CRKN and JSTOR have launched a pilot project to add over one million pages of digitized documentary heritage from the Canadiana Government Publications sub-collection to JSTOR’s Open Community Collections.
The Government Publications sub-collection contains over 1.7 million pages of historical pre-1900 colonial, provincial, and federal government documents. The sub-collection includes pre-Confederation official government publications produced by colonial legislatures, federal government documents published between 1867 and 1900, pre-1900 official guides for prospective immigrants to Canada, as well as a selection of official publications from France and Great Britain.
Participating in the JSTOR Open Community Collections is part of a broader initiative to ensure that Canadiana content is widely available to researchers. Through this pilot project, CRKN aims to increase the discoverability and use of the Government Publications sub-collection, gain insight into how the content is used in research, and identify and evaluate tools and services that can expand the impact of this vital collection. Participation in this pilot project will happen in tandem with ongoing improvements and enhancements to the Canadiana collections and to the Canadiana platform. Canadiana content available through the Canadiana platform, as well as through JSTOR’s Open Community Collections, remains accessible at no cost to users.
Publication of Canadiana content on JSTOR’s platform began earlier this month and will continue until completed. Canadiana content in the Open Community Collections can be found on the CRKN landing page and Government Publications collection page. The pilot project is anticipated to run for the remainder of 2021 and will be evaluated by CRKN’s Preservation and Access Committee.
For more information, please contact:
Rebecca Ross
Senior Director, Strategy and Engagement
613-791-8334
rross@crkn.ca