UNBC and UBC to help preserve First Nations heritage through Indigitization

First Nations in northern BC can now get help preserving heritage recordings from the University of Northern BC.

UNBC has become a partner in UBC’s Indigitization program – an initiative that aims to preserve historic analogue recordings by converting them to digital formats.

Alan Wilson is a UNBC librarian.

“We’re providing an indigitization tool kit to convert audio recordings to preservation digital format.”

The program is focused on audio tape recordings, many of which Wilson says are in danger of becoming unusable.

“There are a lot of audio recordings out there that haven’t been properly archived. One of the dangers is that we’ll lose those or that we won’t be able to convert them to a modern format.”

Wilson says UNBC has already reached out to local First Nations about participating in the Indigitization program.

“We held a workshop in the Gathering Place. We had very good attendance, lots of questions. People were quite intrigued with this – some felt ready, some were just excited by the opportunity. It’s one of those things we’re going to grow over time as we make people aware of it.”

Types of recordings for indigitization include speeches by elders and community leaders as well as examples of First Nations languages, many of which are in danger of extinction. Wilson says he has high hopes for the program and hopes to see it expand.

“I’d love to see a language lab with our faculty members to try and do some work in the area. But we need to better understand the issues. We really want to expand this. As a library, we’re really interested in indigitization issues.”

The Indigitization program provides professional support to help First Nations convert audio tapes to digital media. Wilson says the emphasis is on helping communities manage their heritage resources.

Through the Indigitization program, participants receive support and training in analogue audio conversion, as well as assessing, documenting and managing community recording collections. They can also apply for grants from the Indigitization Grant Program to help pay for indigitization projects.