Q: What is CHODARR?

A: CHODARR stands for the Community Health Online Digital Archive Research Resource.  CHODARR is a public access virtual library of community-based and government publications with a focus on the Downtown Eastside. CHODARR is a collaborative project initiated by community-based researchers at Simon Fraser University in partnership with community organizations and the SFU Library.

Q: How do I get to CHODARR online?

A: Search ‘CHODARR’ on Google (www.google.ca) and it’s the first thing that comes up

     1. Go to SFU library home page: www.lib.sfu.ca

     2. Click on "Institutional Repository" (bottom left, under “Branches & Collections”)

     3. Click on CHODARR among the list

Q: What kind of documents can go into CHODARR?

A: CHODARR includes documents that are not formally published by a commercial publisher, and especially documents produced by community organizations, community-based researchers, and government bodies.  This includes (but is not limited to) brochures, newsletters, reports, pamphlets, project or program evaluations, and reports produced for agencies that have funded a project.

Q: I have a document that I would like to see preserved online, but it is out-of-date.  Does CHODARR accept old documents?

A: Preserving historical documents is an important part of CHODARR.  Any document can be published online, no matter how old it is.

Q: I am a member of an organization that produces publications.  How can I have these put online into CHODARR?

A: The first step is to get approval to have documents put online in CHODARR.  Contact the CHODARR team who will be happy to come to a meeting at your organization to introduce the CHODARR project.  Once the documents your organization wants to include have been identified, they will have to be catalogued (this means entering information about the document, like the title, author, and keywords that describe it, into a database; this information is then displayed on the CHODARR webpage).  The cataloguing can be done by members of the CHODARR team or by a member of your organization.  Your input on the keywords that will describe the document is especially important. 

If your organization is contributing many documents or is going to be contributing documents to CHODARR on an ongoing basis, we will sign an “Agreement of Collaboration” indicating that CHODARR has permission to reproduce online documents produced by your organization.

If your organization is just contributing a couple of documents to CHODARR, we will need a signed “Permission to Publish on Website” form for each document.

After the documents have been catalogued, the CHODARR team will bring them to the SFU Library in Burnaby where they will be scanned (digitized) and then the document and the catalogue information will be available online.

Q: What happens if my organization has a document that it would like to put online but I am unsure if the organization owns copyright to the document?

A: Sometimes it is hard to tell who ‘owns’ the right to give permission to publish a document online.  In the case of an organizational document like a brochure or a newsletter, it is pretty clear that the organization owns copyright to the document.  But when a document is written by one particular person in the organization, while the organization probably does own the copyright, it is a good idea to get permission from the author as well.  This can be challenging if the author is no longer with the organization.

If your organization received funding to publish the document (as part of funding for a project, for example) then it is possible that the funding agency may assert copyright ownership over the document.  In these cases, the CHODARR team is happy to work with you to try to acquire permission from the funding agency to put the document online and to advocate for your organization’s right to control the document it has produced.

Q: What does it mean to be a member of the Community Collaborators Network?

A: The Community Collaborators Network (CCN) will collectively advocate for the right to access community-based knowledge.  There’s strength in numbers, and the more people who belong to this network, the more effective it will be.  The CCN will advocate for the right of everyone to access government and government-funded publications online.  Any person or organization who supports the CHODARR objectives (outlined in the CHODARR Brochure) can join the Community Collaborators Network.

Q: Can non-print media like audio and video be put online in CHODARR?

A: Right now CHODARR can include audio if the original is on cassette. Later video may be able to be included.

Q: How can I get more involved in CHODARR?

A: There are many ways to get involved in CHODARR.  You could:

·         Donate your personal collections
·         Volunteer as a community archivist: catalogue the documents which will be added to CHODARR
·         Use CHODARR and give your feedback
·         Help spread the word: talk with organizations that you’re involved in about CHODARR

The Community Collaborators Network is the broad coalition that is the foundation of CHODARR.  The day-to-day work in the future will be done by committees.  These are ideas we have for committees, and their responsibilities will be developed in consultation with members of the Community Collaborators Network.  New committees can be added too.

·         Ethics Committee will monitor the process of making documents public, ensuring that placing documents online doesn’t harm any person or organization
·         History Committee will work with the project historian on identifying and preserving historical documents
·        Education Committee will facilitate training sessions at community access spaces and community partner offices

For more information about CHODARR, please contact:

Digitalization Project
Health Research and Methods Training Facility
Simon Fraser University Vancouver
515 W. Hastings St. HCC 3150
Vancouver, BC  V6B 5K3

Telephone: (778)782-6521
Fax: (778) 782-6520

hermet@sfu.ca
http://health.arts.sfu.ca