Digitizing Historic Records
LTSA recognizes the value of the historic records in its care and is committed to their preservation while enabling broader access benefiting British Columbians for generations to come. Since 2005, LTSA has invested over $18 million in various technology, facilities and personnel dedicated to historic records conservation and digitization.
During the period, the Kamloops and Nelson Land Title District microfilm records were digitized and made accessible through all LTSA offices. In parallel, LTSA completed the move of paper-based Kamloops and Nelson Land Title District historical records to LTSA’s purpose built facility in Victoria, BC featuring a secure, state-of-the-art, climate-controlled environment with special fire-suppression technology. LTSA is continuing its multi-year project to improve record accessibility by digitizing paper records, and ensuring processes are in place to enable paper records requested by customers are made available in digital format in a timely manner.
Conservation is essential to maintaining the integrity of LTSA historic records. From April 1, 2021 to March 31, 2022, 444 land title and survey plans were conserved. Since 2005, over 8,882 plans have been conserved. The Historic Records Advisory Committee (HRAC), established in 2019, continued to provide advice on conservation of and accessibility to historic records in LTSA’s care, with a focus on records of significance to First Nations. LTSA’s goal is to improve access to historic records and records conservation practices in response to feedback from HRAC and other users. LTSA completed the Research Guide to Dominion Land Records, primarily for the use of Direct Access Users. Between 2008-2020, 9,165 Dominion Township Plans were indexed and digitized.
During 2021/22, LTSA continued collaborating with other entities on records of interest to First Nations and initiated the development of a comprehensive guide to records of Indigenous interest which led to a collaboration with the University of Victoria (UVIC), Royal BC Museum, Hudson Bay Archive and First Nations. In addition, LTSA partnered with University of Victoria to make some of the earliest Indian Reserve Commission Maps available through the UVIC library online collection free of charge.