[CivicAccess-discuss] Canadiana.org: Digitization, Preservation, Access

[Tracey P. Lauriault]

As a student at Carleton University I can access and use
*Canadiana.org*content (
http://www.canadiana.org.proxy.library.carleton.ca/en/).  I have been going
through census reports, bulletins and instruction manuals to census
commissioners from early 19th century as part of my dissertation.

I was really excited to find this resources, but later discovered that one
can only access it if one pays membership fees.

They are a non-profit which requires some revenue generation.  There are
mutiple membership types (
http://www.canadiana.org.proxy.library.carleton.ca/en/doc/forms/memEN.pdf).
It is a really great initiative and project, I can see that institutions
supporting this initiative with membership fees helps keep the project
going, but should that provide exclusive access only to them?  Could a model
of access be more open, as in the institutions agree to participate and
contribute but make the data available to all canadians?  Does paying always
mean at the exclusion of others?  Is this not the job of our National
Archive?  I am guessing this emerged as the National Archive was either
incapable or unwilling to do this.

Canadiana.org (http://www.canadiana.org.proxy.library.carleton.ca/en/about)a
national membership alliance of partners governed by an active
volunteer
Board of Directors made up of distinguished scholars and representatives of
major research libraries from across Canada, alongside partners who strongly
champion access to Canadian heritage. Our pan-Canadian platform recognizes
the need for many types of partners and sectors to participate in the
governance and financial support of the organization and its mission.
Governance will be as representative as possible of the many constituent
sectors. Canadiana.org is collaborative so as to give it the flexibility to
grow and the agility to respond to changing opportunities
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