Preservation of and access to Dundas’ historical records made easier thanks to a grant from the Government of Canada

The Dundas Museum & Archives is the grateful recipient of $14,972.00 from the Government of Canada through the Documentary Heritage Community Partnership program administered by Library and Archives Canada.

This new funding will allow the Museum to continue to provide access to highly used records while preserving the originals. The Museum has already purchased a ScanPro 3000 digital microfilm scanner with funds from the grant. “This is a game changer for us,” says the Museum’s archivist Sandra Kiemele. “We can now retire our fragile paper newspapers and other at-risk documents and use a microfilm copy. But this is not your parents’ microfilm reader! The ScanPro provides the user with a more comfortable research experience and allows us to balance preservation and use.”

Funding was also received for the Museum to purchase a scanner which will be used to digitize the extensive glass negative collection and other graphic collections. Staff will launch this project next month and volunteers will assist as the project moves forward. The digitized images will be uploaded to the Museum’s website and featured on social media.

Curator Kevin Puddister is excited about the possibilities this grant allows. “Probably one of the most important issues the Archives faces is how to make this fantastic collection available for people to use, while ensuring its long term preservation. This grant is a huge step forward in allowing us to do just that.”

For more information about this project, contact the Museum at 905.627.7412.

Using microfilm for research has never been this much fun!