Web Search Guide Canada

1906 Census: Calgary CBC picked

1906 Census: Calgary CBC picked up this story about 1906 census data being released to the Internet. Links to Census of the Northwest Provinces. 1906 census data released, historians happy (Jan 24, 2003) Source: Research Buzz

Internet Filtering: Ottawa public libraries

Internet Filtering: Ottawa public libraries resist Internet filters to restrict access to sites for adults, arguing that it infringes on intellectual freedom.

"Restricting Internet access at Ottawa's public libraries would be the start of a "slippery slope" toward restricting intellectual freedom, says Don Butcher, executive director of the Canadian Library Association."

""It's not the library's role to filter beyond the provisions of the Criminal Code," said Mr. Butcher. "It's a pretty slippery slope when we put non-justice institutions in charge of what we can and can't see." "

"The debate is not new to library administrators. The Canadian Library Association has been discussing it for years and libraries across the country have adopted varying degrees of Ottawa's middle-of-the-road policy. The Mississauga Public System has across-the-board filtering, while Winnipeg's library has filters on children's machines. Monique Désormeaux, Ottawa's library board policy manager, said most city libraries have no filters."

Filtering Internet a 'slipperly slope' by Jennifer Campbell. Ottawa Citizen (Jan 28, 2003)

Shopping: Canadians went shopping online

Shopping: Canadians went shopping online over the holiday season, spending $772 million dollars, up 103% from Xmas 2001. However, people are very concerned about online fraud and security. Visa will be introducing a new cardholder validation process - Verified by Visa. Visa credit card holders can register with their bank for a password which would be used as verification during an online transaction. Watch for Verified by Visa Service Mark on e-commerce sites. Program will be worldwide.

Online sales up but security still a concern: Survey by Christine Walewski (Jan 14, 2003) Canada Computes

Creative Commons: Cory Doctorow, a

Creative Commons: Cory Doctorow, a Canadian science-fiction writer, has persuaded his publisher to put his first novel - Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom - on the Web for free download. It will be available through the new Creative Commons licensing project. Doctorow writes about digital rights issues (and much else) in his weblog BoingBoing.

A Novelist Who Walks the Walk by Paul Boutin. Wired. (Jan 11, 2003)

Online News: Will readers pay

Online News: Will readers pay to read news online? AOL says it will charge for music downloads and news content. Only print subscribers can get daily news from the Winnipeg Free Press web site. Out-of-towners must buy access for $5 / month. New York Times and the Globe and Mail are among the few who make money from their web site. More about online news in Does it pay to charge for on-line news? by Andre Mayer. Globe and Mail (Jan 8, 2003)

Technology predictions: Kate Baggott, cyberculture

Technology predictions: Kate Baggott, cyberculture researcher, asked people in the tech field for predictions for the next year. Wi-fi, anti-spam, cell phones and PDAs, and much that is interactive were among the views. Words of wisdom from the workers in the Globe and Mail (Dec 18, 2002)

Census in Canada: The January

Census in Canada: The January 2003 Searcher magazine has a major article - indeed a webliography - on Web resources for census and population statistics in Canada. Counting Heads Around the World The Genealogy of international Census Databases Part II, Canada by David Mattison • Access Services Archivist British Columbia Archives

"Canadian historic census and current demographic databases hold their own against their counterparts around the world. Canadian family historians, academic researchers, and government policy makers continue to establish partnerships that permit reasonable access to data, as well as transcribe existing data and place it online for free or pay-per-viewing display."