[BCMA] Sliding Rossland's History into the Digital Age

[Moderated BCMA subscriber listserv]

PRESS RELEASE

Sliding Rossland's History into the Digital Age

June 4, 2024

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

ROSSLAND, BC – The Rossland Museum & Discovery Centre has been awarded a
digitization grant from Library & Archives Canada to preserve and make
accessible its multimedia collection.

In 2022, the Rossland Museum & Discovery Centre (RMDC) completed a
multi-year Digitization Strategy for a collection that spans decades and
includes thousands of negatives, photographs, and slides contributing to
the history and culture of Rossland. The subjects include renovations to
the Miners’ Union Hall, the du Maurier International and Husky World
Downhill ski races, various parades, the Red Mountain Ski Club, Rossland’s
railway history, and RMDC displays and old mine tours through the years.

Now, a major grant of $21,417 from Library & Archives Canada’s Documentary
Heritage Communities Program will help the RMDC upgrade its scanning
technology and digitize and rehouse approximately 1,500 of the photographic
slides in its collection, ensuring that future generations have access to
these valuable cultural artifacts. "We're so thankful for Library &
Archives Canada's continued support of our digitization efforts,” said RMDC
Collections Manager, Sara Wright. “This grant will allow us to unlock
memories of Rossland one slide at a time and breathe some life back into
long-forgotten images. We can't wait to see what we find and share them
with you!"

Due in part to a lack of proper digitization equipment, the RMDC’s
collection of slides has been difficult to share and has long been
underutilized. The slides represent an invaluable component of Rossland’s
photographic history, as they cover events, places, and memories that are
underrepresented in our photograph collection. This project is another huge
step towards our goal of not only preserving the collection, but also
making it more accessible to the public.

Throughout the next year, the RMDC will host at least two public
digitization workshops, where staff will work with the public to digitize
their own photographs, slides, and negatives. The newly-digitized slides in
our collection will be viewable through our Community Portal <
https://rosslandmuseum.pastperfectonline.com>, enabling researchers,
educators, and the general public to access these materials globally. By
digitizing the materials, they will be saved for future generations to
study and enjoy.

For more information about RMDC and its collection, or to volunteer to help
with this amazing project, visit www.rosslandmuseum.ca or contact Sara
Wright at 250-362-7722 or artifacts at rosslandmuseum.ca.

About the Rossland Museum & Discovery Centre

The RMDC aims to preserve and dynamically present the history and culture
of Rossland and area. We are the visitor gateway to the Kootenays and the
Columbia Basin, and we inspire and engage the public through virtual and
real-life displays that bring our history and culture to life.
The Rossland Museum & Discovery Centre acknowledges that we live and work
on unceded Sinixt tmxʷúlaʔxʷ (homeland).

Contact:
Sara Wright, Collections Manager (she/her)
Rossland Museum & Discovery Centre
PO Box 26, 1100 Hwy 3B, Rossland, BC
Phone: (250) 362-7722
Email: artifacts at rosslandmuseum.ca
Website: www.rosslandmuseum.ca
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