In October 2018, the Robertson Library learned that is project, "Colony, Confederation and Country: Accessing the nation’s story through the lens of Prince Edward Island’s Historical Newspapers", was one of 21 projects selected for funding through the National Heritage Digitization Strategy (now known as the Coalition for Canadian Digital Heritage)
Famously referred to as "the first rough draft of history," newspapers are an important resource for information about individuals, events, and places, and provide context related to political, social, economic and cultural trends. Local newspapers reflect the larger narrative of the evolution of Canada through news, advertisements, notices, and other content gathered from provincial, regional, national, and international sources.
Focussing on the period between the 1840s and the opening year of the First World War, Robertson Library has worked in partnership with West Canadian Digital Imaging and the PEI Public Archives and Records Office to provide access to two historical Island newspapers: The Examiner (1847-1900) and L’Impartial (1893-1915).
The Examiner will fill existing gaps in pre-1890 content in our Island Newspaper collections.
L’Impartial, the Island's first French-language newspaper, documents the development of Acadian identity in the region. Digitizing L’Impartial is also a preservation and repatriation effort, given that portions of the newspaper available online at the time of the project were hosted by a site that was no longer being supported and in danger of disappearing.
We are pleased to report that both the Examiner and L'Impartial are available for browsing and searching.
Project Partners
- National Heritage Digitization Strategy (funding partner)
- West Canadian Digital Imaging Inc. (digitization of archival microfilm)
- PEI Public Archives and Records Office (provided access and permissions to print newspaper for digitization)