SCAA response to COVID-19
Dear Colleagues and Valued Members:
The COVID-19 situation continues to evolve rapidly with increased warnings from the government about the risk to our personal communities; this is creating a sense of stress and concern weighing on everyone. Like many other businesses and associations, SCAA is taking necessary steps to protect you, your families and the community at large in the efforts to reduce the spread of this worldwide pandemic.
- The Privacy Roundtable Workshop that was planned for March 27th has been postponed until later in the year.
- Our Archives Advisor Cameron Hart will refrain from site visits throughout the province until further notice.
- As you are likely aware, all Regional and Provincial Heritage Fairs for 2020 have been canceled, and replaced with a province-wide Virtual Heritage Fair.
- The SAIN merger project was scheduled to conclude at the end of March and the new “MemorySask - SAIN” merged database was to be publicly launched. With the Advisor’s travel restricted and the University of Saskatchewan IT staff, who host the database, dealing with other priorities at this time, the launch is having to be postponed. The SCAA and U of S are working on making other temporary hosting arrangements. We are hoping that this will allow members to begin to contribute to the new database, and can help facilitate some of our members to work from home.
- We will be reviewing our plans for our AGM later in June, and are considering teleconference and online options.
We will continue to monitor and re-evaluate our upcoming programs as necessary, as the situation changes day to day, and are still committed to offering you the best services and professional development opportunities as possible during these times.
Membership renewals will continue to be accepted by the usual payment methods; however if you are needing an extension or have any concerns, please contact the office at scaa
We want to thank you for your kind understanding of an ever-changing and difficult situation. By implementing all the recommended safeguards, together we can ensure future safety for all.
Stay apart but remain close,
Gloria Bearss
Executive Director
Mission
The SCAA promotes Saskatchewan's documentary heritage through leadership, support and education of archives and archivists.
Goals:
1. Refine governance systems
2. Improve programs and services
3. Expand human and financial resources
4. Enhance communication with members
5. Increase awareness of value and use of archives
Current SCAA projects
As part of the SCAA's mission to promote the use of Archives, we have maintained the Saskatchewan Archival Information Network (SAIN), with the help of the University of Saskatchewan. SAIN initially was established in 2000 and has gone through many transformations since. It is a network of information about archival holdings in Saskatchewan and currently consists of two databases, one containing descriptions of archival collections and the other descriptions and digital scans of photographs in our members' collections.
One of the most significant transformations was the deployment of the software platform "Access to Memory" or AtoM. This piece of software is open-source, developed by Artefactual Systems in British Columbia, and has been implemented by most provinces and territories including Archives Canada at the national level. AtoM allows our members to directly enter their descriptions into the database, without the help of additional staff. The AtoM software also has the ability to handle all the differing levels of in archival description making SAIN a powerful research tool.
This ability has made it possible to merge SCAA's two databases into one and as of late 2019 SCAA, in partnership with the U of S and Artefactual, have undertaken the process of merging the two databases of SAIN into one. This project is expected to be completed in the first few months of 2020. This will allow the public to conduct research and searches of the full content of both databases at once, including the ability to search within different photograph collections
Please watch this website for further news on this project.
The SAIN merger project was scheduled to conclude at the end of March and the new “MemorySask - SAIN” merged database was to be publicly launched. Due to the COVID-19 outbreak the SCAA Archive Advisor’s travel has been restricted and site-visits to members postponed. The University of Saskatchewan's IT staff, who host the database, are dealing with other priorities at this time. Therefore the launch is having to be postponed. The SCAA and U of S have made temporary hosting arrangements. This will allow members to begin to contribute to the new database and can help facilitate some of our members to work from home.
AtoM is being used provincially and nationally;
British Columbia, https://www.memorybc.ca/; Alberta, https://albertaonrecord.ca/; Manitoba, https://main.lib.umanitoba.ca/; Ontario, https://www.archeion.ca/; New Brunswick, https://search.canbarchives.ca/; Nova Scotia, https://memoryns.ca/; Prince Edward Island, http://www.archives.pe.ca/atom/; Newfoundland, https://arc.anla.nf.ca/.
And finally, of course, Library and Archives of Canada, https://archivescanada.accesstomemory.ca/
Archival Records/Primary Sources
An archival record can be:
- A textual document like a letter, a report or meeting minutes
- A visual document like a photograph, map or architectural drawing
- An audio document like a tape recording of music or oral history interview
- A multimedia document like a home movie
- A digital document like an email
The important thing to remember about any kind of archival record is that it is a primary
source of historical information.
A primary source is a record created or collected by an individual, organization or institution to document a particular event, activity, idea or decision.
Some examples of primary sources include: letters and diaries; government, church, and business records; oral histories; photographs, motion pictures, and videos; maps and land records; and blueprints.
These archival records/primary sources provide unique opportunities for exploring and understanding history.
By examining the primary sources stored in any archives, one can begin to see why history attaches importance to specific dates, names and places. At the same time, you may find information related to these dates, names and places that you would not be able to find in any history textbook.
Whats new
It is with disappointment that we acknowledge the cancellation of the 2020 Heritage Fairs. Plans to virtually hold the fairs can be found here.
The SCAA, on the the advice of the health authorities in the province has postponed our Privacy Round-table workshop, Friday March 27.
QUICK LINKS
- Annual General Meetings (AGM)
- Archives Week
- By-laws and Plans
- Contacts
- Directory of Archives in Saskatchewan
- Grants and Funding
- Institutions Virtual Exhibits
- Member login
- Blog - Outside the Box
- Public Awareness Resources
- SAIN Photograph Database
- SAIN Collections Database
- SCAA Virtual Exhibits
- Saskatchewan Heritage Fairs
- YouTube videos - Lives and Letters
- YouTube videos - The Truth is in There
