Nova Scotians will now have better access to the province’s archival heritage thanks to the Provincial Archival Development Program.
The program contributes to strengthening and improving the archival network in Nova Scotia and will help increase public awareness, appreciation and use of heritage. Smaller archives around the province are able to cost share initiatives.
“Nova Scotia has always been a place rich in culture and heritage and archives play a significant role in preserving and sharing that heritage,” said Communities, Culture and Heritage Minister Tony Ince. “Supporting and strengthening the provincial archival community makes it easier to open windows into our past.”
The Provincial Archival Development Program is funded and administered by the Department of Communities, Culture and Heritage, with the Council of Nova Scotia Archives assisting in the adjudication of the program. Up to $50,000 is available annually.
The Eastern Shore Archives received funding for MemoryNS, an online tool that provides access to archival records from institutions across Nova Scotia. MemoryNS has detailed information about records and their creators as well as contact information for the contributing archives.
“The Provincial Archival Development Program allows smaller institutions like the Eastern Shore Archives achieve archival goals which would otherwise be beyond the capacity of volunteer-run institutions,” said Thea Wilson-Hammond, executive director, Memory Lane Heritage Village. “With this year’s grant, we plan to make the entire collection lists of the Eastern Shore Archives available online so that researchers can view what is available in the archives and some of the representative images of our collection, through the online database MemoryNS.
“We are excited to participate in this program and applaud our province for continuing to support archives, as it has done since the days of Joseph Howe.”
Six projects are receiving funding through the program this year:
— Halifax Regional Municipality Archives, $15,000
— Cole Harbour Heritage Farm Museum, $5,800
— Parrsboro Shore Historical Society, $1,786
— Beaton Institute, Cape Breton University, $14,755
— Dalhousie University Archives, $7,736
— Eastern Shore Archives, $4,500
For more information on the program, visit http://archives.novascotia.ca/padp .
Source: Release