Czas Digitization Project

   Example of one of digitized pages of Czas 
 (the main page of the July 21, 1920 issue)

  The online format of the Czas searchable database.

 

 An example showing the complete digitized pages of a single issue 

of Czas (the July 21, 1920 issue ).

Czas is the oldest Polish language newspaper weekly in Canada. It was established in Winnipeg in the fall of 1914, and first published by a local Canadian firm owned and operated by the well—known Czech immigrant, Franciszek Dojacek. From its beginnings, Czas ensured that its Polish roots and content remained intact, as it was closely connected with members of the Polish Gymnastic Association, Sokol. It was through Sokol’s perseverance and guidance that facilitated the creation of the newspaper. Following the post war years, the Polish Combatants' Association (SPB) provided steadfast support of the paper.  In 2004 the publication relocated to Toronto, and merged with another Polish newspaper, Związkowiec (The Alliance), to form Czas-Związkowiec.  For nearly a century it has remained an invaluable resource of information to the Polish community in Canada -- informing new immigrants of local and international events, and assisting them with the new challenges and adjustments they faced in their new country.

In the Fall of 2003 the executive board of Czas – Polish Press Ltd., agreed to find a permanent home for their collection of bound newspapers. The Board approached the U of M Archives & Special Collections to house this unique and historical collection of Polish-Canadiana. In January 2004 the executive board of Czas officially transferred the Czas newspaper collection from Czas – Polish Press Ltd., to the University of Manitoba Archives & Special Collections.

With the support of the members of the Friends of Czas, the U of M Archives has embarked on digitizing the complete run of Czas from 1915 to 2004,  which corresponds to the period when the newspaper was headquartered in Winnipeg. Thanks to a University of Manitoba Outreach Award, and a  Heritage Grant  from the Province of Manitoba, the years 1920-1951 have so far been digitized. Additional years will be digitized over the next several months, -- with the eventual digitization of the entire run up to, and including the year 2004. In addition, thanks to the support and expertise of the U of M Libraries' Discovery & Delivery Services, the Czas online searchable database has been created and uploaded to the University of Manitoba Digital Collections' website. The search engine is able to conduct keyword searches with or without inputting diacritics or ligature signs that are found in the Polish alphabet.

Izvestiia Digital Archives

Front page of the December 25, 2012 issue of Izvestiia

The University of Manitoba Libraries (UML) has purchased the digital archives database of Izvestiia, the Kremlin’s official newspaper. The paper is available online, from 1917 to 2010, and contains both full-image and text scans of the original newspaper. In addition, the UML, has purchased an online subscription to the newspaper, for the subsequent years, beginning with 2011. The Izvestiia Digital Archive chronicles  Soviet society from revolutionary times to the U.S.S.R.'s break, -- and to the present day Post-Soviet Russia.


East View Information Services' Izvestiia Digital Archives contains over 25,000 continuous issues. With approximately 300,000 photographs and other graphics, and nearly 1,000,000 articles. The Izvestiia Database may be accessed through, the U of M online catalogue, by doing a "journal title" search using the term 'Izvestiia', or through the online Database A-Z link, under the letter "I". Free access is available to current faculty, students, and staff of the University of Manitoba.

Coming Soon to the UML Electronic Resources...

The University of Manitoba Libraries has purchased a subscription to the Universal Database of Ukrainian Publications from Eastview Information Services. This database contains some 32 journals and newspapers in Ukrainian Studies, including: Druk Ukrainy; Literaturna Ukraina; Vechirnii Kyiv; and Zovnishni spravy. All articles are available in full-text format, allowing students, faculty and researchers instantaneous access to the articles of these journals.

This interdiscipinary database contains periodicals covering a wide area in Ukrainian Studies: literary studies; socio-economic issues, military science; political science, linguistics, etc. This important resource will be up and running on the UML's Articles & Database page in the early part of 2011.

Coming Soon to the UML Electronic Resources...

The University of Manitoba Libraries has purchased a subscription to the Russian Social Sciences and Humanities Online Database from Eastview Information Services. This database contains some 80 plus core journals in Russian Studies, including: Druzhba narodov; Novyi mir; Gosudarstvo i pravo; and Isskustvo kino. All articles are available in full-text format, allowing students, faculty and researchers instantaneous access to the articles of these journals.

This interdiscipinary database contains periodicals covering a wide area in Russian Studies - literary studies; socio-economic issues, ethnic relations; political science, linguistics, psychology, etc. This important resource will be up and running on the UML's Articles & Database page within the next month.

New Journal Subscription to Studies in Russian and Soviet Cinema

The University of Manitoba Libraries has purchased a subscription (in electronic format) to the journal, Studies in Russian and Soviet Cinema. This new journal subscription will benefit those students, faculty and researchers in Slavic Studies and/ or Film Studies. The purchase of this subscription is made possible through the J.B. Rydnyckyj Endowment Fund.

Published by Intellect Ltd.(UK), Studies in Russian and Soviet Cinema, looks at Pre-Soviet, Soviet and Post-Soviet Film. This refereed journal is published 3 times annually in English, -- whose aim is to study the historical aspects of Russian film, as well as focus on the various personalities (past and present) that comprise the world of Russian cinema, including: individual actors, directors, and producers. In addition, there will articles analyzing archival film documents, and a book review section on recent publications on Russian cinema.

Launch of the Electronic Library of Ukraine - ELibUkr

Earlier this year, the National University of the Kyiv Mohyla Academy, the V. Karazin National University of Kharkiv, and the IU. Fedkovych National University of Chernivtsi, in collaboration with the Association “Informatio-Consortium” and faculty from the Center for Technology and Innovation Management (CTIM) at Northwestern University (USA), launched the Electronic Library of Ukraine (ELibUkr) = Elektronna Biblioteka Ukrainy. This important project is the first of its kind in Ukraine, which will allow faculty, students, researchers, and international users to have access to research publications of Ukrainian scholars through open-access electronic archives and journals.