Uploaded March 2026 | Updated September 2026, 20 hours ago
While processing our newly acquired vital statistics records, our technicians made a shocking discovery in the 1905 birth registrations.
Imagine opening boxes with beautifully typed registrations on the (new at the time) Alberta forms, only to find that at some point presumably record clerks had glued (and sometimes taped) the less legible handwritten original North West Territories version on TOP of the perfectly legible Alberta forms. Yes. GLUED. What?!? WHY??? We have questions. SO MANY questions!
The result? Thousands of 1905 birth registration documents that 125 years later are now brittle, bowed, and so incredibly fragile that they cannot be run through the high-speed scanner without the risk of being damaged. 4670 registrations will need to be hand scanned one by one, with some registrations requiring special encapsulation just to keep the torn and crumbling pieces together.
This is what Archives nightmares are made of!
The takeaway? Tape is Evil. Glue is Evil! Don’t do it! Everyone, put the sticky stuff away!
Stay tuned as we work through this very sticky situation!
While processing our newly acquired vital statistics records, our technicians made a shocking discovery in the 1905 birth registrations.
Imagine opening boxes with beautifully typed registrations on the (new at the time) Alberta forms, only to find that at some point presumably record clerks had glued (and sometimes taped) the less legible handwritten original North West Territories version on TOP of the perfectly legible Alberta forms. Yes. GLUED. What?!? WHY??? We have questions. SO MANY questions!
The result? Thousands of 1905 birth registration documents that 125 years later are now brittle, bowed, and so incredibly fragile that they cannot be run through the high-speed scanner without the risk of being damaged. 4670 registrations will need to be hand scanned one by one, with some registrations requiring special encapsulation just to keep the torn and crumbling pieces together.
This is what Archives nightmares are made of!
The takeaway? Tape is Evil. Glue is Evil! Don’t do it! Everyone, put the sticky stuff away!
Stay tuned as we work through this very sticky situation!
