What's New
Library and Archives Canada, Canadian Urban Libraries Council, and Canadian War Museum announce collaboration for the delivery of Lest We Forget workshops
For immediate release
Ottawa, Ontario, November 8, 2010 – Today, Library and Archives Canada, the Canadian Urban Libraries Council, and the Canadian War Museum are officially announcing a collaborative agreement for the delivery of Lest We Forget workshops across Canada. These workshops allow students to consult and research primary source documents by looking through the military service files of Canadian soldiers, doctors or nurses who served in the First World War or who were killed in action in the Second World War.
Under the terms of the collaboration, librarians and other trained individuals across Canada are now able to organize and deliver Lest We Forget workshops using the online tools provided by Library and Archives Canada.
On November 8, Library and Archives Canada and the Canadian Urban Libraries Council will be making a launch announcement at the Burlington Public Library. An additional announcement will be made at Library and Archives Canada, 395 Wellington Street on November 10.
The workshops are now held in four libraries across the country as well as at the Canadian War Museum in Ottawa. Current collaborating libraries include the Burlington Public Library, the Fraser Valley Regional Library, the Winnipeg Public Library, and the Toronto Public Library.
"We are delighted to see that our Lest We Forget project is being expanded," said Dr. Daniel J. Caron, Librarian and Archivist of Canada. "This new collaboration with the Canadian Urban Libraries Council and the Canadian War Museum will allow students from across Canada to experience a Lest We Forget workshop with a trained facilitator."
"The opportunity to bring the popular Lest We Forget workshops and have access to these historical files in our buildings is one we are most excited about," notes Carole Laguë, Chair of the Canadian Urban Libraries Council.
"Educating museum visitors and students about the service and sacrifice of Canada’s servicemen and women is a vital part of our mandate," stated Mark O’Neill, Director General of the Canadian War Museum. "We are pleased to be part of this collaboration, and to make our resources available to the Lest We Forget project."
Plans are already under way to expand the workshops to other public libraries and to school boards that wish to participate in the Lest We Forget project.
The general public can visit Library and Archives Canada to access or to request copies of the military service files of Canadians who served in the First World War. Library and Archives Canada is in the process of forming collaborative agreements to digitize the remaining military service files and to enhance the overall accessibility of these documents for the general public.
About Library and Archives Canada
The mandate of Library and Archives Canada is to preserve the documentary heritage of Canada for the benefit of present and future generations, and to be a source of enduring knowledge accessible to all, thereby contributing to the cultural, social and economic advancement of Canada. Library and Archives Canada also facilitates co-operation among communities involved in the acquisition, preservation and diffusion of knowledge, and serves as the continuing memory of the Government of Canada and its institutions.
About the Canadian Urban Libraries Council
The Canadian Urban Libraries Council is committed to the strengthening of vibrant urban communities through building the capacity of Canada’s urban libraries. Its members collectively serve more than 7.5 million active users who annually make more than 384 million uses of its 522 locations virtual services.
About the Canadian War Museum
The Canadian War Museum is the national museum of military history. It attempts to help all Canadians better understand their country’s military history in its personal, national and international dimensions. The Museum emphasizes the human experience of war to explain the impact of organized human conflict on Canada and Canadians, and how, through war, conflict and peace support operations, Canadians have affected, and have been affected by the world around them. Special exhibitions and programs also explore non-Canadian and general themes related to the human experience of war and the subject of armed conflict, past and present.
Lest We Forget project: www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/education/cenotaph/index-e.html
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