User Guide

Welcome to the Collections site of the Indian Residential School History and Dialogue Centre at the University of British Columbia. This guide is intended to assist visitors with searching for, finding, and viewing records in the Centre’s database.

To view a more detailed video about searching for records for a specific residential school, see here.

Register for an Account

It is not necessary to register for an account to use the database. However, doing so allows visitors to create their own collection of records, share records with other registered users, and comment on records. There is no charge for registering for a user account or for using the database.

To register for an account, click the account icon  at the right of the menu bar. Select “Register” from the drop-down menu. Complete the short registration form, and click the red “Register” button. (Learn about the Centre’s collection of personal information here.) You will receive an email confirming your registration.

Once you have registered, log in to the online database by clicking on the same icon and selecting “Login.” Your username is your email address. If you forget your password, click “Forgot your password?” to receive an email with instructions on how to reset it.

Menu Bar

Navigate the website using the menu bar, which is displayed at the top of the home page and on all other pages:

• Explore: Access records for residential schools in British Columbia, featured collections, and external web sites with content on residential schools.
• Find: Browse records related to schools across Canada. The find feature allows users to filter all the records in the database by school, resource type, date etc.
• About: Learn about the Centre’s work and partners, and access support services.
• Contact: Send a comment or question to a staff member through an online contact form.
• Centre Home: Visit the Indian Residential School History and Dialogue Centre’s main website.

Search

The search box on the menu bar and at the centre of the homepage allows users to search database records using specific words or phrases. Type a word or phase into the search box and click the enter key on your keyboard, or the magnifying glass icon in the search box, to run the search.

Phrases: Use quotation marks around phrases to retrieve more accurate results e.g. “Port Simpson.”

Asterisk: Use an asterisk at the end of a word to include different endings to the word. For example, farm* will retrieve database records containing the words farm, farms, and farming.

Search Results

The database contains different types of records: records for schools, people, organizations, events etc. If your search term appears in more than one type of record, your results will be grouped together accordingly.

• Schools: School records provide information about residential schools, including their location(s), dates of operation, the home communities of students, a brief description of the school, and alternate names for it.
• Entities: Entity records provide information about people and organizations related to residential schools.
• Events: Event records provide descriptions of events related to the history of residential schools and their ongoing legacy.
• Exhibitions: Exhibition records provide descriptions of exhibition hosted by the Centre and its partner organizations, along with related records.
• Records: Records comprise video, audio, images, and documents pertaining to residential schools, as well as related books and audiovisual materials

The number of records for each available category will display next to the type of record. Click “Full Results” at the right of the type of record to sort your search results.

 

Click the gear icon  to the right of the search results to sort the results by title, date, and record type, in ascending or descending order.

Filters

When viewing a list of records, filters appear on the right side of the screen. This allows users to narrow their search. Only those filters relevant to the search results will display.

Records can be filtered in many different ways, including by resource type, related school, theme, decade, place, holding repository, etc.

To see a longer lists of options for a given filter, click “and [number] more” at the bottom of the list.

Click a filter to apply it to your search results.

The number of records will decrease, and the filter will appear at the top of the screen in a black box. In this example, the user has filtered the records by the resource type “Moving Images.” There are 202 records in the database for moving images (videos or films).

 

Click the  in the black box to remove the filter and return to the full set of search results.

To view an individual record, click the image or the title below it.

Individual Records

The individual database record consists of:

• an image of the media (document, image, audio, or video) or a placeholder icon for it, on the left
• information about the individual record to the right
• links to related records below the main record
• navigation tools on the far right of the record along with functions related to the record.

 

The database includes records from partner organizations as well from the Centre’s collections. Click the hyperlink below the title to see the record on the partner organization’s website, where available.

If the record is not available at the partner’s site, or if a stable link to the record is not available, the home page of the organization is provided.

To view videos or images, to read documents, or to listen to audio files, click on the image of the media. This will open the viewer (for images and documents) or the player (for video and audio).

To scroll through pages of a document or view multiple images associated with a record, click the arrows at the top of the page in the viewer or at the right of the media. Clicking the thumbnails below the media achieves a similar result.

Information about the record is found to the right of the media image or placeholder icon.

Hover over each element of the record to see the source of the information.

Functions

Click the red buttons at the top right of the page to scroll through search results. The “back” button will return users to the start of the result set, “previous” to the record directly prior to the current one.

Click “Login to Add to Lightbox” to add a record to a lightbox or your selected records (for more information, see the lightbox guidelines below).

To ask staff at the Centre a question via an online form, click “Ask a Question.”

Use the “Request Takedown” link to ask staff to remove a record.

Click “Login/Register to Comment” to contribute a story or to comment on the record. Comments are moderated, and will display on the website after staff have reviewed them.

Browse

Browsing provides an alternative to searching; it allows users to view all the records in the database that are available to the public. The Explore and Find items on the menu bar offer browse options.

To browse records related to the schools in British Columbia, click “Explore” on the menu bar and “BC Schools” on the drop-down menu.

To browse records related to schools across Canada, including British Columbia, click “Find” on the menu bar and then “Schools.” (Currently the schools, and their opening and closing dates, are those identified by the Indian Residential School Settlement Agreement (2006)).

To browse all records available to the public, whether related to a school or not, click “Find” on the menu bar and “Records” on the drop-down list.

Narrow your browse results using the filters on the right of the screen (see the Filters section above).

Click the image for the record or the title below it to see the full record (see the Individual Records section of the guide for more information).

Featured Collections

“Featured Collections” are collections of records that have been selected by the Centre’s staff. They may relate to an individual, an event, or a theme. Featured Collections can be viewed by clicking “Explore” on the Menu Bar and “Featured Collections” on the drop-down list.

View a collection of online resources external to the Centre by clicking “Explore” on the Menu Bar and then “Resources.”

Map

The website uses maps to indicate the locations of residential schools in British Columbia and across Canada. To view the map, click “Explore” on the Menu Bar, and “BC Schools” on the drop-down list. Scroll down the page to the brown bar. Click “Map” at the right of the bar. A map will display representing the locations of residential schools across Canada.

The map can also be accessed by clicking “Find” on the Menu Bar, and “Schools” on the drop-down list. Click the globe icon at the far right of the screen:

The blue pins on the map represent schools. Click the pin to see the name of the school. Zoom in and out by clicking on the plus (+) or minus (-) signs. To move the map within the screen, left click on the computer’s mouse and drag the map.

Click the red “More” button on the popup, or the name of the school, to access the school record. (To stay on the map page, while also reading about the school, right click the name of the school, and choose “Open link in new tab.” A second tab will open in your browser.)

The School records also include a map showing the school’s location(s). Click the red icon  below the map to see a larger and more detailed version of the it.

Timelines

The website also features timelines, including one providing key events in the history of the schools in British Columbia.

To view the BC Schools timeline, click “Explore” on the Menu Bar, then “BC Schools” on the drop-down list. Scroll down the page to the brown bar. Click “Timeline” at the centre of the bar.

Select an event on the timeline to view information about that event and other related events. For example, clicking “St. Eugene’s school opened,” displays:

Click the title to see the full event record.

To move from one event to the next, click the arrows   on either side of the event record on the timeline.

To navigate to a different date on the timeline find the date, if visible, or move the timeline to the left or right by clicking on the timeline and dragging it in the required direction.

The same navigational tools may be used on all timelines throughout the website.

Lightbox

The lightbox feature enables visitors to create, share and download sets of records from the database. Educators can create a collection of records to present when teaching about residential schools; students can use the lightbox to work collaboratively on assignments related to residential schools.

You will need to register for an account in order to use the lightbox.

Create a Lightbox

Log in to the database by clicking the account icon on the far right of the menu bar and selectiing “Login” from the drop-down list.

Once logged in, click the account icon  again and select “Lightbox” from the drop-down list. Once you have created a lightbox, it will appear on this page.

To create a new lightbox click the red gear icon  next to the word “Lightbox.”

Click “New Lightbox” and enter a name for the lightbox. Add a description, if desired, and click save.

A lightbox will appear on the page – it will only be visible to you, unless you share it with other registered users.

Add Records to a Lightbox

To add records to a lightbox, enter a search term in the search box on the upper right of the lightbox page, or browse all records by clicking Find > Records.

From the search or browse results page, hover over a record and a folder icon  will appear at the lower left of the record.

Click the folder and the “Add Item to Lightbox” box will display.

Click “Select a Lightbox” to view a drop-down list, then select the title of your lightbox.

If you - have not already created a lightbox, you can do so by entering the name and a description, if desired.

It is also possible to add a record to a lightbox from the individual detail record. Click the “Add to the Lightbox” link at the top right of the screen.

Users can create multiple lightboxes, all of which will display on the lightbox page (accessed from the account icon  at the far right of the menu bar).

Multiple records can be added to a lightbox simultaneously. Click the gear icon  at the top of the results page and select "Add all to lightbox" or “Select results to add to lightbox.” In the latter case, check boxes will appear at the top right of the images. Select those records you would like to add to your lightboxand click “Add selected results to lightbox.”

Edit a Lightbox

Click the account icon  at the far right of the menu bar and select “Lightbox” from the drop-down menu to view your lightboxes.

Click the title of a Lightbox to open it. The lightbox resembles the Find > Records screen. The records you have added to the lightboxwill display along with filters to the right.

Change how items in a lightbox are displayed by clicking the gallery  and list icons  in the top right corner of the screen.

Filter items in a lightbox using the options on the right of the screen.

Click the gear icon  alongside the title of the lightbox to sort the records in your lightbox or to edit the name or description of the lightbox.

To delete a record from the lightbox, hover over it until a trash can icon appears at the right of the record and click that. Removing the record from a lightbox will not remove it from the database.

Hovering over a record in the lightbox allows you to comment on it. Click the speech bubble below the record, enter a comment in the text box, and click save. You can also add a comment on the lightbox as a whole by entering text in the comment box at the upper right corner of the screen. Your comments will be visible only to you and those with whom you share the lightbox.

Share a Lightbox

Lightboxes can be shared with other users for viewing and collaboration.

Click the red gear icon  and select "Share Lightbox" from the drop-down list. Enter the email address(es) of those with whom you wish to share the lightbox. Specify whether the user should have "Can Read" access (can see the records, but not add/ delete them or comment on them) or "Can Edit" access (can add/ delete records and comment on them).

Those with whom you share your lightbox, and who have editing access, can add comments to individual records or to the lightbox as a whole by entering text in the comment box at the top right of the screen. These comments will only be visible to you and those with whom you have shared the lightbox.

Note: Lightboxes can only be shared with email addresses associated with an IRSHDC account.

Present or Download a Lightbox

You can convert your lightbox to a web-based slideshow by clicking the gear icon  next to the title of the lightbox and selecting “Start Presentation" from the drop-down menu.

Lightboxes can also be downloaded as:

• A checklist: a list of thumbnail images, item titles, and item identifiers in a PDF file
• A PDF (thumbnails) file: a grid of thumbnails, item titles, and item identifiers
• An Excel (basic information) file: small image files, item titles, and item identifiers
• A PowerPoint (basic information): a slideshow of image files that can be viewed offline

Further Questions

If you have a research question, require further assistance, or have suggestions regarding the online database, please contact us at irshdc.reference@ubc.ca.