Memory, Identity, and Access: Two Decades of Cultural Heritage Digitization in Canada

Wednesday May 13, 2026

From 11:30am to 12:00pm

Digital Heritage

Over the past two decades, large-scale digitization initiatives have fundamentally reshaped how Canada’s cultural heritage is preserved, accessed, and interpreted. This panel examines the intertwined themes of memory, identity, and access by reflecting on the evolution of national and collaborative digitization efforts within the Canadian research and library ecosystem.

Drawing on long-standing leadership and first-hand involvement, panelists will trace the shift from digitization as a primarily technical undertaking to a deeply relational, values-driven practice shaped by partnerships, governance models, and shared stewardship. Perspectives will include early Internet Archive collaborations at the University of Toronto; the evolution of Canadiana.org from an independent organization to a programme of CRKN; and the development of the national heritage digitization strategies and infrastructures.

Panelists will address national-scale digitization through the lenses of policy, sustainability, and collective responsibility, highlighting both the opportunities and the persistent challenges of integration, governance, funding, and long-term access. Reflections may also draw on the experiences of organizations such as Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec (BAnQ), the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation (NCTR), and other Canadian organizations and programmes to illustrate how digitization practices intersect with questions of representation, reconciliation, and community trust.

Aligned with the conference theme Creative Collaborations, Collective Momentum, this session underscores the central role of cross-institutional collaboration in building and sustaining Canada’s digital cultural record. The panel invites academic librarians to reflect on how shared vision, durable partnerships, and collective action continue to shape research access, digital stewardship, and the ongoing construction of memory and identity in Canada’s evolving digital landscape.