History at your fingertips
The internet has a lot to offer to those interested in doing historical research. Certainly not every possible piece of information is available online, but many organizations, including the Archives located at the Esplanade, have created searchable resources to assist in finding answers.
Since the advent of the World Wide Web, knowledge-keepers have been working to make information available online. As robust as the internet has become, only a fraction of records are digitized and freely available through a computer screen. This is the case with the Archives. However, with your ability to access resources through your digital device, a helpful staff who want to assist and our capacity to digitize many of the records held in the archives, we are accessible even if you cannot come into the Esplanade.
The Archives online databases are available through www.archives.esplanade.ca. There you can see what materials we have, including photographs, papers, maps, audiovisual recordings as well as photos of artefacts and visual arts from the Collection. Some of these documents can be seen, read and listened to right from the databases. While many have not yet been put online or digitized, they are described there, and we are happy to discuss how to get the information, or a digital copy of the record, to you.
The Esplanade is not alone in offering online resources. Numerous organizations have placed their collections, or information about them online for sharing, learning and building community.
One of the greatest advantages of having resources on the web — and the ability to have a conversation by phone, video or e-mail — is that we can assist people all over the world. This also means that you cannot only access the resources we offer here in Medicine Hat, but institutions and organizations around the globe. Many offer online resources and the people who work at them are often excited to get inquiries from such exotic places as Medicine Hat.
Ten months ago, we realized that public access to the Esplanade would be limited for the foreseeable future. We knew we were going to miss seeing the public in person and having those important face-to-face conversations. We also knew that those who regularly use the
Archives would miss the much more tactile experience of having historic resources in front of them on the Reading Room table. At the same time, we were relieved that we had established methods already in place to provide services and resources to the public beyond the confines of the walls of the Esplanade.
Online resources will never replace a physical visit to the archives, a face-to-face conversation or the ability to hold a historic document in our hands, but it is an ever-more valuable set of tools to assist in sharing our community’s stories. Visit the Archives today at www.archives.esplanade.ca.