I pass on the following announcement seen on ARCAN-L for your info.
Iona McCraith, AAO Preservation Consultant
_________________________________________________

On October 17th, 2003
the Canadian Council of Archives will proudly introduce
Archives Canada


The Archives Canada portal will allow Canadians - such as youth, students,
teachers, academics, government officials, writers, genealogist, researcher,
journalists, media creators, and life-long learners - to explore our country
's heritage.

Archives Canada is the Internet presence of the Canadian archival system. It
is designed to assure users easy, comprehensive access to Canada's digital
and traditional archival holdings over the Internet.

Led by the Canadian Council of Archives (CCA), Archives Canada is a
collaborative effort that will eventually provide on-line access to the
holdings of more than 800 participating archival institutions across Canada.
The Canadian Historical Association, provincial and territorial Councils of
Archives and professional associations of archivist have endorsed Archives
Canada as the single most important effort in the history of Canadian
archives.

Originally launched in 2001 as the Canadian Archival Information Network
(CAIN), major advancements in technology and the rapid expansion of the
content have led the to the re-launch of this portal under the appropriate
name of Archives Canada.

From a position of having no means of comprehensively searching the holding
of Canadian archives, the Archives Canada initiative has created an
impressive database of over 50,000 descriptions, 252,000 digital images and
over 300 virtual exhibits. This database continues to grow each day.

Please join us on October 17th, 2003 as we celebrate this important
initiative.