Cultural Heritage preservation and Access: Digital Library North

• Main Authors: Rathi, Dinesh, Maloney, Elaine, Farnel, Sharon, Campbell, Sandy, Stobbs, Robyn, Shiri, Ali, Cockney, Cathy
• Format: Other/Unknown Material
• Language: English
• Published: 2016
• Subjects: Digital Information Infrastructure - Northern Canada; Digital Libraries - Northern Canada; Inuvialuit Settlement Region - Information Resources; Environmental Scans - Information Science - Methods; Canada; Northwest Territories; Yukon; Inuvialuit
• Online Access: https://era.library.ualberta.ca/items/98099b28-2af7-4d24-a06c-256bc945149d; https://doi.org/10.7939/R3ZK55V2J

Digital Library North (DLN) is an ongoing project with the overarching goal of creating a digital library infrastructure for the north. In Canada’s North access to information has been limited by the geographic dispersion of the population, lack of high-speed communications infrastructure, and low availability of digital information resources. DLN aims to address the information needs of northern residents by increasing access and providing a model of organization to make information available across time and space. Specifically, the project is focused on the Inuvialuit Settlement Region (ISR) in the northernmost parts of the Yukon and Northwest Territories and is being conducted in collaboration with the Inuvialuit Cultural Resource Centre (ICRC). The project aims to create a digital library infrastructure specific to the ISR that will then be able to serve as a model for other regions in the Canadian North. Collaboration and the perspectives of potential communities and users are an integral aspect of the project and are important to understanding the cultural context for the digital library infrastructure to be created. An environmental scanning model has been created and is being used as a guide to understand the context of the digital library. Several methods and forms of data collection are being used for the project. This poster summarizes the emerging methodology and analysis plan as we plan for the 2016 field season.