives Canada – Part III

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Earlier blogs (Part I and Part II) on restricted records explained the various codes that govern access to Canadian federal government records at Library and Archives Canada. In Part I, we learned that access code “32” beside a reference to a particular archival container means that the material is restricted under the provisions of Canada’s Access to Information Act and Privacy Act. However, that doesn’t mean that all of the container’s contents are restricted.

Each year, many files in archival containers are requested by researchers, and in many cases those files are open. But in order for an entire archival container to have access code “90,” meaning that it is open for research, all the files in that particular container must be open. Even if one file or just part of one file is restricted, the code against the container remains 32 – closed. However, researchers wishing to access a container marked code “32” have the right to submit a request for the material they need.

It is quite possible that the file or files to be consulted have already been reviewed and are accessible. The only way to know is to order the ones you wish to see. Library and Archives Canada’s Access to Information and Privacy staff will examine the request, and if the particular file or files requested have been previously reviewed and opened, you will receive them in an “interim” archival container.

For more assistance, you may ask Library and Archives Canada’s consultation staff or Access to Information and Privacy team.