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Ok, kids. Finally, done. The Peace & War in the 20th Century is finally done - http://pw20c.mcmaster.ca. The site is now official. The site consists of nearly 3000 records, and is divided between two over archiving themes, “Waging Peace” and “Waging War.” The over arching themes are broken down into sub categories, and case studies, covering an expansive wealth of information. Images digitized for the collection include posters, letters, 3-D objects (grenades, metals, etc.), audio, and video. The also invites the user to interact with it, allowing logged in users to comment on records, vote comments left up or down, bookmark records to their account for future reference (the “Bookbag” feature), and share records (like digg) with the Curate It! button. Logged in users can also access the site-wide contact form for questions, concerns, bugs, etc. One last key feature of the entire digital collection (http://digitalcollections.mcmaster.ca) is OAI2 compliancy. The site was submitted to openarchives, and OAIster this afternoon. Anyone who would like to harvest the site, can do so at: http://digitalcollections.mcmaster.ca

Screen shots below, and from the site:

Why this website?

“The twentieth century has been a century of war. It began with the Boer War in South Africa and ended with the Gulf War in Kuwait and Iraq. This tragic legacy suggests that citizens of the twenty-first century have a shared responsibility to attempt to understand how and why these conflicts occurred and to discover how peace efforts contributed to the resolution of international conflicts. The work of understanding, conscientiously conducted, must draw on primary sources of many kinds, including oral histories, newspapers, contemporary journals, government documents, regimental histories, and archives. Archival resources provide us with a direct link to the past. We present here a wealth of archival materials for students, researchers, and all who seek a better understanding of the past in order to comprehend and guide the decisions of the future.
We invite you to explore it.”

We’ve added pictures from our Mass Digitization and Publishing Launch to the blog, including pictures of or brand new Kirtas scanner. The event was a huge success, drawing over 100 guests, and press coverage. The Hamilton Spectator Catherine Baird, our Marketing, Communications, and Outreach Librarian and myself about the project. The article can be viewed here: http://thespec.com/article/388938