• The Database
• The Search Screen
  • By keyword
  • By theme
• Search Syntax
• Search Tips
• How to Interpret the Results
  • Results Summary List
  • Detailed Description
• How to Consult a Record or Order a Copy
• Copyright

This database contains a selection of approximately 400 descriptions of photographs of nurses held at the Library and Archives of Canada. Approximately 200 photographs have been digitized and are available through this research tool. These photographs cover various themes, dating back to the early 1900s, including the South African War, outpost nursing, nursing education, and hospitals. This database was created in partnership with the Canadian Nurses Association and the Canadian Museum of Civilization's on-line exhibit Canadian Nursing History Collection On-line. For more descriptions of nursing photographs held at the Library and Archives of Canada, please visit the photographs database in ArchiviaNet.

How do I search by Keyword
A query of the database can be completed using a keyword. The keyword searches the title and the location of the photograph. The title provides a general description of the photograph.

Search by Theme
The 200 digitized photographs in this search tool have been organized according to themes. Researchers can use the dropdown menu to chose a theme and view all photographs associated with that theme.

Themes:

Nursing Work

Outpost Nursing

Public Health Nursing

Military Nurses

Visiting Nursing

Industrial Nursing

Specialty Nursing and Sanatoria

Nursing Education

Hospital Independent School Diploma

Nursing Assistants

Nursing Work

Acute Care Hospitals

V.I.Ps Worthy Notables

Unless you are looking for a specific photograph, conduct your search using limited terms. Truncate if necessary. Use ? to replace a character, and $ to replace a chain of characters to allow for possible misspelling.

For example:
If you type Sm?th, you will obtain Smith, Smyth. If you type Financ$ you will obtain finance, finances, financial, etc.

Limit the search to digitized images only

You can check the box for "descriptions with a digitized image" to limit your search to only digitized images.

How many results per page

A successful query will return a result page. The number of results is determined by the number of records matching your search and the number of references of pages (defaults to 20 references per page).

Each result page will display a line at the top which indicates the search term(s) used and the number of successful hits or references.

Results Summary List

Your search results will be posted as a results summary list from which you will be able to obtain more detailed descriptions.

The first column is linked to the detailed description (see below). Clicking on the icon will bring you to the detailed description.

The Title column provides the photograph's title; sometimes it is abbreviated. The complete title appears in the detailed description.

The Date column provides the photograph's exact or approximate date.

The Restrictions on use column provides information on access rights to the photograph, if applicable.

The Copyright column provides general information on holders of copyright.
A cross-mark under the column Available On-line column indicates that a digitized copy of the photograph is included in the detailed description.


Detailed Description

When you chose a specific image, click on the icon to get a detailed description. The detailed description includes all or some of the sections described below.

Item
Name of the fonds or collection.

Title
This is the complete title of the photograph as entered in the database, generally as it was described in the lists that accompanied the accession. More specific information may be added within brackets.

Date
Photograph date

Place
Place illustrated in the photograph

Size
Height and width of the image, and platform.

Format
Technical information. (Code book required)

Scope and Content
Various scope and contextual notes on the work, if available.

Reference Numbers

• Reproduction:
  This is the copy negative number that is used to order a photographic reproduction.
  
• Accession:
  This is the administrative control number assigned to a group of documents acquired by the National Archives at the same time, and from the same source.

Close to 200 digitized photographs are available on-line, and this number will increase. Some conditions govern the utilization of digital images.

Consulting original documents may not be possible for conservation reasons. Where possible, consultation is done at the Library and Archives Canada in Ottawa, by appointment.

For more information about the reproduction and consultation services offered by Library and Archives Canada, please follow the Obtain copies and Consulting records links.

Reproduction of archival material is subject to the Copyright legislation and its regulations. This is a highly complex area for both archives and researchers and has a profound effect on the way that the National Archives delivers its services to researchers for protected material.

Copyright can be owned or held by an individual or a group of individuals, a corporation, the Crown, or the public. The terms of protection can vary subject to the author, the nature and the disposition of the material in question, and other considerations. The National Archives of Canada holds a variety of material for which the ownership of copyright may be uncertain due to the mixture of public and private material, or published and unpublished works. One of the major difficulties for both archives and researchers is in identifying and locating the copyright owners.

It is recommended that researchers consult the Copyright Act and seek legal advice where questions regarding the interpretation of copyright arise.

It is not the role of the National Archives of Canada to interpret the Copyright Act for researchers, and researchers must accept responsibility for determining any copyright obligations. Researchers should allow adequate lead time for researching ownership and obtaining permission, as required.