Research in Libraries & Special Collections Digitized Collections, Free Resources, & Oral History

University of Lethbridge Library’s Digitized Collections http://digitallibrary.uleth.ca/ Includes Cardston Temple historical record, Lethbridge Research Centre archival photos collection, Magee photograph collection (Blackfeet Nation, MT), Nicholas de Grandmaison collection, Alberta Parks herbaria, aerial photos, maps, oral histories, Alberta Archaeological Review, Coyote Flats oral history project, Galt Museum & Archives collection of historic maps and insurance plans, and more.

U of L Southern Alberta Newspaper Collection http://digitallibrary.uleth.ca/cdm/landingpage/collection/sanews Alberta Star (1902-1907); Cardston News (1925-1958); several Granum newspapers (1908-30); Hanna Herald (1912-1965); Kainai News (1968-1991); Sun Dance Echo (1964-1966); Milk River Review (1948-58 & 1961), Macleod newspapers (1897-1919); Waterton newspapers (1979-2014); and more.

U of L Blackfoot Digital Library https://www.blackfootdigitallibrary.com/ Publicly accessible Blackfoot-centric online library, including photos, documents, audio and video. Can be searched by tribe, by format, by collection, or by keyword (clothing, ceremonies, art, stories, war).

University of Alberta Library’s Peel’s Prairie Provinces peel.library.ualberta.ca/index.html Digital collections including books, postcards, photos, and maps. Some highlights include Alberta Henderson’s Directories, Grain Elevators in Canada, Grain Growers Guide, Alberta Folklore and Local History Collection (not all digital).

U of A Peel’s Prairie Provinces: Newspapers http://peel.library.ualberta.ca/newspapers/ Dates range from 1871-2013 Wetaskiwin Times; Taber Free Press; Vermilion Signal; Strathmore Standard; Stony Plain Sun; Redcliff Review; La Liberté; Oyen News; Bassano Herald; Chinook Advance; Le franco-albertain; Edmonton Capital; Irma Times; and many more.

University of Calgary’s Archives & Special Collections Digital Collections http://asc.ucalgary.ca/collections/digital Highlights include Dene Crafts Collection, Political Papers Digital Collection, and Emerging Alberta (the Alberta Report Photo Collection).

Our Future Our Past: The Alberta Heritage Digitization Project http://www.ourfutureourpast.ca/index.html Books on local history, Calgary Stampede history, photos, art, folklore, legislative history and more. Alberta Newspapers Collection with dates between 1885-2001, including: Calgary Daily Herald; Camrose Canadian; Claresholm Local Press; Nanton News; Pincher Creek Echo; Red Deer Advocate; Crag & Canyon (Banff); Drumheller Review; and many more.

Finding More Digital Collections: Archives Society of Alberta: Alberta on Record http://www.albertaonrecord.ca/ Search archival collections across Alberta from one search portal, including oral histories. WorldCat https://www.worldcat.org/advancedsearch A worldwide online catalogue. Search for “Downloadable Archival Material” in the advanced search of WorldCat to find digital collections from around the world. Also try “Downloadable Visual Material,” “eNewspaper,” or “Internet Resource.”

Open Access Scholarly Publications: Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ) https://doaj.org/ DOAJ is a database of reputable, open access, scholarly journals – if you can’t afford JSTOR, this is a good place to look for scholarly articles in all disciplines. OpenDOAR http://www.opendoar.org/ A directory of open access online repositories, which contains materials from university repositories across the world, including theses, dissertations, scholarly journal articles, and more, in all disciplines. Each university will have its own institutional repository containing scholarly research produced at that university. University of Alberta: https://era.library.ualberta.ca/ University of Calgary: http://dspace.ucalgary.ca/ University of Lethbridge: https://www.uleth.ca/dspace/

Oral History Resources: University of Manitoba Oral History Centre http://oralhistorycentre.ca/tutorials Online tutorials and information to help you get started with oral histories, as well as workshops and links to oral history projects and collections.

University of Lethbridge Centre for Oral History and Tradition (COHT) http://www.uleth.ca/research/centres-institutes/centre-oral-history-and-tradition Online resources, how-to guides, ethics info, and more – also holds Community Oral History Workshops open to anyone planning to be involved in an oral history project.