A step into TRIUMF’s main control room, where skilled operators control over 2,000 devices and monitor over 5,000 parameters. The control room monitors virtually all aspects of the cyclotron and the main injection beamline, including radiation levels. (Photo credit: Katy Mackenzie under this Creative Commons License)
In Part II of this two-part blog post, learn why TRIUMF has begun archiving its print materials in cIRcle.
Missed reading Part I of this two-part blog post? Find it here.
* * * * * * *
TRIUMF offers countless outreach events to inquiring minds throughout the year – from the general public to the scientific community – via public lecture series, seminars, business and advisory meetings to tours, conferences, workshops and symposiums. Additionally, the TRIUMF Speakers Bureau has a ready-made list of ‘experts who present seminars or colloquia that go beyond the usual subatomic physics and delve into condensed matter, accelerator physics, and even science policy and the nature of science’.
Listed among the TRIUMF Speakers Bureau experts is Dr. Marcello Pavan. He started his TRIUMF career while studying as a graduate student in Engineering Physics (UBC B.A. `86, M.A. Sc. `90 and UBC PhD in Physics `95). With his expert research at TRIUMF and teaching skills as a sessional lecturer in the UBC Faculty of Physics & Astronomy, Pavan has been dedicated to his role as the TRIUMF Education & Outreach Coordinator for the past decade or so.
Why has TRIUMF begun archiving its print materials?
Pavan attests, “TRIUMF was designed and constructed in the late 60s and early 70s, and as such we have a vast collection of print-only design, engineering, administrative, and science reports. What cIRcle does is give our staff ready access to that treasure trove of institutional knowledge, as well as providing an archival platform to secure our written heritage. As we transition away from print materials to digital-primary document access, cIRcle and Digital Initiatives arrived on the scene at a very opportune time for us. It has been a pleasure working with the cIRcle and [the Digitization Centre] teams and we look forward to continue working with them to secure our printed legacy.”
Quick Summary
TRIUMF print materials span decades
The first TRIUMF digitization project so far encompassed just over 100 print-only documents dating back to the 1960s. These documents had to be scanned and digitized before they could be archived in cIRcle.
Digitizing and archiving TRIUMF knowledge
Pages of text-based documents filled with diagrams, graphs, and images constitute the TRIUMF Annual Reports, Technical Brown Reports (a.k.a. Design Notes, Financial Reports, and Scientific Research Reports) were in need of preservation and open accessibility for future generations.
Securing TRIUMF print materials’ research and legacy
Priceless.