Launch of the Italian-Canadian Archives Project (ICAP)’s Digital Archive

Faculty Member Name: Abril Liberatori
Faculty Member email: abrill@yorku.ca
Department/School: Department of History
Project Title: Launch of the Italian-Canadian Archives Project (ICAP)’s Digital Archive

Description of Research Project:

ICAP is a charitable organization mandated to 1) engage communities to identify, secure and document their local Italian-Canadian narratives and 2) to work with local groups, archives, individuals or other professional institutions to preserve their local history. In 2024, ICAP will develop the first-ever Italian-Canadian Digital Archive (DA), hosted on ICAP’s existing website. The DA will allow for the cataloguing, digitization, and preservation of documents, photographs, images, and material objects related to the history of Italians in Canada.

Why a digital archive?
ICAP is well informed of the value of Italian-Canadian documents in our understanding of the Canadian narrative, and of the urgency of ensuring the preservation of these materials given the aging Italian migrant population. In its ten years of work with individuals, communities, heritage partners and academics, ICAP has worked to ‘fill the gap’ between archival institutions (that often fail to see the value in Italian-Canadian collections) and individuals or community organizations (who are understandably reticent to surrender items of value to their personal and community heritage). A digital archive will allow ICAP to effectively ‘fill this gap’.

Advantages of a digital archive:
… for community members: the DA will educate community members on the value of their artifacts and provide a stop-gap measure so that precious documents that are at risk of being lost are preserved safely in digital form. It will also educate individuals on the significance of their collection and provide them connections to brick-and-mortar archives that may be interested in receiving the donations.

… for archival institutions: the DA will provide educational context to archival institutions that may not be familiar with the significance of these collections. It will further incentivize them to consider accepting these donations since the bulk of the work (sorting; organizing; metadata; cataloguing; digitizing) will already be completed.

… for the academic community: the DA prevents the loss of countless materials that are of significance to one of the largest migrations in Canada’s history, and one of the largest demographic groups in the country today. It provides materials for current and future researchers working on these issues, and connects academics with Italian communities across Canada.

How it Works:

We are currently in Phase 1 of a 3-phase, 5-year project. Phase 1 involves the development of the DA website and the digitization of the first collections from within ICAP:
• Donors submit a ‘capsule collection’ of materials (documents, photographs, images, or even physical artifacts) to ICAP and a short, written summary to describe and contextualize the collection.
• ICAP catalogues and digitizes the collection alongside the summary on the ICAP Digital Archive website.
• Original materials are returned to the donor, alongside 1) digital copies of all of their materials; 2) a link to their digital archive page; and 3) a pamphlet to educate the donor on long-term preservation, including potential brick-and-mortar archives that may be interested in accepting the materials

Undergraduate Student Responsibilities:

ICAP is looking for a talented website designer and developer to be involved in the development of the Digital Archive (DA) website, from the earliest conception to final release, including creating mock-ups and design layouts that balance usability, visual appeal, and technical feasibility. The successful candidate will also provide guidance to the ICAP Executive and student assistants on how to upload archival materials to the new website.

Responsibilities:
• In consultation with the ICAP Executive, review existing digital archive websites and propose a website design suitable for the current project
• Receive feedback from ICAP Executive and adapt design accordingly
• Build website according to agreed-upon design
• Make adjustments to design as needed during rollout phase
• Lead an informal ‘training workshop’ designed to teach ICAP Executive and student assistants how to upload digitized documents and other materials to the new website
• Provide troubleshooting support to ICAP Executive and student assistants during rollout phase for any questions or concerns that arise

Qualifications Required:

The successful candidate will have the following qualifications:

• Demonstrable graphic design and website development skills with a strong portfolio
• Proficiency with HTML, CSS, and JavaScript
• Proficiency with required desktop publishing tools (can include Photoshop, InDesign, QuarkXPress, Illustrator)
• A strong eye for visual design and composition
• Effective time management skills and the ability to meet deadlines
• Enrolled in design, communications, or a related field is an asset
• Graphic design (or related) experience is an asset

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