Dana Porter Librarians Helena Calogeridis and Jane Forgay recently completed the German Canadiana in Ontario Bibliography (GCO), a new open access resource to help researchers identify sources relating to the experiences of German speakers and their descendents in Ontario.
"“The GCO is of potential interest to researchers in a range of disciplines, as well as those with an interest in local history or the local community,” Helena explains.
It contains records of historical, literary, cultural, linguistic, and biographical interest. A large number of these relate specifically to the German speaking community in Waterloo region.
Helena Calogeridis and Jane Forgay in the Reference Collection on the main floor of the Dana Porter Library
Highlights of the GCO include:
Creating the GCO has been a “labour of love” for Helena and Jane, who began the project in 2007 after conceiving of the idea while part of the Research Advisory Group for the Waterloo Centre for German Studies (WCGS).
“We wanted to build on our print bibliography of the same topic to create something larger and more interactive,” Jane says. Following through on their interactive aim, the GCO has a prominent feedback feature in the interface for users to suggest records for inclusion in the database.
Looking to the future, Helena and Jane agree that, although the database is primarily retrospective in nature, new records will continue to be added as they are identified. The newest record to be added was a Ph.D Thesis in Germanic and Slavic Studies completed last year.
“This has been a great collaborative and multifaceted project,” Jane explains. “It has involved a lot of digging, technical work, and attention to detail to create consistent and customized records.”
“What has helped is our clear focus," Helena adds. "We always focused on our audience and what they wanted for this resource.”
The GCO is a collaborative project between the Library and the WCGS. Helena and Jane would like to acknowledge and thank Adrian Kemp and Bill Oldfield for devoting many hours developing and fine-tuning the current interface. Additional thanks to the many individuals who have supported and provided input into the GCO over the past three years.
For more information, contact:
Librarian for Germanic and Slavic Studies
Ext. 32611
Librarian for History and Political Science
Ext. 35417
University of Waterloo Library
200 University Avenue West
Waterloo, Ontario, Canada N2L 3G1
519 888 4883
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