Monthly Archives: June 2023

New to Chinese Canadian genealogy: C.I.44 records of registration

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Version française

By June Chow

July 1, 2023, marks 100 years since the Chinese Immigration Act, 1923, commonly known as the Chinese Exclusion Act, was passed into law. Library and Archives Canada (LAC) has recently opened and digitized records arising from the Act’s mandatory registration of “every person of Chinese origin or descent in Canada.”

The first Chinese people arrived in Canada as artisans in 1788. From 1858 to 1885, a significant number of Chinese labourers came to complete the Canadian Pacific Railway across British Columbia. The Canadian government’s restrictions on Chinese immigration began thereafter with passage of the Chinese Immigration Act, 1885. Until its repeal in 1947, this legislation underwent many amendments to discourage immigration from China. Early amendments in 1900 and 1903 increased the amount of the Chinese head tax as a financial barrier. The last amendment, in 1923, banned all further Chinese immigration. In this blog post, I will refer to the Chinese Immigration Act, 1923 as the Chinese Exclusion Act, or simply “the Act.”

Newly opened Chinese immigration records: C.I.44

LAC’s holdings include extensive Chinese immigration records from this important period for Chinese Canadian genealogy. These include ledgers and forms on the registration and identification of Chinese people upon entry, and on their movements in and out of the country.

Of special interest is the recent opening of previously restricted C.I.44 forms created through section 18 of the Chinese Exclusion Act. It required “every person of Chinese origin or descent in Canada” to register with an immigration, customs or Royal Canadian Mounted Police authority within 12 months of the passing into law of the Act on July 1, 1923.

Section 18 was translated into Chinese and posted as a 69 cm by 123 cm (approximately 2 ft. by 4 ft.) public notice with a list of registrars across Canada. Those who failed to comply with registration were “liable to a fine not exceeding five hundred dollars, or to imprisonment for a period not exceeding twelve months, or to both.”

A poster typeset in English with handwritten Chinese text. The word “NOTICE” appears in large, bold, capitalized letters across the top under the Royal Coat of Arms of Canada.

Poster on Chinese immigration giving public notice of section 18 of the Chinese Exclusion Act and its registration requirement (e010833850)

Each registration was documented in a one-page form numbered “44” in the government’s Chinese Immigration (C.I.) recordkeeping series. By the one-year registration deadline of June 30, 1924, over 56,000 Chinese people living in Canada were registered, each recorded by a C.I.44 form. A further 1,500 Chinese people who were absent from Canada registered upon their authorized return. The last form was completed in 1946, a year before the Act was repealed.

The C.I.44 form is a significant addition to Chinese Canadian genealogy resources. It records an ancestor’s name and known alias(es), address, occupation, age, marital status, and the name and address of their spouse and/or children in Canada, and it includes a photograph.

For those of Chinese origin (born in China), the form consolidates information on the individual’s entry into Canada. This includes their place of birth (village/city and district/province in China), original port of admission, conveyance (ship), original date of arrival, amount of head tax paid, and serial number of C.I. landing or replacement certificate in their possession (C.I.5, 28, 30 or 36). This information is otherwise dispersed in LAC collections, across Chinese immigration records and passenger lists.

The form also recorded the individual’s height, any facial marks and physical peculiarities, remarks made by the immigration official, and any existing file numbers.

A black-and-white typeset form with typewritten text and handwritten authorizations. The form includes a portrait photograph of a man dressed in a tie, collared shirt and jacket.

C.I.44 form of Louie Song, 1924; RG76-D-2, Reel T-16181, Image 01453

Those born in Canada of Chinese descent were identified by the government as “native-born,” and a number of sections of the C.I.44 form did not apply to them. These individuals were predominantly minor children in the registration year. Their birthdate, details of birth registration and names of parents in Canada often appear as remarks.

A black-and-white typeset form with typewritten text and handwritten authorizations. The form includes a portrait photograph of a young girl sitting in a chair.

C.I.44 form of Helen Mah Yick, 1924; RG76-D-2, Reel T-16174, Image 00690

Access and search C.I.44 records

The C.I.44 records are an important resource for Chinese Canadian genealogy and research on Chinese Canadian history. Each C.I.44 form records where in Canada an ancestor had settled, what work they were doing and their family structure. Often they were using an English or Anglicized name (alias) to fit into Canadian society; their photograph shows how they were grooming and dressing themselves in the Western style.

As a result, these records document settlement patterns of Chinese people in Canada. Taken together, they provide a comprehensive snapshot of the Chinese Canadian community as it entered its darkest period, defined as the 24 years that the Chinese Exclusion Act was in force.

Search these records if your ancestor was:

  • Chinese (immigrant or native-born) AND EITHER
  • living in Canada in 1923/1924 OR
  • living abroad in 1923/1924 and legally returned to Canada before 1947

The C.I.44 records consist of 29 digitized microfilm reels with the C.I.44 forms and a corresponding index card system. They can be searched manually or as indexed by FamilySearch and Ancestry.

Additional resources

June Chow is Community Archivist for The Paper Trail to the 1923 Chinese Exclusion Act, a community-based commemoration that spans a public exhibition, a community-based archival collection and the engagement of public archives. The Paper Trail team initiated the opening of these records through an access to information request in 2021. June subsequently spent time at LAC on their access as a Master of Archival Studies student in the University of British Columbia School of Information prior to her recent graduation. She is now also working as a Special Collections Archivist with the Chinese Canadian Archive at the Toronto Public Library.

Soundscapes of the Stanley Grizzle Interview Collection

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By Stacey Zembrzycki

This article contains historical language and content that some may consider offensive, such as language used to refer to racial, ethnic and cultural groups. Please see our historical language advisory for more information.

It is rare, when listening to oral history interviews, for the soundscape, the noises that one hears in the background, to be just as interesting and important as the stories being shared by interviewees. Practitioners today are trained to conduct interviews in quiet spaces, limiting noise so that every word spoken is clear and easy to understand. The crispness of each voice matters since it determines the life an interview will have among future listeners and within multimedia projects.

The Stanley Grizzle Interview Collection is fascinating because it flies in the face of this orthodoxy. When Stanley Grizzle travelled throughout the country documenting the stories of Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) sleeping car porters, their fight to unionize and create the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters (BSCP), and the important role of the women who served on the BSCP’s Ladies’ Auxiliary, he did so as an insider. A twenty-year CPR veteran, Stanley Grizzle conducted interviews that revolved around a clearly defined set of questions, which were replicated in each encounter. There were also, however, conversations among friends, many of whom Grizzle had worked with either on the railroad or during his time as a labour leader. Moving from home to home with a tape recorder that he started and stopped at will and at the request of interviewees, Grizzle instantly swept listeners into his world, where the formalities of the typical interview were cast aside, informal banter transpired, and drinks – complete with clinking ice cubes – were stirred in the background.

Grizzle’s insider knowledge both helped and hindered his ability to document the history of the BSCP. In most cases, he was immediately recognized as a “Brother.” Gaining trust was not difficult given the existence of prior relationships. As a result, many of the men tended to get right to the heart of what it meant to be a porter during the first part of the twentieth century. “Porter talk,” as Melvin Crump called it, allows listeners to see this world through the eyes of each porter with whom Grizzle met. It is an intimate look into a world that has now been lost. Viewing the job of a porter through this Black lens reveals how the men, and the women who supported them, thought about their everyday lives and viewed others. Ultimately, it also demonstrates the varied ways that they understood and negotiated societal inequality.

Canadian Pacific Railway sleeping car porter sitting in a train wagon.

Albert Budd, C.P.R., S.C. Porter, 1940s–1960s (e011781984)

Unfortunately, being an insider was not always beneficial. Given Grizzle’s own experiences, and his quest to document the history of the BSCP’s formation and of the men and women who made it possible, there were many missed opportunities along the way. In addition to Grizzle’s inclination to correct interviewees, stories pertaining to the fight for civil rights in the United States, experiences of migration, and some of the more problematic—and even controversial—issues that porters faced on the railroad are limited and, at times, absent from the record. The point was not to glorify porters’ diverse experiences, but there was a careful dance being done by those who recognized that reputations were at stake and the power that the company still wielded, despite the existence of the union, was real. In addition to these considerations, stories that should have been given space to be told were cut short given Grizzle’s objectives. Listeners hear the tape recorder stop and then restart at different stages in the life narratives being recounted. There is never any explanation. Listeners are left to try to listen for what was omitted, silenced, or simply lost to the past.

Nevertheless, along with these aspects of the interview, listeners are presented with wonderful opportunities to hear the ways that various sounds cut across these narratives and give us a way into a deeper understanding of who these interviewees were. Interviewees’ voices reveal the varied countries from which they descended. Heavy accents from America’s Deep South as well as those from a host of Caribbean nations tell us about lives lived elsewhere and the struggle of migrant labourers, who were often highly educated, to make a better life in Canada.

Two Canadian Pacific Railway sleeping car porters standing next to a train.

Left to right, Smitty from Montreal and Albert Budd (e011781983)

Everyday soundscapes also loom large. Radios and televisions wail alongside birds chirping in the background and children playing in neighbouring rooms. The banging of pots and pans reveals the presence of women in nearby kitchens, likely preparing a meal for their esteemed guest. The stomping of feet above the heads of Grizzle and his interviewees alongside the flushing of toilets speak to the substandard tenement housing from which some porters, then retired, were never able to escape.

We hear disability, too, when some stories are relayed. Heavy coughing and wheezing from smoking and its second-hand effects, as well as from years spent on the railcars, which picked up heavy amounts of pollutants through open windows, tell us about interviewees’ life choices in addition to the heavy toll this work took on their bodies. Men spoke of the disability pensions they collected as a result of the damage done to their backs by years of heavy lifting. On more than one occasion, Grizzle and his interviewees seem to be sitting in creaky wooden chairs, rocking back and forth, on creaky wooden floors, as the stories flow. One wonders whether the chairs speak to class, and the ability to own fancier furniture, or to disability, and the need for structure and support for aching bodies.

Group of Canadian Pacific Railway sleeping car porters gathered around a table.

C.P.R. porters, L–R Phil Witt, Jack Davis (e011781985)

The beauty of oral history is being able to listen to a story and take in the surroundings in which it is being created. It helps us process and make sense of the past. The Grizzle Interview Collection speaks to the complexity of understanding history as well as the importance of listening to the soundscapes in which everyday lives were captured and preserved for future listeners.

Additional resources

  • Oral History Off the Record: Toward an Ethnography of Practice, by Anna Sheftel and Stacey Zembrzycki (OCLC 841187000)

Stacey Zembrzycki is an award-winning oral and public historian of immigrant, ethnic and refugee experiences. She is currently doing research for Library and Archives Canada.

Creation of Census Search

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By Julia Barkhouse

We all love the Census. It’s the number one genealogical resource for finding ancestors because it gives reliable information on every Canadian, where they lived, how old they were, whether they worked, and other useful tidbits. It provides a snapshot of our population at a given time and place.

I love the Census for making it possible to track the movements of my great-grandfather, Henry D. Barkhouse. He was the inspiration for the recent work that my team, the Digital Access Agile Team, did to consolidate and release Census Search Beta in November 2022.

I want to take you through my journey in researching Henry D.’s life in the Census. He was born in 1864 and died in 1947 in Nova Scotia. My father never knew him, as he passed before my father was born. A very tall man, he married my great-grandmother, Samantha Udora (Dora) Butler, in 1899 in Scots Bay, Nova Scotia. They had eight children. He was a farmer, and his homestead has been passed down in my family to the present day. Other than this basic information, I know very little about him.

Photo of Henry D. Barkhouse and Samantha Udora (Dora) Butler at their homestead.

Henry D. Barkhouse (1864–1947) and Samantha Udora (Dora) Butler at the Barkhouse homestead in Scots Bay, Nova Scotia (c. 1930–1947). Image courtesy of the author, Julia Barkhouse.

Before starting my research, I record the information that I know about Henry D.:

  • Last name: Barkhouse
  • First name: Henry D.
  • Gender: Male
  • Dates: 1864–1947
  • Occupation: Farmer
  • Province: Nova Scotia (I didn’t know the district or sub-district)

Armed with this information, I expect to find Henry D. in the censuses from 1871 to 1921. The 1931 and 1941 censuses are not yet available.

The research journey begins, and I find him in the 1871 Census.

A page from the 1871 Census of Canada featuring Henry Barkhouse’s information.

Page of Census of Canada, 1871 (Item Number: 3150873)

With the first hit, I learn more about him. The census record confirms that he was born in 1864 and that he was seven at the time of the Census in 1871. Now, I can fill in the gaps with the district and sub-district names for Scots Bay. I also learn his religion. I can view the image and get more information about his education and whether he had any infirmities. I can also connect to his parents (James and Rebecca) and his brothers and sisters. Now, I have more information that I can use to find him in other censuses, and I can update my family tree.

At this point, I realize that I have to replicate this search in other Census of Canada databases. I decide to perform the same search in the 1881, 1891, 1901, 1911 and 1921 censuses. Performing the same search five more times will be long and (dare I say) frustrating.

Inspiration strikes: What if I could consolidate all the censuses into one master database of census records? This would allow me to use the same search parameters, search Henry D.’s name once, and get all the hits from all Census databases. I could view the results from 1871 to 1921 on one screen and use our built-in tools to save these results to MyResearch in order to come back to them later. This would shorten the time it takes to do research on each ancestor.

This idea required some quality thinking. Each census is slightly different. While it appears that all censuses capture similar information, the early ones (before Confederation) differ greatly from those conducted after 1867. As well, there were censuses of individual provinces (Ontario and Manitoba) and the Prairie Provinces (formerly “the Territories”). The search raised a number of questions, the biggest of which was: What happens when you put that amount of data in one database?

Conducting the search was a daunting task. Library and Archives Canada has 17 Canadian censuses comprising almost 44 million names. Each name is a record in our database. The search started with a detailed analysis of each census to compare and contrast the data captured in our databases. In this analysis, my team came up with a workplan and identified several improvements or questions to address after the launch. Our first release is Census Search Beta, which combines the 17 Census databases into a single interface. We call it “Beta” to indicate that our product is nearly complete and is being improved every two weeks. Our acceptance criteria before releasing the Beta product to the public were the following:

  • A search interface with all the fields currently available in our standalone databases plus a few more based on feedback from our clients (for example, gender, ethnic origin, place of birth, religion, occupation);
  • Search results with filters for province, census year, district and sub-district;
  • An item display that shows the digital object in our harmonized viewer and the full list of available fields (such as name, gender, age).

Once the censuses were migrated and available in Census Search, we were able to improve the overall search experience for our clients. Now, you can zoom the images with our harmonized viewer or view in fullscreen. You can also download and export your search results in a variety of formats (HTML, XML, CSV or JSON). You can save records to MyResearch and come back to them later. You can add transcriptions or comments to Co-Lab to tag or translate the images. You can suggest a correction to a record and help us improve the Census data.

Screenshot of Census Search with Julia Barkhouse’s great-grandfather’s information by first name, last name, and province limited to Nova Scotia.

Screenshot of Census Search (Library and Archives Canada website)

The first release for Census Search was a considerable task, and we are very happy with our achievement. We also have a blueprint for improvements moving forward. Following our initial launch, we have a number of questions and issues that we want to investigate and for which we want to come up with viable solutions. You will see these released as improvements to Census Search as we move out of the Beta phase. The purpose of this work is to:

  • bundle the images so users can navigate to the next page and view persons or families who may have been enumerated at the bottom of one page and whose information is continued on the next;
  • program the search interface to adjust itself with greyed-out text or pop-up messages for instances where not all censuses have data for all fields (for example, ethnic origin, place of birth, religion)
  • track the geographical changes to the country over time. Once the data was put together, we wanted to track the changes to provinces, territories, districts and sub-districts;
  • find a way to isolate one person and connect this person in each census, or to connect a person and their relationships to other people;
  • add any additional schedules (for example, agricultural schedules) to Census Search, and identify whether a person has additional information there;
  • clean up the data, and create historical data dictionaries that contextualize the terms used at the time (for example, “ethnicity”);
  • sort the search results to group together people by census year or in alphabetical order (ascending or descending).

As for my great-grandfather? Now, when I search for Henry D. in Census Search, I get his results from 1871 to 1921. I can save them to a list in MyResearch and come back to them to trace other family members as well. As we add more enhancements to Census Search, I will be able to page through the Census and view his family if they are enumerated over two pages. I will be able to see whether Henry D. has an entry in the agricultural schedules, since he was a farmer. I might learn how large his farm was and whether he kept chickens, pigs or cows.

Screenshot of Census Search results saved in MyResearch.

Screenshot of Census Search results saved in MyResearch (Library and Archives Canada website)

Creating Census Search has been a journey, and we have only just begun. As you can see, we have many enhancements and features coming to make the experience more enjoyable for you, our clients. Consolidating 17 datasets into one database was only the first step. We hope you will join us as we develop this free resource for you. You can send us your feedback via our email. You can also sign up for a 10-minute feedback session with us.

Julia Barkhouse has worked at Library and Archives Canada in data quality, database management and administration for the last 14 years. She is currently the Collections Data Analyst on the Digital Access Agile Team.

Cradleboards: keeping babies safe and portable

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On the left, Tatânga Mânî [Chief Walking Buffalo] [George McLean] is in his traditional First Nation regalia on a horse. In the centre, Iggi and a girl engage in a “kunik,” a traditional greeting in Inuit culture. On the right, Maxime Marion, a Métis guide, holds a rifle. In the background, there is a map of Upper and Lower Canada, and text from the Red River Settlement collection.

This blog is part of our Nations to Nations: Indigenous Voices at Library and Archives Canada series. To read this blog post in Kanien’keha, visit the e-book.

Nations to Nations: Indigenous Voices at Library and Archives Canada is free of charge and can be downloaded from Apple Books (iBooks format) or from LAC’s website (EPUB format). An online version can be viewed on a desktop, tablet or mobile web browser without requiring a plug-in.

First Nations and Métis Nation communities used cradleboards to secure and carry infants. While the style and form varied between nations, cradleboards were typically made from thin pieces of wood to which a baby was firmly swaddled in a piece of fabric and secured with ties. Cradleboards provided parents with a safe way to carry their children during travel and allowed them use of their hands while working.

First Nation woman with a baby on a cradleboard on her back.

First Nation woman carrying a baby on a cradleboard with a tumpline (e011303100-006)

To learn more about images of cradleboards in the collections at Library and Archives Canada, we invite you to read Kanien’keha:ka author Elizabeth Kawenaa Montour’s blog article “First Nations cradleboards: understanding their significance and versatility” and her essay “First Nations cradleboards: an enduring heritage.”

First Nation family with a baby secured onto a cradleboard in front of a tent near Lac Seul in Ontario.

Mary Ann Trout-Carpenter and her husband George Carpenter with their children. The baby in the cradleboard is either Melvin or Donna. James is standing behind his mother, George is in the centre, and Marianne is standing in front of her father. Lac Seul First Nation, Ontario. (e008300467)

The essay is featured in Nations to Nations: Indigenous Voices at Library and Archives Canada, a multilingual and interactive e-book. This e-book features 28 unique essays written by Elizabeth Kawenaa Montour and other First Nations, Inuit and Métis Nation staff. It is presented mostly in the Indigenous languages spoken by the people represented in each essay, and accompanied by English and French versions. The authors are Indigenous archivists, curators and advisors who have a personal connection to the collection items that they chose for their essays. Their essays show the diversity of the histories, languages and cultures of Indigenous peoples.

First Nation woman with a baby on a cradleboard on her back.

First Nation woman carrying a baby on a cradleboard, unknown location, 1918 (a017973)

“Cradleboard” in some Indigenous languages

    • Anishnaabeg: tiginaaganan
    • Oji-cree: tikinagan (also spelled tiginaagan, tikkanaagan or tikanagan)
    • Kanien’kéha: kahrhon
    • Michif: tikinagan
    • Mi’kmaq: migjowajij alapilaqan
    • Ojibwe: dikinaagan
    • Plains Cree (nêhiyawêwin): askotaskopison

Additional resources

  • Cradleboards, Library and Archives Canada’s Flickr album

Census 1931, a peek into digitization

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Version française

By Melissa Beckett and François Deslauriers

A glimpse into the microfilm room

Two photographs of the Eclipse Rollfilm scanner by nextScan; on the left, a view showing the full scanner, and on the right, a close-up of the reel with some film threading past two of the rollers.

The Eclipse Rollfilm scanner by nextScan. Credit: François Deslauriers

In a dimly lit room, two imaging specialists sit in opposite corners. Each stares at their screen, where a series of images is constantly flowing from one side to the other. The rhythmic mechanical sounds of the microfilm scanners are occasionally interrupted by the high-pitched whine of the rewind, and a clunk as the last of the film winds back around its reel. With white-gloved hands, a specialist removes the reel from her scanner and places it back into its round metallic canister, which she returns to its archival box. She removes the next canister and slices around the taped edge with a pocket knife. She takes out the reel and mounts it on the scanner, winding the film around a series of rollers and then onto another plastic reel.

Meanwhile, the other specialist has stopped the process on his scanner. He needs to readjust some settings because the images in this section of the reel are much brighter than the earlier ones. He adjusts the exposure values in the software until he is satisfied with the appearance of the images in the preview window. The specialist scans a short section of film and opens it in the auditing software to double-check. He views one of the documents at full size, examining it closely. He then rewinds the film to the beginning, starting the scanning process all over again.

The project

For the Census 1931 project, the Digitization Services team digitized 187 microfilm reels, for a total of 234,678 images. At this time, by law, the reels were still subject to statistical secrecy, and a security procedure/protocol had to be followed. Only “deemed employees” who had taken the Statistics Canada Oath or Affirmation of Office and Secrecy were authorized to view the material. Reels were kept locked in a secure room, and all digitization was performed completely off-line.

The Census 1931 microfilm reels contain about 1200 images of census documents on each reel of 35-mm black-and-white polyester film. The imaging specialist digitizes from the print master, a copy of the archival master reel, in order to prevent any deterioration of the original.

Microfilm is an effective means of preserving information for long periods of time (reels can last for 500 years). Microfilm stores vast quantities of information in a small amount of space and supports preservation of the documents contained by removing the necessity of handling them. Digitizing microfilm reels provides another level of preservation as well as of accessibility to the public, who are then able to view the images from anywhere with an Internet connection.

The scanning process

A photograph of the Eclipse Rollfilm scanner by nextScan, with labelled supply reel, stationary rollers, film guides, camera lens and take-up reel.

The Eclipse Rollfilm scanner by nextScan, with main components labelled. Credit: François Deslauriers

For this project, the digitization of the 1931 Census was performed with the use of the Eclipse Rollfilm scanner by nextScan, a dedicated microfilm scanner designed to digitize both 16-mm and 35-mm reels, in conjunction with an off-network computer. Film is threaded from the supply reel past stationary rollers and film guides to a take-up reel. The pinch rollers lower to hold the film in place on the film guides, automatically adjusting the tension of the film. The film is guided past a macro lens and digital sensor above, while lit from below through the film emulsion by a strip of red light. The reel is digitized as one long, uncompressed, grey-scale image file, referred to as a ribbon.

The imaging specialist handles the film using cotton gloves, being careful to touch the edges only. With the NextStarPLUS® Capture software, the reduction ratio (which is noted on the film and allows images to be reproduced at a 1:1 ratio) must be set, in addition to the resolution, film type (16-mm or 35-mm) and polarity (negative or positive). Before scanning, the specialist must also ensure that the exposure of the images is correct and that the lens is focused so the image is sharp.

With a live view on the screen, the specialist makes adjustments to the exposure and the focus. The specialist may zoom in on a focusing chart, as well as on the manufacturer’s information, printed along the edge of the film at regular intervals. The appearance of scratches or dust on the film can also be useful for determining sharpness. While the documents can be used to focus, this is only reliable if they were originally photographed with perfect sharpness.

A preview window during scanning allows the specialist to see when it is necessary to readjust settings over the course of scanning. When the documents were initially photographed, there may have been changes in lighting and exposure settings over the course of the reel. This results in some images appearing brighter or darker. The goal in digitizing each reel is to ensure that most of the documents will be legible, since adjustments in tonal values can only be made for the entire length of the film and not for each individual document.

After scanning is complete, the specialist rewinds the film and returns the reel to its canister.

A photograph of a 16-mm microfilm reel stacked on top of a 35-mm microfilm reel, next to a loupe, in front of a 35-mm microfilm reel in its canister.

16-mm and 35-mm microfilm reels. Credit: François Deslauriers

The auditing process

After scanning the reels, the imaging specialist uses the NextStarPLUS® Auditor software to process the ribbons (the long image files associated with each reel). The software is used to detect and select each individual document within the ribbon so that they can be exported as separate image files. According to its detection settings, the software generates coloured rectangles around the documents. The specialist scrolls past rows of documents to select those that were not detected by the software and to adjust any rectangles that do not contain the whole document. On a second scroll through, a blackout setting changes the contents of the rectangles to black. This leaves any unselected white parts visible, making it easier to spot anything that may have been missed on the first pass, for additional quality control.

Each digitized document in the census is assigned an e-number, a unique identifying number used in this project to sort the images by place.

The images were initially exported as 10-megabyte TIFF files. TIFF is a “lossless” file format, meaning that there is no image compression. For the purposes of the project, JPEG derivatives (a “lossy” file format that requires less storage space and is more accessible) were created to aid in matching the digitized images to the census geographic districts and sub-districts, as well as for external partners working in artificial intelligence (AI). Information Technology created a script to efficiently turn the TIFF files into JPEGs.

Yesterday and tomorrow

Working in digitization at Library and Archives Canada means constantly improving processes and exploring new techniques and technology, to create the best-quality images possible. The 1931 Census was no different. As imaging specialists, we have been glad to play a small part in keeping Canada’s history alive and making it accessible to the public.

Melissa Beckett is an acting Imaging Specialist in the Digitization Services Division at Library and Archives Canada.

François Deslauriers is an acting Manager of Reprography in the Digitization Services Division at Library and Archives Canada.