UBC Library has made the Phil Lind Klondike Gold Rush Collection openly accessible through Open Collections, publishing a digitized version of the collection online. Donated to UBC Library in 2020 by UBC alumnus Philip B. Lind, the Lind Collection is an unparalleled rare book and archival collection of materials dating from the Klondike Gold Rush. The library began planning for the digitization of the collection soon after its donation, to facilitate scholarly and public access to the materials.
Larissa Ringham, Digital Projects Librarian, managed the digitization project, working closely with Elizabeth Edgerton, Digital Initiatives Assistant, who digitized the majority of the items in the collection over the 2-year span of the project. “I feel like the digitized Lind Collection is such a valuable component, a corollary to the Chung|Lind Gallery,” says Ringham. “I’m excited for people who go to the Gallery and discover our Open Collections, and vice versa. There may be people who have never heard of the Gallery who stumble across an item in Open Collections through a Google search and learn about the Gallery.”
Claire Malek, RBSC Archivist, and Jacky Lai, Archives and Circulation Assistant, organized the materials and created archival descriptions for each of the collection’s approximately 1,400 items, which include books, photographs, postcards and printed textual records. Through the digitization process, more than 6,500 images were scanned.
Since the Lind Collection first arrived at UBC Library, Malek has begun building relationships and connecting with organizations and community members in the Yukon and the Northwest Territories.
“I know [these organizations] are also very excited for the Lind Collection to be digitized and to have it be available online rather than needing to come to Vancouver—come out to UBC—to see it in person. It’s really exciting for us to be able to share it both up north and all around the world,” says Malek.
The digitization of the Lind Collection and its distribution on UBC Open Collections heralds another long-awaited achievement for UBC Library’s digitization team. Over the last several years, the team has been working to migrate the library’s digital collections to DSpace, one of the most-used open source digital repository software in the world. The Lind Collection is the first UBC Library collection to be migrated and represents a new era for UBC Open Collections.
“The Lind Collection is going to be one of the crown jewels of UBC Library’s Open Collections,” says Mimi Lam, Digital Projects Librarian. “We have this amazing physical collection that has now gone through all these digitization steps, and we can now share it with the world. It’s been an amazing thing to witness and be a part of for sure.”