Language in Lyrics is a new three-year project partnership between Cape Breton University, Nova Scotia Gaelic Affairs and the Digital Archive of Scottish Gaelic (DASG). It aims to create a comprehensive database of Gaelic songs made or known in Nova Scotia, to transcribe and digitize the texts of a large number of these songs, and to make them accessible to the Gaelic community via the website platforms of DASG, The Beaton Institute and An Drochaid Eadarainn. The song collection will also form the beginning of a corpus which can be used to create a future dictionary of Nova Scotia Gaelic. Project Manager Màiri Britton will explain the background and aims of the Language in Lyrics project and will welcome suggestions from audience members on the song selection process, and how the project can best serve the NS Gaelic community.
Stòras Gàidhlig Cheap Breatainn Project marks the 60th anniversary and founding mandate of the Beaton Institute Archives and work of Sister Margaret Beaton. It aims to increase and improve the description and access of archival records created by and/or about the Gaels of Nova Scotia within the holdings of the Beaton Institute of Cape Breton University. Project archivist Stacey MacLean will provide a demonstration of how the public may navigate the Beaton Institute’s online database and share some information about holdings which highlight the experiences of Gaels in Eastern Nova Scotia.