Bits and Pieces: #RootsTech and more

Every once in a while there are some online items that are short and do not necessarily make up a regular blog post.


Alex Boye and Quarter-Finalists from NBC’s America’s Got Talent Joining RootsTech 2015

Consistent with the other "Keynote" speakers announced for #RootsTech 2015, FamilySearch has selected Popular musician and YouTube sensation Alex Boye, teaming up with the stars of his popular “Let It Go”  for a special performance at the RootsTech Opening Night Social event February 12, 2015. For more information, go to RootsTech.org. Quoting from the FamilySearch Blog:

Boye has developed an impressive following through live concerts, numerous albums and YouTube videos. His combined YouTube views are more than 100 million. His cover of “Let It Go” from Disney’s Frozen has been watched more than 50 million times. On that song, he is joined by the One Voice Children’s Choir, and it is frequently listed as one of the best versions of the classic song. 

He is a prolific composer and known for taking popular songs and “Africanizing” them with African rhythms, voices and instruments. His songs “Paradise,” “Happy,” and “Royals” are popular examples.

Ancestry.com announces American Indian historical records collections
From a Google+ post:

We now have more than 10 million American Indian historical records from 570 tribes available online - the largest collection of its kind. Census counts, land allotments, marriage certificates, citizenship documents and more. Start searching this incredible collection now: http://ancstry.me/1tB1alJ

This is a truly impressive collection and a major advance in researching American Indian ancestors.

800,000 Pages of Patient Art and Mental Health Archives Are Going Online

The website Hyperallergic, Sensitive to Art and Its Discontents, posted about the following:

A few weeks ago, the Wellcome Library announced a new initiative to digitize more than 800,000 pages of material from British psychiatric hospitals. Dating between the 18th and 20th centuries, the trove includes examples of patient artwork and writing, as well as patient-produced publications.

Further from a post by the Wellcome Trust:

Over 800,000 pages of archival material from psychiatric hospitals in the UK from the 18th to the 20th centuries will be digitised and made freely available online as part of the Wellcome Library’s ambitious digitisation programme. 

The Wellcome Library will partner with the Borthwick Institute for Archives, London Metropolitan Archives, Dumfries and Galloway Council Archives, NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde Archives, and the Royal College of Psychiatrists for the project, which will bring together documents from the York Retreat, St Luke’s Hospital Woodside, Crichton Royal Hospital, Gartnavel Royal Hospital and Camberwell House Asylum. These collections will be added to the Wellcome Library’s own collection of archives from public and private mental health institutions, including the records of Ticehurst House Hospital in Sussex, which provide a rare insight into the running of a privately run asylum. 

The project will mostly focus on records dating from the 19th and 20th centuries, and will touch on the movement away from institutional care as the 20th century progressed. Patient records and case notes, photographs, administrative documents and registers will be digitised, creating an extensive online archive that will be a valuable resource for historical research. 

The documents will be available via the Wellcome Library’s website, where users will be able to search the archives using the catalogue and view documents on the media player. The documents will be published under CC-BY or CC-BY-NC licence, allowing users to view, download, reproduce and distribute the material.