McGill Library
McGill Library is a key partner, providing support for the project through Cataloguing, Digital Initiatives, and public program activities. The Blacker Wood Natural History Collection (BWC) in Rare Books and Special Collections was founded by Casey Wood, a medical doctor trained at McGill (with a particular interest in Sri Lanka), and is one of the richest natural history collections in North America, with over 18,000 volumes, hundreds of manuscripts, and 10,000 original artworks. The collection covers every branch of natural history, with a particular focus on ornithology and vertebrate zoology.
McGill University Herbarium
McGill University Herbarium is within the Department of Plant Sciences. It is the oldest research museum of dried plant specimens in Canada and holds some 140,000 botanical objects available for research. The collection is in the process of being digitized, and data for some specimens can be downloaded from the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF).
The Redpath Museum
The Redpath Museum was opened in 1882 and now houses close to three million objects, including both natural history and ethnological collections. The Museum is open to the public, providing lectures, workshops, and a resource for Montreal-area schools.
*The Museum will be undergoing renovation in the next three years to improve physical and intellectual access to the collections. This project will contribute to the development
of new exhibitions.
Manitoba Museum
Located in Winnipeg, Canada, Manitoba Museum has extensive botanical and cultural collections relating to the Métis homeland. Access to these collections is important to the project. Access to these collections is important to the project. Dr Amelia Fay, Curator of Anthropology, is the institutional representative. Dr Maureen Matthews, the former Curator of Cultural Anthropology, is involved as a collaborator in the project and has ongoing relationships with Indigenous language experts, including Roger Roulette and Pat Ningewance, and coordinator Richard Laurin.
National Library of Sri Lanka
Located in Colombo, and founded in 1990, National Library of Sri Lanka is a research and a reference library and the main library and information centre in Sri Lanka. It holds over one million volumes, with an important collection of olas in Sinhala, Pali and Sanskrit languages. NLSL serves as the IFLA PAC regional conservation centre and produces the traditional herbal oil for the preservation of palm leaf manuscripts. NLSL holds monthly public lectures, and in 2021 hosted the 4th National Library Symposium: “Libraries for a Better World: Achieving Sustainable Development Goals”.
John Carter Brown Library
Opened in 1904 in Providence, Rhode Island, John Carter Brown Library is a private institution with a public mission to share its historical resources ever more widely. The JCB preserves books, maps, manuscripts, and other printed materials related to all aspects of the so-called “New World”. In addition to the more familiar histories of European conquest and colonization told from the perspective of interested agents of expanding empires, the JCB has emphasized in recent years its considerable holdings – in manuscript and printed form – related to the Americas’ earliest indigenous inhabitants. The JCB has a special interest in the Caribbean and Haiti.
La Sociéte Haïtienne d’Histoire, de Géographie et de Géologie
La Sociéte haïtienne d’histoire, de géographie et de géologie was founded in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, in 1923 to inventory private archives; establish an annotated index of scholarly works on the history and geography of Haiti; support the publication of scholarly works on Haitian history and geography; and promote the circulation of this knowledge to all Haitians. The society established an official journal in 1925. There are more than 1,100 articles in the Revue, making the publication the greatest repository of historical research produced on Haiti, from Haiti.
Bombay Natural History Society
Located in Mumbai, Bombay Natural History Society is one of the oldest scientific societies of India, founded in 1883. It works to spread awareness about nature through science-based research, conservation advocacy, education, scientific publications, nature tours and other programs. The society holds over 120,000 specimens for research and study, and is currently digitizing collections, to make them more accessible and help in their preservation. The Society publishes a monthly newsletter and The Journal of Bombay Natural History Society (JBNHS), and hosts lectures, festivals, and other special events.
Hidden Hands in Colonial Natural Histories 