Friday, July 30, 2010 Miawpukek Mi'kmawey Prayer Book Featured in Digital Archives Initiative (St. John’s) Thanks to the efforts of a team of Memorial University library staff, more than 80,000 digital objects – ranging from audio and video files to historic maps and books – are now at the fingertips of researchers from around the world. A new and interactive website – known as the Digital Archives Initiative (DAI)– was unveiled Monday, Feb. 18, at a ceremony in the Commons on the St. John’s campus. University officials, representatives from the federal and provincial governments, as well as delegates from the heritage and cultural industries attended the event. The new site will allow researchers, scholars, students and the general public to view material – some of which is hundreds of years old and very delicate – housed in Memorial’s archives and library collections without visiting the university. The collection will be free and open to the public through the Internet site. “Digitization is not only a preservation format but also an access format,” said Slavko Manojlovich, associate university librarian (information technology) and chair of the Digital Archives Advisory Board at Memorial. “This project will open up Memorial’s unique archival collection to the world and bring our items to a new audience.” The website marks the beginning of a long-term co-ordinated effort at Memorial to digitize the learning and research-based cultural resources housed in various units and departments. Unveiling the past Joan Ritcey, head of the Centre for Newfoundland Studies at Memorial, has also been heavily involved in the DAI project. She said digitizing archival materials will help ensure the items are around for years to come. “The consultation of original documents can cause damage, especially if they are already in a fragile state,” Ms. Ritcey said. “Now, thanks to this initiative we’ll spare the original from being handled. Legibility of digital documents can be superior to the original, since the font sizes in books can be enlarged and people can zoom in on maps.” One of the oldest items digitized is the Miawpukek Mi'kmawey Prayer Book, which dates back to the early 19th century. The manuscript is a collection of Roman Catholic prayers and other ecclesiastical texts written in hieroglyphic symbols unique to the Mi'kmaq tradition. The script is considered the earliest indigenous script in North America north of Mexico. “This book dates to an early period in the history of the Mi'kmaq when hieroglyphics were developed and introduced by French missionaries to provide a written language,” said Gerald Penney, a consulting archaeologist with nearly a 30-year involvement with the Miawpukek Band in Conne River, N.L. “This book is one of the very few survivals from this period. From my perspective, its significance is not yet really understood and I feel that its digitizing will provide the opportunity for others to assess not only its significance but also its place within the culture of the Mi'kmaw both past and present.” Funding for the Digital Archives Initiative was made possible by the President’s Office at Memorial. The digitization of some of the collections was funded by Heritage Canada. The Digital Archives Initiative can be viewed online at http://collections.mun.ca/.