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BCIT Burnaby Campus Street Names: A little history of BCIT the second part [2 of 2]

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With so much construction continuing around Burnaby campus it seemed like a good opportunity to think about street names. Over its history BCIT has been home to many inspiring people. Current streets around Burnaby campus are named after some of these people as well as men who were early influencers in technical training in this province. Too many people to mention in a single blog post; I have already published BCIT Burnaby Campus Street Names: A little history of BCIT the first part [1 of 2] I hope you enjoy the second part.

Burnaby Campus map from 1988.

Burnaby Campus map from 1988. Includes the following streets: White Avenue, Goard Way, Smith Street, English Street, Roper Avenue, Carey Avenue and you can clearly see the Butcher Shop where SE2 is now.

I noticed a trend while writing and researching this post so decided to start with some brief biographies of people not honoured with a street name. Do you need to be a white man to have street named in your honour? If not, BCIT has a number of remarkable students, educators and influencers in its rich 50+ year history:

Barbara Kozier

Barbara Kozier, Department Head of General Nursing, 1968(?)-1979; staff photograph ca. 1960s.

Barbara Kozier was a Nurse, author and educator who had a longstanding position in the Nursing program at BCIT, eventually becoming the Department Head for Health Care Services at BCIT. She authored the seminal nursing textbook Fundamentals of Nursing: Concepts, Process & Practice (now in its 10th edition) as well as several other important nursing textbooks.

 

Judy Monk giving the valedictorian speech, 1966.

Judy Monk giving the valedictorian speech, 1966.

Judy Monroe (nee Monk) was BCIT’s first valedictorian in 1966 when she graduated from the Hotel and Restaurant Management Program. Monroe was the first Secretary of the Student Council and was instrumental in initiating what is now the BCIT Student Association and running the first student council election way back in 1964. She taught night school for a couple of years at BCIT as one way of giving back. She went on to manage the Facilities Department of the Portland Oregon Zoo.

Feel free to use the comments below to name more amazing BCIT personalities that deserve to be recognized. I am keen to learn from the community and hear your suggestions.

 

Fairey Avenue was named after Col. Francis Fairey, Provincial Director of Technical Education who became Deputy Minister.  A teacher by profession, Fairey served as a Liberal member of the House of Commons from 1953 to 1957 and was instrumental in promoting technical education.  After his retirement, he headed World Commissions on technical education; one in Japan, and one in Africa.

BCIT Rededication invitation card insert includes the following streets: Lister Avenue, White Avenue, Goard Way, Ford Street, Roper Avenue, Carey Avenue, Fairey Street.

BCIT Rededication invitation card insert includes the following streets: Lister Avenue, White Avenue, Goard Way, Ford Street, Roper Avenue, Carey Avenue, Fairey Street.

Lister Avenue was named after J. George Lister , first principal of Vancouver Technical School (1916-1930) and one of the promoters of the Federal Technical Education Act of 1918; an Act which provided $10 million for technical education.

Sinclair Walk was named after James Sinclair, second of Principal of Vancouver Technical High School (1930-1944), Vancouver’s first technical school, also known as Van Tech. Sinclair Walk no longer appears on our maps – I’m not entirely sure when it disappeared.

Guichon Creek with SE16 Recreational Services and SE14 the Library in the background, ca.1979.

Guichon Creek with SE16 Recreational Services and SE14 the Library in the background, ca.1979.

Kyle Street was named after John Kyle, the Director of Technical Education for the Province of British Columbia, between 1914 and 1938.  For a time Guichon Creek was known as Kyle Creek.

Guichon Alley references Guichon Creek which exists under most of our campus in a pipe. Guichon Creek is named after Laurent Guichon who owned a hunting cabin at Willingdon Ave. and Price St. in the late 1890s. Plans to daylight North Guichon creek and create a green corridor through the campus are slowly moving forward and can be seen in long term plans of BCIT Burnaby Campus.

Classic photograph of Guichon Creek with students standing on a discarded car.

Classic photograph of Guichon Creek with students standing on a discarded car. The creek through our campus has been through many changes over the years. I’m looking forward to seeing it daylighted one day.

BCIT Burnaby Campus Street Names: A little history of BCIT the first part [1 of 2]

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With so much construction continuing around Burnaby campus it seemed like a good opportunity to think about street names. Over its history BCIT has been home to many inspiring people. Current streets around Burnaby campus are named after some of these people as well as men who were early influencers in technical training in this province. Too many people to mention in a single blog post; watch for BCIT Burnaby Campus Street Names: A little history of BCIT the second part [2 of 2].

Map of BCIT Burnaby Campus 1979

Exam location map from 1979 shows: English St., Goard Way, White Ave., Lister Ave., Roper Ave., Ford St. and Fairey St. And look, Student Parking lot D, at Ford St. & Wayburne Dr. was once a playing field! Some exams were held at the Gizeh Shrine Temple – but don’t try parking there!

I noticed a trend while writing and researching this post so decided to start with some brief biographies of people not honoured with a street name. Do you need to be a white man to have street named in your honour? If not, BCIT has a number of remarkable students, educators and influencers in its rich 50+ year history:

C.M. Briscall

C. Margaret Briscall, Business Management, staff photograph, taken sometime between 1965 and 1967.

Margaret Briscall, BCom, MBA, FCPA, FCMA. When Briscall retired from BCIT after more than 35 years she was BCIT Associate Dean Financial Management. Briscall played a significant role in establishing BCIT’s Financial Management department, within the School of Business, beginning her career there as one of the first female instructors hired at BCIT in early 1965 to develop the second year business courses. She was delighted with the move to BCIT as she would get a pay increase by leaving UBC. In her two previous positions, at BC Electric and at UBC, there were separate pay scales for men and women doing the same job – at BCIT she would be paid equally. In 1978 she became the first female president of the BCIT Staff Society, representing the interests of a predominantly male faculty. Briscall was universally respected for her forthrightness, integrity, commitment to the students and experience in the field. She was a CGA national examiner for many decades and became a fellow of the Society of Management Accountants of Canada in 1984 and a Lifetime Member for the Chartered Professional Accountants of BC in 2001.

Robert (Bob) George receiving his honourary doctorate

Robert (Bob) George receiving his honourary doctorate.

 

Elder Bob George (1923-2014) of Coast Salish, Tsleil-Waututh Nation was BCIT’s first Indigenous Elder in residence and a rock for many who attended BCIT over the ten years that he held this position.  In 2005 BCIT presented George with an honourary doctorate.

Feel free to use the comments below to name more amazing BCIT personalities that deserve to be recognized. I have researched a few more deserving personalities for Part 2. I am keen to learn from the community and hear your suggestions.

Dr. English and Cecil Roper (right), 1966.

Dr. English and Cecil Roper (right), 1966.

Roper Avenue was named after Cecil E. Roper (1914-1996), the first Principal of BCIT (1962-1967). A provincial Advisory Council[1][2], made up of industry executives, recruited Roper from the Faculty of Commerce at UBC as the first Principal of BCIT. Roper, trained as a mining engineer, had earned an MBA after 20 years in the mining industry. Well connected to the world of BC industry, and equally well connected at UBC, he was able to attract faculty and staff from both arenas to work and volunteer for BCIT in its earliest days.

English Street was named after Dr. J. F. K. English, Deputy Minister and Superintendent of Education of the province of BC. Dr. English was appointed Chairman of BCIT’s first Advisory Council.

Principal Dean H. Goard.

Principal Dean H. Goard.

Goard Way was named after Dean Goard (1909-1986), the second Principal of BCIT (1967-1974). In 1939 he began his teaching career at the Vancouver Technical School. He was a Chemist who was educated at UBC where he also did the teacher training program. Previous to his appointment at BCIT Goard was assistant director at Vancouver Community College and Assistant Director of Adult Education at the Vancouver School Board. After his retirement from BCIT he went on to be University Affairs Director for the province of BC.

Ford Street was named after Dr. C. Ross Ford, Director of Technical Training Branch of the Federal Department of Labour.  Dr. Ford was not directly involved with BCIT but he was instrumental in the establishment of technical institutions across Canada.

Carey Avenue was named after Ralph Carey, long- standing member of the first BCIT Advisory Council.

Smith Avenue was named after Lorne Smith, second Principal of BC Vocational School (BCVS). BCVS became the Pacific Vocational Institute (PVI) in 1978 and merged with BCIT in 1986.

I hope you learned something and enjoyed Part 1 of the Street Names of BCIT Burnaby Campus.

[1] 1961: An Advisory Council was formed to begin planning the proposed BCIT. Dr. J. English, Deputy Minister and Superintendent of Education was appointed chairman and  J. S. White, Director of Technical and Vocational Education, vice-chair.

[2] Between 1961 and 1974, BCIT was controlled and funded directly by the BC Department of Education, in partnership with an Advisory Council chosen from business and industry. The roles of the Advisory Council included:

  • To advise the Minster of Education on the operation of BCIT in particular
  • Approve faculty and technical support staff appointments
  • Approve scholarships and assist in obtaining financial donations from industry
  • Advise on major policy
  • Advise on new building requirements
  • Approve educational programs or extension of existing programs

People make records – ARA 2018

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Not long after the heat wave plaguing the UK ended I arrived in Glasgow for the Archives and Records Association (UK & Ireland) Conference (ARA). The theme of the conference, ‘People Make Records’, is a play on the popular travel Glasgow initiative/motto/website: People Make Glasgow. The people do make Glasgow – it’s an incredibly friendly city.

The BCIT Archivist all ready for things to get started at #ARA2018!

The BCIT Archivist all ready for things to get started at #ARA2018!

The conference itself was challenging, informative and well organized. All three keynotes were inspiring and shaped the conversations throughout each day. Hopefully they will also shape the future with the realization of the Glasgow Manifesto as it was called for in the final panel debate. It’s time to stop just talking and start taking action!

At ARA every day I was moved to laugh, cry and be inspired. I would like to share a few highlights from my conference experience.

Professor Augustine (Gus) John delivered the first keynote inviting archives and records professionals to radicalize the Archives. He began by listing a few anniversaries that happened in August that went by unremarked upon by most including the date August 18, 1518 when King Charles V of Spain issued a charter authorizing the transportation of slaves directly from Africa to the Americas. 2018 is 500th anniversary of the start of the transatlantic slave trade. Not widely known or marked, in contrast to the end of the slave trade. It’s easy to celebrate positive events – it’s more challenging to tell politically unsettling stories and remind the public of less savoury anniversaries. Records are power. John highlighted three main ways in which records can be obviated: willful omission, erasure and malicious changes. Archivists are not neutral. Archivists do have power. Watch his keynote here (scroll to the bottom of the page for all video links – fantastically, many of the presentations are available on the ARA’s website). Homework from Gus John; read: The History Thieves by Ian Cobain (can be borrowed from the BCIT Library).

People make records. People tell stories. If you are ever in Glasgow I urge you to visit the Women’s Library it began in the 1990s with a passionate group of women. Equality, diversity and inclusion are core functions of the Glasgow Women’s Library. It is now funded, has it’s own building, and runs wonderful community, learning and art projects. Quotable quote from Adele Patrick of the Glasgow Women’s Library, “marginalized communities aren’t hard to reach – they are easy to ignore.” [As a sad aside – the Vancouver Women’s Library closed this past August.] You can watch a video of Patrick’s presentation here.

Conference delegates were lucky enough to attend a reception at the Glasgow City Chambers where we were welcomed by the City’s Mayor. I was delighted to find a connection to a presentation from earlier in the day – a portrait of the First Convener of the Water Committee.

Portrait of Robert Stewart of Murdostroun, Lord Provost of the City of Glasgow 1851-1854 and First Convener of the Water Committee 1855-1856.

Robert Stewart of Murdostroun, Lord Provost of the City of Glasgow 1851-1854 and First Convener of the Water Committee 1855-1856.

The Arlington Baths Club (ABC) could not have started without this man, Robert Stewart of Murdostroun, First Convener of the Water Committee 1855-1856. This portrait was “painted to commemorate his public services in successfully promoting the waterworks act of 1855 by which the citizens obtained an abundant supply of pure water from Loch Katrine.” Fifteen years later, in 1870, ABC opened as a men’s swimming pool club that also featured a library, smoking room and card room. There were no public swimming pools in Glasgow at the time. It still has an annual membership. Members are generally middle class and women were first allowed in 1882 (their first races, judged on style and grace, were held that year and the following year, like the men, they had timed races). The ABC History Group recently started a blog sharing research done at the Glasgow City Archives about past members. The stories found by the ABC History Group are a sweet reminder of the genealogical joys found in Archives. Watch a video of Lucy James’ presentation here.

Michelle Caswell, Assistant Professor of Archival Studies at UCLA, began the second day of the conference with another call to action. Memory work has a political urgency and meaning; marginalized communities see history repeating itself. People need to be reminded that we should not let this happen again – foundations need to be shaken. She has gathered a community and started a project called Archivists Against History Repeating Itself. Homework from Caswell: print out and put up this poster Dismantling White Supremacy. Archives need to ensure they can be trusted by marginalized communities. Watch the video here.

twitter was very excited about Tunnock's caramel bars!

On a lighter note; Tunnock’s is a well-loved Scottish company. All locals were delighted beyond reason that caramel Tunnock’s bars were included in our welcome package and offered at coffee break more than once.

Just a couple more presentations that I would like to highlight:

  • Jenny Bunn offered a thought-provoking presentation about the future of Archival Description. She kindly put a post of her musings on her blog, Trailing Along: Rambles through recordkeeping.
  • Marion Kenny passionately shared with us the story or Qisetna, Talking Syria. A platform for sharing stories and connecting the Syrian diaspora. Artists, musicians, regular citizens and professional storytellers from Syria have shared their stories and found pathways to healing through this multi-lingual website. The entire panel that this presentation was part of was full of wonderful stories it can be watched here. I especially recommend the final presentation by Alan Butler of the Plymouth LGBT Archives.
  • In the UK the Master of Archival Studies programs are only one year. In North America most Masters degrees are two years. I very much enjoyed the discussions in the Skills Digital Archivists Need session surrounding what aspects of the traditional program to cut out now that digital archives skills are required by the profession. At Aberwystwyth University, you can still take courses in Paleography, however, it is no longer possible to graduate without digital learning.
Sibley on stage for the third and final Keynote of the ARA Conference.

Sibley on stage for the third and final Keynote of the ARA Conference.

Martyn Sibley began our final day in Glasgow with an inspiring and thoughtful key note. He is one of the UK’s most prominent activists and advocates for disabled people, check out one of his projects Disability Horizons. Describing himself as ‘…a regular guy who happens to have a disability called Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA).’ Sibley challenged the room to be mindful of improving accessibility to archives and records. Rather than see only barriers focus on your strengths and what you can do to include people. Takeaway quote from Sibley ‘being inclusive for disabled people is really about good customer service.’ Watch the final Keynote here.

People make records. People make changes. Believe that positive change is possible. Together the profession can grow in many ways. Embracing the idea of radicalizing the archives to tell the uncomfortable truths in our history as Gus John urged. Dismantling white supremacy. Knowing when it is time to shut up and do the hard work that needs to be done. Ensuring that the records of the marginalized are acquired and preserved so their stories are not forgotten and history does not repeat itself as championed by Michelle Caswell.  Finally, knowing our ‘inclusion superpowers’ as Martin Sibley challenged us. Championing inclusivity in our hiring practices, in education and in serving our communities.

BCIT Archives – Office of the President series

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My name is Chloe Perrin, and in the fall of 2017 I helped out in the BCIT Archives as an Archival Professional Experience student from the Master of Archival Studies program at UBC. I worked with records transferred from the Office of the President to the BCIT Archives. Transfers of records to the BCIT Archives from BCIT Departments are scheduled in BCIT’s Directory of Records; vital or important records with a disposition of ‘Ar,’ Archival Retention are transferred to the BCIT Archives for permanent preservation. My task was to appraise the current holdings, arrange them appropriately, and provide archival descriptions in the BCIT Archives‘ AtoM database.

Banker's boxes on shelves.

The daunting task I was faced with; twenty-four boxes. [Photograph by Chloe Perrin]

Records from the Office of the President date back to the mid-70’s on a wide array of topics. It’s overwhelming the number of areas that BCIT Presidents’ deal with. There’s information on everything from mundane meeting minutes to the implementation of new degree programs. Did you know that the ‘smart’ student card was issued 20 years ago?

Prior to my arrival only a small portion of the Office of the President series had been processed by the Archivist. Twenty-four bankers boxes of records from the President’s Office were transferred to the BCIT Archives and accessioned but were waiting to be rehoused, arranged and described in the database. The archival theory I studied at UBC prepared me well for the challenge.

Banker's box of original file folders.

My job was to turn boxes of files… [Photograph by Chloe Perrin]

Properal archival storage, neat labels, acid-free folders.

Into neatly labeled files in acid-free folders…at the same time creating hierarchical descriptions now incorporated in BCIT Archives’ database. [Photograph by Chloe Perrin]

If you are interested in learning more about these records, they can be found as part of the BCIT Archives database collections in the Office of the President series.

BCIT Archives – new search!

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The BCIT Archives is pleased to announce the launch of our new online search.

Screenshot of BCIT Archives & Special Collections homepage. 'Search' and 'Browse by' circled.

Screenshot of BCIT Archives & Special Collections database homepage. ‘Browse by’ and ‘Search’ circled.

This change is exciting for many reasons:

  • It allows the BCIT Archives to make all descriptions and digital objects available in one place.
  • It allows us to show relationships between records and between records and their creators.
  • Researchers now have access to an Advance Search feature which allows for easy filtering of searches and easy adding of additional search criteria.
  • Researchers can now easily browse digital objects, subjects, authority records (creators) and archival descriptions.
  • There is a ‘Popular this week’ feature that show what other people have been clicking on.

The BCIT Archives will continue to invest time and energy into making more digital objects available as well as describing the textual records in our holdings. At the same time our goal is to provide useful context for all of these materials.

Explore BCIT Archives

Some favorite collections to browse include: The BCIT Historical Photograph Collection and the BCIT Student Association fonds, which includes digitized versions of the BCIT Yearbooks and the Link Newspaper.

The BCIT Archives would like to thank iSchool@UBC Professional Experience student Sarika Kelm for her fruitful time in the BCIT Archives in the summer of 2015. Kelm’s main project while here, was the rehousing, arrangement, and description of the Fernando Vachon series. For access to these, or any other original archival materials in our holdings, please contact the BCIT Archivist.

A note about citing BCIT Archives materials

Screenshot of the file level description of 'BCIT and its place in education for the Canadian mining industry.' Reference code and nested hierarchy circled.

Screenshot of the file level description of ‘BCIT and its place in education for the Canadian mining industry.’ Nested hierarchy’ and ‘Reference code’ circled.

Whenever crediting BCIT Archives materials as a source please quote the Reference code. The Reference code for all levels of description can be found at the top of each description in the ‘Identity area.’ The Reference code is a neat nested summary of each file or item within a collection, fonds, series or subseries – proceeding from highest level to lowest.

For example, a file level description Reference code of: F01-s02-ss13-f1, would break down as follows: F01 British Columbia Institute of Technology fonds, s02 BCIT Office of the President series, ss13 Subseries Executive presentations, f1 BCIT and its place in education for the Canadian mining industry file. The top left corner of any description you are looking at will display the relationships. You can expand or minimize levels using the triangle icons.

Why this software

The BCIT Archives chose the open source software AtoM for several reasons:

  • AtoM was developed under the guidance of the International Council on Archives using international archival standards.
  • Starting from archival standards ensured that the end result would be a software that was able to reflect the complex nature of archival records.
  • It has an active community of users worldwide.
  • This active open source community means that updates are frequent and user-driven.
  • And finally, the lead developers on AtoM, Artefactual Systems, are our neighbours, based in New Westminster.

Time Capsule sealed until BCIT 75th Anniversary

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The honoring ceremony begins.

The honoring ceremony begins. Joanne Stone-Campbell explains the BCIT Aboriginal Services blankets that cover the bentwood boxes. Photographer, Scott McAlpine

On February 29, 2016, Leap Day, a few people from the BCIT community gathered for a ceremony to honour the artist James Michels and to seal the two bentwood boxes that he made for this purpose. The boxes will not be opened until BCIT’s 75th Anniversary in 2039-2040.

Feather and Smudge shell on top of one of the Blanketed cedar bentwood boxes.

Feather and Smudge shell on top of one of the Blanketed cedar bentwood boxes. Photographer, Scott McAlpine

 

The honouring ceremony began with a cleansing Smudge lead by Alf Dumont, BCIT Aboriginal Services Elder and BCIT Aboriginal Services Advisor. He offered the smoke from tobacco, cedar, sage, and sweet grass to all who were there, as a way of preparing ourselves for the experience we are going into. “This allows us to focus on what is about to happen,” Elder Alf said. “We are putting memories of our community into these boxes, we are all responsible to carry memories.” Everyone present was invited to sweep the smoke over themselves and draw it into their hearts.

Smudge ceremony

Mirabelle Rohatgi taking the Smudge offered by Alf Dumont. Photographer, Scott McAlpine

Joanne Stone-Campbell, BCIT Aboriginal Services coordinator, spoke about the significance of the boxes. They were made by artist James Michels of the Cree and Metis nations, in the traditional Northwest Coast method of steaming and bending a single plank of cedar wood into the shape of the box. Stone-Campbell explained that the blanketing ceremony honours “the importance of our gifts to be put in the time capsule.”

The boxes housed within the bentwood boxes are fireproof and waterproof. They hold memories and stories of the BCIT community as we celebrated our 50th Anniversary. More than fifty items have been included in the 2014/2015 time capsule. These include local and national news articles about BCIT during its’ 50th year, 50th anniversary promotional items and memorabilia, as well as letters to the future. Some highlights include a replica vintage ‘I *heart* BCIT’ button, three banners representing the different BCIT 50 years colours, the special edition BCIT & Beyond Link Magazine 2015, The Vancouver Sun, Saturday, October 4, 2014,’BCIT: 50 years and counting: Institute broke new ground and launched thousands of careers,’ and the gorgeous, limited edition, BCIT 50 Years viewbook (only 60 copies printed). BCIT Aboriginal Services graciously contributed many special items and photographs including a wood box representing a bentwood box, decorated with the Aboriginal Services logo, designed by Chief Ian Campbell, Squamish Nation. The design represents mind, body, spirit and the Coast Salish welcome, hands held up. This item was given to grads and special guests for the June 2014 Aboriginal Graduation Ceremony.

Time Capsule boxes as they were being packed.

Time Capsule boxes as they were being packed. Photographer, C. McLellan

Bill Their and Rene Jacques sealing the boxes.

Bill Their and Rene Jacques sealing the boxes. The storage boxes were packed with foam, then a layer of plywood, more Styrofoam, tape and then a fast-drying sealant. Once dry they will be topped with the artist-made solid cedar lids that are painted to match the House Post. Photographer, Scott McAlpine

BCIT Aboriginal Services thanked everyone involved in the process of the safe housing of the Time capsule; from the artist to the people from facilities who did the planning for the sealing and the labour.

Once Their had smoothed the concrete Dumont was given the honour of marking the wet sealant.

Elder Alf Dumont

Elder Alf Dumont getting his hand dirty for posterity! Photographer, Scott McAlpine

The date, Dumont’s handprint and signature.

The date, Dumont’s handprint and signature. Photographer, Scott McAlpine

For the sealing of the second box everyone got in on the fun. Writing in wet cement is harder than you might guess. Donna Woo made it look easy!

Everyone signs the second box!

The ‘I LOVE BCIT’ sticker fell off Sandra Matsuba’s jacket and there it stays for the next 25 years! Photographer, Scott McAlpine

Group shot!

Thanks to everyone who made it a special event! And a heartfelt shout out to those who had other places to be. Photographer, Scott McAlpine

Where will you be in 2039-2040? What significant changes do you see happening to BCIT in the next 25 years? If the people planning the unveiling plan it just right they can do it on a Leap Day. See you on February 29th 2040!

I was honoured to be a part of this project and delighted with my silk scarf decorated with the Aboriginal Services logo. As an archivist I spend a fair amount of my time looking back at history. I believe that looking back is a powerful way to plan and be ready for the future. Putting together this Time Capsule invited us to meditate on where we might be in 25 years. I will end with the quote about Archives and the power of Archives that I used at the end of the ceremony. A dear friend and fellow archivist in the UK, Geoffery Yeo:

Archives and records are important resources for individuals, organizations and the wider community. They provide evidence of, and information about, the actions of individuals, organizations and communities and the environments in which they occurred. They extend and corroborate human and corporate memory and play a critical role in maintaining awareness of how the present is shaped by the past…they are among the tools we can use to help us understand where we came from and where we are going.

 

 

Merry Christmas from the BCIT Archives!

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Yule Link from December 1965.

Yule Link from December 1965.

Happy Holidays and all the best for 2016 from the BCIT Archives! This is some fun original art created for the December issue of the Link from 1965 – a very different look from the slick BCIT Student Association publications that we are accustom to now. If you want to read the full issue from 1965 it can be found here. The BCIT Archives has put historical issues of the Link online.

Digital Library Federation Forum 2015 – Some things that Matter

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word cloud #DLFforum

A word cloud of #DLFforum hashtag. Using R to see the top 200 words used under the #DLFforum hashtag.

The first time the Digital Library Federation (DLF) held it’s DLF Forum outside the USA they decided to come to Vancouver. I was lucky enough to be on the Planning Committee for this wonderful event, present at, and attend DLF2015. The weather was glorious. The venue lovely, and the people amazing. Being surrounded by American accents all day gave the conference an out-of-town flavour for me! DLF forum is a conference that has a loyal following and the first conference I have encountered that sold out before the conference program was even announced!

20th Anniversary cake

DLF celebrated its 20th Anniversary while in Vancouver. The party included a French fry bar with cheese curds and gravy for poutine as well as a delicious curry sauce for the more adventurous.

DLF Forum (#DLFforum) was a packed event with up to five steams to choose from and often three presentations happening during ‘lunch break,’ one of which was an improv class where improv techniques were used to raise issues within digital scholarship – silly me went to an intense open source software workshop. The program as a whole included a mix of practical workshops, presentations and snapshot sessions, where presenters had seven minutes to present and two minutes for questions.

I would like to share just a few highlights from my conference experience with you.

] “Science can tell you how to clone a tyrannosaurus rex and humanities can tell you why this might be a bad idea.” And the scientists at MIT assure their Library Director that cloning a tyrannosaurus rex is not actually possible.

“Science can tell you how to clone a tyrannosaurus rex and humanities can tell you why this might be a bad idea.” And the scientists at MIT assure their Library Director that cloning a tyrannosaurus rex is not actually possible.

I met Chris Bourg, Director of MIT Libraries. If you are the sort of twitter-user who follows intelligent and witty librarians who also describe themselves as: Sociologist. Feminist. Butch. Lesbian. Queer. Then do follow @mchris4duke. She is currently in charge of an exciting project at MIT planning the future of the libraries at MIT. This project relies heavily on student input. Check out Bourg’s blog, Feral Librarian, she’s much funnier than I am.

Bourg agreed to do a keynote for the DLF preconference only if the keynote would be collaborative and participatory and if she could invite her twitter friend Cecily Walker. Cecily is Vancouver Public Library’s Assistant Manager for Community Digital Initiatives & eLearning. She spoke to us about a project she was involved in that she ended up getting emotionally involved in; a project to preserve the Women’s Memorial March Quilt and make accessible the stories of the women who are missing or dead. The final project will be launching January 2016. Together Bourg and Walker reminded us that what we librarians do matters. They completely succeeded in getting the room to participate and set the tone for an exciting day.

Safia U. Noble @safiyanoble continued the trend and blew everyone’s minds with her keynote, “Power, Privilege, and the Imperative to Act.” Dr. Noble shared some of her research on search engines and the power wielded by the few who write the algorithms of what is seen and not seen by the public. She argues that Librarians play an important role in teaching and empowering other researchers to acknowledge that search results are never neutral.

https://twitter.com/paigecmorgan/status/658707096469266432

Lesson learned! Now I will always start presentations with my twitter handle!

Along with Mahria Lebow I gave a 7 minute Snapshot presentation called “Meaningless Metadata: Maintain the Trust of our Academic Communities.” We are both metadata geeks; ’nough said.

The Snapshot sessions were fun and very popular. In a seven minute presentation there is no time to be boring. The most interesting and relevant things people have to say is all that there is time for. My favourite Snapshots included:

  • BigDIVA , a new way for Digital Humanities researchers to discover and curate digital artifacts. Presented by Timothy Duguid, Texas A&M University.
  • Also out of Texas, Elizabeth Gushee, Harry Ransom Center, talked about their new fantastic open access policy. Project REVEAL, makes available 22,000 pages of manuscript content of some of the best-known names from American and English literature to be used for any purpose without restriction.
  • The Provenance Online Project (POP) is a crowdsourcing initiative out of the University of Pennsylvania that is turning out to be very popular and actually answer some exciting research questions. Check out the POP flickr feed. Presented by Laura Aydelotte, University of Pennsylvania.
  • And for you math-lovers, from our neighbours at UBC, YouTube for Mathematics (almost, but digitally preserved) – BIRS and UBC Collaborate to Create a Digitally Preserved Mathematical Video Archive, Presenter: Eugene Barsky, University of British Columbia. Lectures from the world’s best mathematical minds are turning out to be far more popular than initially anticipated when the team started to preserve these videos for the longterm and make them available on YouTube.
The view from the generously provided quiet room on the 19th floor. One of the few photos I took over the course of my whirlwind DLF experience. Too busy schmoozing, learning and note-taking to take photos for the blog post I was planning to write! Sorry about that.

The view from the generously provided quiet room on the 19th floor. One of the few photos I took over the course of my whirlwind DLF experience. Too busy schmoozing, learning and note-taking to take photos for the blog post I was planning to write! Sorry about that.

Purdom Linblad presented her work on Take Back the Archive, an inspiring and challenging project out of the University of Virginia (UVa). The aim is to preserve, visualize, and contextualize the history of rape and sexual violence at UVa. Much like the Women’s Memorial March Quilt the project Take Back the Archive honors the individual stories of survivors. These will be preserved along with official documents of the university and newspaper articles. The biggest challenge is in sharing stories in a safe way, presenting the final website with all of the gathered materials in a manner that respects the survivors and challenges those complacent in the violence to examine their attitudes.

An interesting presentation on collaborating to bring the history of women in higher education together in one searchable portal, College Women, ended up generating a small amount of controversy. The project includes seven American women’s-only colleges. Known as the “Seven Sisters” they include: Barnard, Bryn Mawr, Mount Holyoke, Smith, Vassar, and Wellesley Colleges, and the Schlesinger Library, Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study at Harvard. Even with their history of collaboration dating back to the late nineteenth century aligning metadata and approving design in a pilot project with only one-year’s worth of funding was challenging. Future steps will hopefully include reaching out to other women’s colleges. The audience at DLF immediately wondered why Spelman College, and other traditionally black women’s colleges were not invited to participate. Inclusion is an issue that the project team would like have the opportunity to address. This blog post about Vassar’s first black students shows the historic tensions that still reverberate today.

https://twitter.com/bembrarian/status/659076929614557184

Talking about digital preservation and metadata was what made me the happiest!

Of the workshops that I attended, my favourite was the one on Fedora 4; an open source software project that is a repository platform for the management and dissemination of digital content.

The four days that I attended DLF Forum 2015 to be inspiring and a little overwhelming. Major themes that emerged for me included enthusiasm for collaborations, open source, open access, supporting diversity and the importance of good and thoughtful communication.

If you need a break from end of semester stress check out the Cornell Hip Hop Collection! More than 500 party and event flyers from 1977-1984 will cheer you up. I promise.

Smoking at BCIT! A short history

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Notice the ashtray on the desk of the Student Association voting table. March/April 1980. BCIT Archives item no. a001312.

Notice the ashtray on the desk of the Student Association voting table. March/April 1980. BCIT Archives item no. a001312.

Until the mid-nineteen eighties smoking around the BCIT campus was normal. The clean air policy was implemented, to some controversy, in September of 1986 and then delayed until the new year to allow staff and students time to get used to the idea or to quit smoking.

In the beginning smoking was fairly controlled at BCIT. The BCIT Student Information Brochure from 1964/65 included a section on smoking.

“Smoking is not allowed during lectures or during labs. Smoking is allowed in halls, during period breaks. Students must use ashtrays.” Taken from the BCIT Student Information Brochure, 1964/1965. pg. 15.

“Smoking is not allowed during lectures or during labs. Smoking is allowed in halls, during period breaks. Students must use ashtrays.” Taken from the BCIT Student Information Brochure, 1964/1965. pg. 15.

‘Student behaviour and dress’ from the BCIT Student Information Brochure, 1964/1965. pg. 15.

‘Student behaviour and dress’ from the BCIT Student Information Brochure, 1964/1965. pg. 15.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

During the rainy months todays’ smokers, however, might have enjoyed being permitted to smoke in the hallways during class breaks. While by today’s standards the smoking policy was quite permissive some might find the section of student behaviour and dress very restrictive.

When the school first opened men were required to wear shirt and tie. I especially like the afterthought comments for the obviously not very well represented female students; “Women should be attired appropriately in accordance with the regulations for men. Slacks or shorts are not appropriate attire for women students.” (p. 15)

A frank and somewhat silly little piece on how restrictive it would have been to not be allowed to smoke in classrooms. The Link September 13, 1978, pg. 5.

A frank and somewhat silly little piece on how restrictive it would have been to not be allowed to smoke in classrooms. The Link September 13, 1978, pg. 5.

By the 1970s it appears that it was the norm to smoke (and eat) during lectures. That smoking and eating were prohibited in classrooms in the mid-1960s was a huge shock to students in 1978. A Link article from September 13, 1978 scoffs at the idea of not being able to smoke in the classroom. The writer even offers advice on constructing an astray from the foil liner of cigarette packages.

No smoking in the new racquet ball courts. Link 1983-03-30 p.4

No smoking in the new racquet ball courts. Link 1983-03-30 p.4

There have been some changes going on. The Prices of beer are up and we now have table service. And there’s a no smoking section. No picture of that ‘green pasture’ because people who don’t smoke don’t photograph well. From the Link 1981-01-21 p.3.

There have been some changes going on. The Prices of beer are up and we now have table service. And there’s a no smoking section. No picture of that ‘green pasture’ because people who don’t smoke don’t photograph well. From the Link 1981-01-21 p.3.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Restrictions on smoking began to slowly creep in. In 1981 the pub created a non-smoking area.

The new Student Association Campus centre (SE16) opened in 1983 with a no smoking policy. A short quote from the article above demonstrates an open attitude toward the idea that smoking is not appropriate everywhere: “ I know that the campus centre was built for students, all students, however smoking is already permitted in most areas of the SAC (except for a small section in Growlies [the pub])…so if students do get the urge to ‘light up’ it is only a short distance to the nearest smoking area.”

The smoking survey results. From the Link, April 23, 1986, pg. 8

The smoking survey results. From the Link, April 23, 1986, pg. 8

BCIT’s Clean Air Policy was jump-started in January of 1985 after a petition from 30 staff members requested their office area be designated non-smoking. Shortly after their request, Dr. Barbara Copping, BCIT Medical Services Director asked the Health and Safety Committee to initiate an Institute smoking policy. After a year of gathering health and legal information the BCIT Smoking Policy Committee met. The committee consisted of smokers, nonsmokers, ex-smokers, students, teaching and support staff, managers and Health and Safety Committee members. The BCIT Smoking Policy Committee conducted a survey of staff and students to gauge attitudes towards smoking in shared spaces at BCIT. The results showed students (78%) and staff (90%) in favour of a formal policy restricting smoking at BCIT. The list of shared spaces that the majority of students thought should have no restrictions on smoking or designated areas included: entrances/foyers, student lounges, the cafeteria, the pub, and recreational areas. Of staff respondents over half thought it reasonable to have no restrictions or designated smoking and non-smoking area of staff lounges, cafeterias, and the staff dining room (staff were not surveyed about the pub).

Quit smoking program ephemera from 2008 – does this look dated to anyone else? Photograph by, Cindy McLellan.

Quit smoking program ephemera from 2008 – does this look dated to anyone else? Photograph by, Cindy McLellan.

The Clean Air Policy was implemented January 1, 1987. It has since been revised several times. If you are interested in the current smoking policy at BCIT you can find it here BCIT Policy no. 7501.

Peace out. I leave you with an image of BCIT’s first streaker, with a cigarette in his mouth. Image is taken from The Link March 15, 1974 pg. 4

Peace out. I leave you with an image of BCIT’s first streaker. He is making the peace sign and smoking a cigarette. I assure you that he is also wearing a tie. Image is taken from The Link March 15, 1974 pg. 4

20th Anniversary Time Capsule – The Girls of BCIT 1985 calendar

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Cleaned-up cover of the The Girls of BCIT 1985 calendar. (photographer, Cindy McLellan)

Cleaned-up cover of The Girls of BCIT 1985 calendar.  BCIT Archives accession #2014-07. (photographer, Cindy McLellan)

Despite the tantalizing cover, actual dirt, mould and rust were the dirtiest elements of this calendar. Although honestly the last page is rather frightening, more on that later. As I indicated in my previous post about the 1984 time capsule, there were a few items found not in the official time capsule, but nestled beside it. The items in the concrete cavity, beside the capsule, with only an unsealed plaque to block out the elements fared poorly. The above calendar was badly damaged after 30 years. Upon arrival at the Archives the calendar was damp, mouldy, warped, water and rust stained and many of the pages were stuck together.

] The Plexiglas time capsule still in its concrete cairn. Here you can see another item that was stored without much protection from the elements, the BCIT Student Association President’s business card. (photographer, Scott McAlpine)

The Plexiglas time capsule still in its concrete cairn. Here you can see another item that was stored without much protection from the elements, the BCIT Student Association President’s business card. (photographer, Scott McAlpine)

Our first glimpse of the damaged The Girls of BCIT 1985 calendar. (photographer, Scott McAlpine)

Our first glimpse of the damaged The Girls of BCIT 1985 calendar. (photographer, Scott McAlpine)

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Archivist’s first shot of the cover back at the Archives. (photographer, Cindy McLellan)

The Archivist’s first shot of the cover back at the Archives. (photographer, Cindy McLellan)

Once the calendar was in the BCIT Archives I put clean paper between the damp pages where I could and left it to dry in an archival box and folder for several weeks. Before the Christmas holidays, once I was sure the calendar was completely dry, I took the time to clean it. I was very careful as this is the only known copy. Because of the mould (now dry and relatively harmless) I wore a mask and handled the calendar wearing gloves. To clean I used chem sponges to clean the worst of the stains and a gentle Japanese brush to carefully remove dirt.

Some of the Archivist’s supplies; brush and gloves.

Some of the Archivist’s supplies; brush and gloves. (photographer, Cindy McLellan)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The chem sponge – before use and after.

The chem sponge – before use and after, the darker one has taken on some of the dirt. (photographer, Cindy McLellan)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Once I carefully peeled back the pages and removed the rusty staples I got to see the photographs inside. The ladies kept it classy. The style was professional head-shot with name and chosen area of study rather than pin-up.

Ready to be cleaned!

Ready to be cleaned! Photographer, Cindy McLellan.

After cleaning! Miss Brenda Bal[?]gh – Marketing - April 1985.

After cleaning! Miss Brenda Bal[?]gh – Marketing – April 1985. (photographer, Cindy McLellan)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

One of the joys of being an Archivist in a small Archives is getting to do many different tasks. From reference services and arranging and describing the holdings to conservation and preservation work. I had a great deal of fun cleaning these pages for long term storage in the Archives.

Ready to be cleaned!

Ready to be cleaned! (Photographer, C. McLellan)

Miss Carolyn Currie

After cleaning! Miss Carolyn Currie – Marketing – December 1985. (photographer, Cindy McLellan)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I mentioned that there was one image that was not so fun to clean. The ladies of BCIT kept it classy, not it would seem, the masked men of the 1985 survey class.*

Final page of The Girls of BCIT calendar

The Archivist’s first glance at the back cover and final page of the calendar. (photographer, Cindy McLellan)

Final page of The Girls of BCIT calendar

BCIT 1985 survey class as clean as I could get it! (photographer, Cindy McLellan)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hope you enjoyed this conservation post from the BCIT Archives! Ending on a classy note. Here is one more beautiful woman of BCIT and the back cover of the calendar which reads: A tribute to the beautiful [and intelligent] women at BCIT!

Miss Brenda Smith

Miss Brenda Smith – Hospitality and Tourism – May 1985

A tribute to the beautiful women at BCIT!

The missing half of back cover as it arrived in the Archives. A tribute to the beautiful women at BCIT!

Unveiling the 1984 Time Capsule was part of BCIT’s 50th Anniversary celebrations, for upcoming events see BCIT 50 Years.

*Update! May 25, 2015: Through the attention this post has generated I learned the context of this addition to the calendar. The naked photograph of the survey class was in retaliation for a certain advertisement placed (by the Engineering students) in the December 5, 1984 issue of the Link Volume 19, Number 14. Someone in the print shop was friends with a Survey student. Unbeknownst to the Engineers and the women featured in the calendar, survey students were given access to a box of around 100 printed calendars to which they glued their unauthorized addition. Everyone involved in producing the calendar was quite offended. Pranks between the Engineering and Survey students may have ended with this escalation.

Cheeky 'help wanted' ad apparently placed by the BCIT Engineering students. From The Link, Volume 19, Number 14, December 5, 1984.

Cheeky ‘help wanted’ ad apparently placed by the BCIT Engineering students. From The Link, Volume 19, Number 14, December 5, 1984.