Other heritage research tools

Browse the Artefacts Canada database, containing approximately 5 million object records and 1 million images from Canadian museums.

Artists in Canada, compiled and maintained by the National Gallery of Canada Library, is a bilingual union list that identifies the location of documentation files on Canadian artists. Libraries and art galleries across Canada have contributed biographical information and lists of their documentation files to create this resource which contains information for more than 55,000 artists. Each record includes biographical information on the artist, artist technique and name variants. Available in English and French.

New technology evolves fast, and we often don't know how to translate a term in the other official language. This glossary provides a list of new terms with their French equivalent. For example, do you know how to translate "to create a buzz online" in French? "Provoquer une réaction virale sur le Net" renders the meaning, but also "créer une vague en ligne". For more terms, consult this new bilingual CHIN Glossary.

Nomenclature for Museum Cataloging is a standard for classifying and naming objects in cultural collections. The Canadian Heritage Information Network (CHIN), Parks Canada and the Nomenclature Task Force appointed by the American Association for State and Local History (AASLH) have collaborated to produce an online version which includes the entire Nomenclature 4.0 (published in 2015); terminology, definitions, illustrations and bibliographic references from the Parks Canada Descriptive and Visual Dictionary of Objects (Parks DVD); a complete French version; and Canadian variants of Nomenclature concepts, where warranted. Nomenclature is continuously updated by the Nomenclature Task Force.

The Museum Knowledge Workers for the 21st Century project evaluates the role of technology in the changing museum environment, determines the technological skill set required by museum professionals in the 21st century, considers the curricula of university and college programs in Museum Studies programs in North America, analyzes professional development and continuing education opportunities for museum professionals, and identifies the gap between the skills needed to carry out museum jobs and the technical skills currently taught by educational institutions (some with a course of study emphasizing technology). The objectives of this research project are threefold: 1) to assess the impact of technology on the changing museum environment; 2) to help inform the curriculum development of Museum Studies programs in order to better serve the changing technological needs of museums; and 3) to assist museums in planning for staff training programs.

In 2004, Canadian museums had a growing presence on the internet. Although most museums felt the internet was a valuable tool to reach potential and actual visitors, not much was known in terms of what people were looking for from a museum's web space. To attempt to answer part of this question, the Canadian Heritage Information Network (CHIN) decided to undertake an evaluation of people's use of and expectations of museums' web spaces. This study was done in collaboration with various museums across Canada.

Canadian Heritage Information Network