Collections and Information Access Branch

The Branch continued to preserve, manage, develop and provide information on the CMCC's vast store of heritage material.

Staff forged ahead with the digitization project -- the recording of CMCC objects and photos on Photo-CD -- as well as the relocation of artifacts to the CMC Laurier Park complex from off-site warehouses. Progress was made in integrating, cross-referencing and standardizing records. Consolidation of various collections is almost complete and a self-directed work team, Datamuse, is simplifying and unifying the structure of the records inventory system.

Collections Management Services

Major Achievements

• Staff began to plan for takeover of the management of collections information housed at the Canadian Heritage Information Network (CHIN), Department of Canadian Heritage.
• Movement of collection items, including 60 watercraft and Children's Museum artifacts, from the Asticou storage centre to newly prepared space within the CMC Laurier Park complex.
• Photo-documentation of 1,289 newly acquired objects and 5,389 collections accessed for research projects (in addition to work on the digitization project).

Electronic Outreach

• Participation in an international project to exchange museum resources electronically -- the Computerized Interchange of Museum Information.

Digitization Project Highlights

• 16,101 artifacts photographed and scanned
• 53,276 scans -- photo archives
• 20,048 scans -- professional format

Information Management Service

Major Achievements

• Integration of the publication mail-order service.
• Transfer of all administrative records (2,600 boxes) from off-site storage to the CMC Laurier Park complex; fit-up and transfer of all audio-visual material into climate-controlled storage; inventory of the photographic vault; re-assessment of the international exchange programme (number of exchange partners reduced).
• Streamlining of the fee structure for information provided to clients, resulting in significant breakthrough in IMS's contribution to the revenue generation effort.
• Acquisition of three major archival collections -- the Krienke (Dionne Quintuplets, including dresses, bonnets, medals, one quilt, one painting and sweaters), Dr. W.E. Taylor and Ontario Puppetry Association collections.

Electronic Outreach

• Steps have been taken to provide more electronic access to library resources: the library catalogue will soon be available on the Internet, and two direct e-mail addresses for client information requests were added to the CMCC Web site.

Highlights

• 36,298 acquisitions
• 59,556 items catalogued
• 29,109 documents inventoried
• 575 current periodical subscriptions
• 499 titles received from exchange partners
• 12 Mercury titles sent to partners
• 11,612 responses to information requests
• 9,631 library visitors
• 43,757 items consulted by researchers on-site
• 10,907 loans to institutions and CCMC staff
• 788 incoming loans
• 14 Internet requests