University Archives & Special Collections
Rm 301, Murray Bldg, 3 Campus Dr S7N 5A4 Saskatoon, SK, Canada

Today for Archives Week we are taking a peak and what our reading room looked like in the past, versus today! Our reading room opened up in 1974, when the south wing of the Murray Library opened. Other than the addition of some computers and map cabinets, looks like we have kept a steady look. We might even have one of those orange chairs around here somewhere. Black and white photo is from 1974 and the colour photo is from 1992. #ArchivesWeek #usask #tbt Archival photos: University Photograph collection, A-5114 and A-1323

Did you know we have a Youtube channel? Well today is a great day to check it out because we’ve added a bunch of new content to it in celebration of Archives Week. And by new, I mean old, as in they are digitized videos from ca.1930 to 1959. One of our new videos is Roots in the Ground, filmed on the USask campus sometime in the 1930’s (they reference a 1934 crop, so it was filmed that year or a little later). It demonstrates root research methods, and shows off some of th...e Usask campus from that era. Another set of videos to highlight is the College cheers and songs. If you have seen our Student Experience website you may recognize the songs in these videos. They were recorded many years ago and until now could only be found on that website, but are now on Youtube for a wider audience to enjoy! The other new videos include a film from 1955 which shows off the USask campus as well as the Homecoming Parade; the 1959 Royal Visit from Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip at Pion-era; and highlights from Huskies football matches in 1959. Go check them out, it is history come to life!

For Archives Week, today we are taking a look at our oldest and our newest digital projects. We started putting curated archival materials on the internet in the mid 1990s and wow, the internet has changed a lot since then. https://library.usask.ca/ua/news/2021/oldest-and-newest.php

February 7-13 is Saskatchewan Archives Week! This year we are celebrating virtually. To kick it off we are sharing some of our favourite things that you can find in our archives. Find out what we picked by heading over to our website.

University of Saskatchewan professor Valerie Korinek mentions the Neil Richards Collection of Sexual and Gender Diversity and how it helped her write her award winning book Prairie Fairies in her recent interview with U of T Alumni. You can learn more about that collection and other related materials here: https://libguides.usask.ca/sexual-gender-diversity/home

University Archives and Special Collections reference services will be unavailable from Dec. 19-Jan. 3 for the holiday break. Online reference service will resume Jan. 4th (though our reading room will continue to remain closed to the public). Happy holidays to everyone! (Photograph from the Courtney Milne fonds, MG 410, 022-148)

Today's digital project we will be sharing is Our Legacy. Our Legacy is a co-operative project, including material relating to First Nations, Métis, & Inuit peoples, found in cultural & heritage collections across Saskatchewan. Mainly photographic material, though text documents are also included. Yesterday's digital project which was shared on our twitter is our Great War site, which contains material from our collection all about World War I. You can find it at http://greatwar.usask.ca/

Our reading room is currently closed to visitors, but we have lots of digital resources ready and waiting for you. This week I will share a selection of them. Too impatient and want to see them all now? Check out the full list here: https://library.usask.ca/uasc/digital-projects/index.php #WeAreUsask UASC has a large collection of materials related to Canadian literature. This website provides access to archival & special materials on 5 important 20th Century literary figures: Ralph Gustafson, Paul Hiebert, Irving Layton, Al Purdy, and Anne Szumalski. http://canlit.library.usask.ca/

Whether it’s a photo of an empty downtown core, a playground closed to the public, signs that encourage physical distancing, or expressions of solidarity and st...aying safe, there have been many unique and surreal sights that we have absorbed during this extraordinary time. The COVID-19 Community Archive was launched in May to document this momentous period in history and serve as a source of the many unique and surreal sights that we have absorbed. The project is a partnership between the Digital Research Centre and University Archives & Special Collections, in the University Library, and faculty in the Department of History in the College of Arts and Science - University of Saskatchewan. More: news.usask.ca//usask-preserving-the-provincial-pandemic-ex

Good news! Today we start offering increased availability of our collections through a renewed reference and digitization service. Our reading room remains closed, but we will be able to provide more digital access to collections. Read more about it on our website.

Last, but not least, we want to share the Saskatchewan Resources for Sexual and Gender Diversity website. It is a comprehensive look at much of what our collection has to offer, as well as links to outside resources. Much of the content shared this week can be found through this website. http://library2.usask.ca/srsd/ And if you enjoyed this week’s content and would like to support this collection you can make a monetary donation here: https://donate.usask.ca/online/advancement.php. Gifts made in support of this collection will be matched up to a total of $50,000. #pride2020 #usask