I started working at the University of Regina Archives 11 years ago as a student assistant, but have been in my current role of Archives Assistant (University Records) since 2012. Typically, I have a varied work load that includes processing disposition requests and new acquisitions of University Records, collection management and preservation, in-depth reference, outreach and programming like campus displays, Records and Information Management (RIM) program support, etc. Recently though, much attention has been given to adapting services to meet the needs of our communities during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Archival work is heavily based in physicality. When we found ourselves having to work from home due to COVID-19, we had to re-focus some of our day-to-day work. Even our digital projects require a lot of physical preparation. Digitization projects, for example, require identifying/locating archival material, retrieving it from our storage spaces, and then scanning it before the entirely digital work can begin. During this time, we have been able to focus on creating high-quality metadata for previously digitized material so that they are discoverable by researchers. These types of metadata projects are time-consuming and often challenging to fit into the bustle of normal operations, but are key to increasing the amount of archival material accessible online.

In 2019, the Archives scanned University of Regina news releases from 1962 to 2002. The collection has 2,700+ unique items and fills in the gap of what is currently available in oURspace, the University of Regina’s digital repository. From home, I have been working on metadata for the news releases collection so that it can soon be accessible via oURspace. This full-text searchable collection will be a timely and valuable resource for those wanting to conduct research into the University of Regina’s history during the pandemic and beyond.