Discover Library and Archives Canada

January 11, 2015 marks the 200th anniversary of the birth of Canada’s first Prime Minister, Sir John A. Macdonald. And while some aspects of his life and legacy remain contentious, most agree that his role in the creation of Canada was paramount. In this episode we explore the life and career of Sir John A. Macdonald with award-winning journalist-historian Arthur Milnes as our guide. Also joining us is LAC art archivist and curator Madeleine Trudeau, who speaks to us about the incredibly diverse collection of Sir John A. Macdonald material available for consultation at Library and Archives Canada and online.

In this episode, retired Collections Manager of Artworks Gilbert Gignac and Art Archivist Mary Margaret Johnston-Miller, both from Library and Archives, join us to discuss William Hind, an artist who played a key role in the development of art in Canadian society. We explore who William Hind is, his unique contributions to art in Canada, and what is included in Library and Archives Canada’s William Hind Collection.

When you hear the words “rare book,” you might think of an old, valuable book that’s hard to find, but there is much more to rare books than that. In this episode, we explore rare books and the collection held at Library and Archives Canada that has grown from relatively modest beginnings into one of the finest collections of rare printed material in the country. Joining us today from Library and Archives Canada is Special Collections Librarian Meaghan Scanlon.

Over 640,000 men and women enlisted in the Canadian Expeditionary Force (CEF) during the First World War as soldiers, nurses and chaplains. In this episode, we will look at the service files of these men and women to find out the types of documents that are found in them, their research value and how they ended up at Library and Archives Canada. Joining us today from Library and Archives Canada are archivist Marcelle Cinq-Mars, and genealogy consultant Sara Chatfield.

In this episode, Art Archivist Geneviève Morin and Conservator Lynn Curry from Library and Archives Canada join us to discuss the William Redver Stark fonds. We explore his background, look at his time as a soldier during the First World War and the artwork he produced, specifically the 14 sketchbooks included in his fonds.

In this episode, we discuss LAC’s sheet music collection. We will explore what sheet music is, what is in LAC’s collection and how it came about. We’ll also talk about the historical value of sheet music and why it’s still relevant today. Joining us today from LAC is archival assistant Gilles Leclerc.

Canada has a rich maritime history filled with many tragedies, from small boats [lost] in the Great Lakes, to the sinking of the Empress of Ireland in the St. Lawrence River, to Sir John Franklin’s doomed expeditions in the Arctic. The shipwrecks capture our imaginations and evoke images of tragedy, heroism, mystery and discovery. 2014 also marks the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the Empress of Ireland. Marc-André Bernier, Chief of Parks Canada’s Underwater Archaeology Service, is joining us to discuss shipwrecks and their significance in Canada’s history, and LAC’s important role in the research, discovery and investigation of these shipwrecks.

Library and Archives Canada (LAC) is releasing its latest podcast episode: The Virtual Gramophone: Early Canadian sound recordings. LAC’s Virtual Gramophone is a multimedia website devoted to the early days of Canadian recorded sound, providing an overview of the 78-rpm era in Canada. Gilles Leclerc, Archival Assistant, and Gilles St-Laurent, Head Audio Conservator from LAC join us to explore LAC’s Virtual Gramophone website and music collection. They discuss the different aspects of the collection and bring to light some incredible stories about maintaining the collection for future generations.

In this episode, we explore our unique and one of the very few known collections of Canadian pulp magazines that Library and Archives Canada started to acquire in 1996, and their rise and fall in the 1940s and into the early 1950s. Our guests today are Ian Driscoll, author and contributor of Library and Archives Canada’s website Tales from the Vault!, and joining us by phone from Australia, Dr. Carolyn Strange, co-author of True Crime, True North: The Golden Age of Canadian Pulp Magazines.

The invention of photography in the early 1800s revolutionized the way humans communicate and share information. And while it’s hard for us to imagine not having a device with a camera at our side at all times, photography has only recently become available to the masses. In this episode, we explore the evolution of photography using Library and Archives Canada’s extensive photographic collection as our guide. Archivist Jill Delaney takes us through the collection and brings to light some of the incredible stories surrounding these iconic images.

Few things define what it is to be Canadian more than our love of hockey—“Canada’s Royal Winter Game”. In this episode, author and hockey expert Paul Kitchen joins us to discuss the origins of hockey, the evolution of the game, and what our love of hockey says about the Canadian character. Mr. Kitchen also speaks to us about the wealth of hockey-related resources held by Library and Archives Canada.

Between 1869 and the late 1930’s approximately 100,000 children were brought to Canada from Great Britain. Predominantly motivated by social and economic forces, a number of religious and philanthropic organizations encouraged the child migration movement for many abandoned and poor children to begin a new life in Canada. In this episode, Library and Archives Canada’s Marthe Séguin-Muntz and John Sayers of BIFHSGO, join us to discuss the lives of Home Children and to share the wealth of resources available at LAC.

This year, Canada is commemorating the 200th anniversary of the War of 1812, a unique opportunity for all Canadians to take pride in our traditions, and our shared history. Therefore, Library and Archives Canada has developed the exhibition, Faces of 1812, which features a number of collection items related to the war. In this episode, Professor Michael Eamon joins us to discuss his work as curator of the exhibition, some of the works included, how it came about and why the War of 1812 is significant to all Canadians.

Rebel, imposter, knitter, and heartthrob—these are words not typically associated with figures from Canadian history. Get up close and personal with some of Canada’s most prominent men and women in Library and Archives Canada’s Double Take exhibition; discover how they dispel the stereotype of Canadians as mild-mannered and self-effacing.

In this episode, we consult a panel of experts about the massive immigration of Irish settlers to Quebec in the 1800s, the journey they undertook to establish their new lives on foreign soil, and the cultural bond that formed between the Irish and the Québécois.