Pulling The Trigger

 The Australian Solution

   You will all know what it means to be "triggered". Far fewer of you will know that generally I have not been sympathetic and supportive of such a notion.  The removal of authors from curricula, the expurgation of practically anything from our past which is now found to be objectionable and the elimination of names and statues from the land are actions that need to be  more thoroughly debated. That is unlikely to happen. The Australians, however, have come up with a method for accommodation which appears to have been accepted, at least for items from the printed past.

TROVE

  The Australians are far ahead of us when it comes to the digitization of their past. If you go to TROVE you can "explore all things Australian" and you can do so for free. Among the categories of items accessible, one will find, newspapers, magazines, books and diaries. It is more than likely the case that one will encounter, among the publications produced by the convict colonizers, something that will offend. And, it is even more than likely that the original inhabitants of that continent were not referred to early on as the "indigenous people" and that the newspapers of the day were full of terms, ideas, etc. about them that are no longer acceptable.

   The solution provided allows for a disclaimer to be attached to items which are culturally offensive. That is, a warning is provided to those who might be "triggered".  Here it is:

CULTURAL ADVICE

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people should be aware that Trove contains images, voices or names of deceased persons in photographs, websites, film, audio recordings or printed material.

Some material contains terms that reflect authors’ views, or those of the period in which the item was written or recorded, but may not be considered appropriate today. These views are not necessarily the views of the National Library of Australia or Trove Partners. While the information may not reflect current understanding, it is provided in an historical context.

By selecting "Show cultural advice", please be advised that you will continue to receive subsequent cultural advice notices before viewing materials on Trove that may be considered culturally sensitive. You can opt out at any time.

  I would think the Torres Strait Islander people are tough and probably do not need this "Cultural Safety Alert". But, if such a disclaimer is all that is needed to allow the rest of us to access the unexpurgated past, it is fine with me.

Sources:

   The basic point of entry for TROVE. You will find it to be fascinating. There are, for example, full text newspapers ranging from Perth to Sydney and including places in between - The Kalgoorlie Miner, The Geelong Advertiser, etc.

   For all the information about the disclaimer see: Cultural Safety For First Australians. 

   Here is some recent information from: "National Library Updates Its Treasure TROVE," Maeve Bannister, Canberra Times, June 27, 2020.

Canberrans will now have access to a new and improved treasure trove of information as the National Library launched its new program on Friday.

More than 3000 Australians contributed to a new and improved Trove system, which was unveiled after four years of work.

The federal government announced a further $8 million for the project to support its ongoing development over the next two years, in addition to the $16 million already provided.

Trove may be just 10 years old, but it houses billions of historical resources, dating back hundreds of years.

The National Library's collaboration with partner institutions allowed Trove to provide its collections of digitised newspapers, books, magazines, oral history, maps and images.

All of this is free to search on Trove from anywhere in the world, and one third of Trove visitors are from outside Australia.

Director-General Dr Marie-Louise Ayres said she was particularly proud of how the team collaborated with a diverse range of communities throughout the project.

"The project has taken thousands of people who've told us how they feel about Trove and how they use it, and it's taken incredibly generous Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities who engaged with us about how Trove can help them to connect to their families, to their culture, to their land and to their language," she said.

Dr Ayres said it was important for the library to engage with the people who used and loved the old Trove for the past 10 years, and the project team held workshops and webinars with users all over Australia to ensure the final product would meet their needs.

The Bonus:

   You can even find information about London, Ontario. It is reported in The World's News (Sydney, NSW) that a motorist hit two bears just outside the town limits - Saturday Oct. 9, 1926, p.31.