Mission Statement 

We curate the digitized archives of the Women’s Research Centre to benefit students, researchers, other academic personnel and the general public. This database supports research, increases the appreciation of feminist themes in a local and global context and also carefully considers the ethical implications of the arrangement of the data, the sensitivity of the individuals, events and organizations represented, in order to create an accessible and equitable resource. 

 

Vision

We endeavour to be a long-lasting and invaluable resource to the community and our partner organization, the Thomas A. Edge Archives & Special Collections at Athabasca University through:

• Providing a fully Functioning OmekaS site with detailed infrastructure, themes and tags.
• Ensuring accessibility to data while concurrently maintaining the privacy of sensitive data.
• Creating an innovative interface that makes the users experience on the site easily navigable and engaging.
• Promoting scholarship through the inclusion of quality selected and curated themes.
• Creating a platform and framework designed for re-use and growth for the current data stewards and those to come.

Values

Our collection values are condensed into four points which create the acronym S.A.F.E: Sustainability, Accountability, Functionality, and Ethics, implemented through the following strategies:

 

We have created a collection that can be adapted by the various members of our team, and very specifically our Community Service Learning (CSL) partner. To ensure that this database is usable and adaptable after the course, we document our methodologies and the reasons for our choosing of themes, tags, and the structure of the site. This will allow the database to grow continuously and be of value to the organization, students and the general population.

 

As data stewards we acknowledge the rightful owner of each source in the collection and curate items in a way that tell an equitable story. This is done by sourcing and including relevant and concise material that represents diversity through social and institutional categorizations such as wealth, class, linguistic ability, sexuality, gender, race, ability and other potential (dis)parities. Where this is not evident in the files, it is acknowledged to reveal certain biases of the time period(s) and, or organizations.

 

We endeavour to create a database that is usable by the public and manageable by our CSL partner. By creating themes that represent the major moments of the organization's history, we educate our viewers on significant topics. Additionally, our large range of tags will allow users to research specific individuals, time periods, events, languages, and record type.

 

It is of vital importance that we create a digital database that supports positive transition discourses for the future. Through consulting experts and other relevant sources of information, knowledge inaccuracies are limited and removed in order to accurately represent local and cultural knowledge systems that may or may not be familiar to our stewards. The significance of the material is upheld, as we maintain a consistent sensitivity of the work we are doing.
As data stewards and not misers, this collection ultimately belongs to our community. In recognition of this, we strive to eliminate personal biases so we can work justly, creatively, collaboratively, and perseveringly to create a database that is a valuable resource to all members of society including our stakeholders.