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Canada  has a proud heritage as the landing place for millions of immigrants from Europe who sought prosperity, safety, and freedom in the New World. As such, the many regions of Canada have a rich and varied history of interest to people around the world whose roots can be traced there.

In one region of Canada, the various Archives are working with Eloquent Systems and their regional association to create two online databases, a descriptive database and a photographic database, that are searchable over the Internet from anywhere in the world.

The regional databases comprise a Union Catalog based on the Eloquent Archives product from Eloquent Systems Inc. From one website researchers can search the holdings of 50 different archive members, including archives associated with the many universities, churches, and museums across the province.

The records within the regional databases consist of over 1,300 fonds descriptions, as well as thousands of series and item descriptions with the various fonds. The project was started in 2000 and the database was made public over the Internet in 2005. The online databases are meant for researchers who desire information on the region derived directly from primary sources. The database is used by both the general public and professional researchers, particularly within the academic community.

By creating a Union Catalog using the Web-based Eloquent Archives from Eloquent Systems Inc., the regional association of archives is able to provide its members with a level of sophistication that many individual archives could not deliver otherwise.  Each institution gets the autonomy required to enter their own holdings and attach images while the central authority retains control over the quality of what is released for public viewing.

As a Web-based tool, the only technology that a local archive requires is a computer with an Internet connection. Individual archives need not contend with hosting their own databases or websites or advertising their collections as the association assists with that task. 

The association is also responsible for setting the collection and the database standards using its professional expertise and in-house staff. Through their Internet connections, local archives, often staffed by volunteers, can describe their collections at their own pace.

An extract from the Eloquent system is also used to feed a much larger national Union Catalog hosted by a national association of archives. This national connection provides even greater exposure for the smaller collections.

The regional association appreciates the robustness of the Eloquent Archives solution, particularly the fact that there are no limits on the amount of information that can be stored in each field for a given record. This unparalleled flexibility allows individual archives to tailor the information that they input on a particular record to as little or as much as is required.

The regional association of archives and its members are also very impressed by the speed of the Eloquent Archives system and the WebGENCAT engine that powers it. WebGENCAT delivers quick responses to even the most complex of queries.

Another key benefit of the Eloquent Archives solution is the ability to customize search screens to create a solution that is truly unique to the needs of the association.

About Eloquent Systems Inc.
Founded in 1975, Eloquent Systems Inc. has been solving the knowledge management needs of corporate, government, legal, medical, and heritage institutions around the world. Eloquent Systems is a leader in producing solutions for archives, museums, libraries, and corporate records management.

All Eloquent applications are built using Eloquent’s WebGENCAT engine, an extremely fast and robust Web-based tool for powering large information collections. Eloquent solutions can be hosted by a client’s internal IT department or through Eloquent’s own convenient hosting service.

Eloquent has a global customer base, many of which have been with the company since the early 1980s, including Fortune 500 companies as well as leading associations, law firms, and medical research facilities. Aside from its own team, Eloquent has a network of associates and agents across North America to help service customers directly.

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