Becoming a reader at UK libraries

Dateline:  July 2015
Places: Lambeth Palace Library, British Library, National Library of Scotland, 
              University of Edinburgh Library
Time: Over time
Temperature: From 18° C - 36° C
Song of the day:  Off to see the Wizard by Dorothy, the Lion, the Tin Man 
                              and the Scarecrow

While I understand the need to register users in non-lending libraries, the process of becoming a reader in British libraries has felt a bit like having an audience in front of Oz, the Great and Power ... a bit intimidating as I justify my need to gain access to certain resources.


I applied at four libraries and although the process now feels more routine, I am still struck by procedural continuum, from highly open to very closed. Carleton University is on the "highly open" end of the spectrum as opposed to the University of Edinburgh, which could be described as being at the other end.

Just to provide some context, at Carleton, the process of consulting the general collections is quite simple:

• If someone wants to take a look at a particular book, he/she can simply walk into the library (during business hours), use one of the quick reference catalogues available on the main floor and then proceed to the stacks to take the book off the shelf and browse for others.
• To use the proprietary databases, a reader has to be on campus but can easily ask the students at the IT Help Desk for a temporary login and password to use any computer in the library to do searches and download online copies of articles. Alternatively, they can take a bound copy of a print journal off the shelf.
• And using our Archives and Research Collections (ARC) services? All a reader has to do is email Lloyd Keane, our archives and rare book coordinator, with the information about the materials he/she would like to use, and Lloyd will set an appointment and have items ready when the reader arrives--no address required. As Lloyd said to me in a recent email, "We try to eliminate the barriers."
• Of course, there are restrictions on what can be borrowed from the library and access to video games (which are really expensive to replace and very tempting to some patrons) is particularly restricted. However, in general our are pretty inclusive, at least for folks who live in Ottawa as well as visiting scholars.

I am a reader at four UK libraries now-- the British Library, the National Library of Scotland, the National Maritime Museum and the University of Edinburgh--and, to varying degrees, the process for setting up reader privileges seems more involved at these institutions.

I'm not sure how well I could be identified using the Lambeth Palace Library photo ...
 what if I change my glasses? Pretty grim ... and 
for the Edinburgh University Libraries card, I had to supply my own photo.

The basic process seems to involve several key steps:

• Apply for a reader's pass or ticket, either online (a pre-registration) or in person. Sometimes, like at the Lambeth Palace Library or the British Library, materials have to ordered in advance--it seems that this is in part a way of demonstrating the validity of one's access to a collection--and sometimes not, like at the National Library of Scotland.

         (Identification is crucial: at least two pieces of photo id must be presented and 
         one of these has to include a current address. My friend Pamela Walker suggested I
         also take along a hydro bill and a letter of reference when applying at the British
         Library (BL). I must admit that the officer processing my application at the BL was the
         most thorough in terms of asking about my research topic.)

• Get the photo id card. Except for the University of Edinburgh, all the institutions took my photo for the card. However, in Edinburgh I had to produce my own photo (so found a Timpson's in Waverley Station that does passport photos ... now I have 5 extra snaps of myself).
• Request materials for viewing. Again, I didn't always have to request the material ahead of time. At the National Maritime Museum, Penny Allen (the librarian who helped me and is a fellow Canadian!) was happy to take over 30 minutes to explain the system to me and help me identify some documents to view.
• In all cases, although I didn't have to request materials ahead of time, there was a delay in receiving the materials I wanted to see. In fact, in most cases if a request is made after mid-afternoon, a reader has to come back the next day to view the materials, especially those stored off site.
• Viewing materials means using the reader ticket as an electronic pass card. At all the libraries except Lambeth, there are electronic gates and the card is needed to get and out of the library. I was also surprised to discover that at both the University of Edinburgh and King's College, the same access system is in place, which is very different from Carleton where anyone can walk in during "office hours."

Thoughts
While I understand why these processes are in place for non-lending (reference) libraries which hold valuable collections of rare materials, the procedures still encourage some reflection on the recurring theme of access, which is clearly contextual in nature. 

I am surprised that university libraries have a different approach to use than Carleton as I expected to have more freedom to move in and out of the various buildings and to be able to use the computers and wifi system. I realize that I have been assuming that universities are publicly funded and therefore, well, open to the public. But this could definitely be an erroneous assumption.

Today I had the opportunity to ask a reference librarian at the Maughn Library why that library limits who can freely enter and she said, "History--it always is in this country."

This library is on the main campus of Edinburgh University and a bit hard to find but overlooks a lovely park while the Maughn Library (right) faces a quiet garden. Library as contemplative space?

Research stage two: Tracking HBC families through Scottish newspapers

Dateline: Thursday, July 16 and Friday, July 17, 2015
Places: Orkney Library and Archives, National Library of Scotland and the Edinburgh
                  Public Library
Time: Over time
Temperature: 18° C (both days) 
Song of the day:  Anything from Brigadoon by Lerner and Lowe 

"Dear Martha,

One important source, though time-consuming to research, is local newspaper accounts, which contain occasional news items about Native people in Orkney. You might find it useful to look at newspapers published shortly after the HBC ships returned to Orkney each year, to see if they have comments about people returning (and their families, if any) ...  Orkney newspapers are undoubtedly available on microfilm .. [and be] useful.

Pat"

Recollecting: Lives of Aboriginal Women of the
Canadian Northwest and Borderlands
(AU Athabasca University Press)

Associate Professor Patricia A. MacCormack is with the Faculty of Native Studies at the University of Alberta. 

One of her areas of research interest is Aboriginal peoples in Scotland. She's written a chapter entitled "Lost Women: Native Wives in Orkney and Lewis," in the volume she co-edited with Sarah Carter entitled Recollecting: Lives of Aboriginal Women of the Canadian Northwest and Borderlands. 

We've had an email conversation about my original research problem and I decided to take her advice and see if I could identify and examine local Orkney newspapers. In particular, I wanted to see what was available in digital format in addition to what I could access in either microfilm or print.



Step One: Orkney Library and Archives
My first step was to email Lucy Gibbon, the Assistant Archivist in Kirkwall to find out what was available at the Orkney Library and Archives, even though I decided not to travel to the Orkneys. Lucy confirmed that:

1. The two local newspapers that were printed during the 19th and early 20th century were The Orcadian (1854 - present) and The Orkney Herald (1860 - 1960). 

2. The Orkney Library and Archives holds both on microfilm but only has one index, for the Orkney Herald from 1919-1932, so readers have to consult them "page by page." 

Lucy is kindly going to look at copies of The Orcadian published around 1911 to see if there is any mention of Native families. She will send me scanned copies of any material that she might find.

Step Two: British Newspaper Archive
My second step was to consult the British Newspaper Archive. This archive is the product of a partnership between the British Library and findmypast and since 2011, millions of British newspapers (many local) have been digitized. We don't have access to this database at Carleton. My colleagues Scott Turner (Newspapers) and Margaret McLeod (History), looked into purchasing it but the price tag is too high for us (C$45,000 annually). 

I knew I could consult this electronic archive at the British Library, but chose to access it at the National Library of Scotland, in part so that I could also consult print copies of the newspaper, given that the library is the main repository for Scottish newspapers. 

The reading room at the National Library of Scotland is a lovely space.  It is designed in the tradition of big long desks, solid mahogany shelving and comfortable leather chairs.

To enter, you pass through these doors to the security area and then on to the reading room itself, which has two floors. I used computers on the second level to access the digital archive. When I was looking at paper copies of The Orcadian, I worked at a desk on the first level. The general section includes family histories.

I discovered that the digital archive only has copies of the Orkney Herald for a limited period of time (1860 - 1871) and, similarly, that print copies are available for a limited run:

• 1892
• 1895
• 1897
• 1900
• 1916

• 1934
• 1937
• 1938
• 1950

I did a search of the digital archive, using terms such as "Hudson's Bay Company," "Rupert's Land," and "fur trad*." I found advertisements for labourers to work with the I did a search of the digital archive, using terms such as "Hudson's Bay Company," "Rupert's Land," and "fur trad*". I HBC but nothing more specific that was related to my topic.

I also ordered those papers from 1900 - 1950 but unfortunately the copy from 1900 was in too poor shape to be consulted. I did look at the others and although there were articles related to the Hudson's Bay Company and individuals who were either in Canada or had returned from Canada, there was no specific mention of Native families.

Unfortunately the copy of The Orcadian from 1900 was too fragile
to view but I did look at this copy from 1916
as well as several from the 1930s and early 1950s.

Thoughts
The best source of newspapers is the Orkney Library and Archives, so any scholar interested in pursuing my topic and newspaper archives will have to make the trek to the Orkney Islands.

Using newspapers is a challenge, in part because unless an article specifically identifies an individual as being Aboriginal, identifying HBC fur trading families will be difficult because presumably the surnames are Orcadian (e.g, Flett). I did do follow-up research at the Edinburgh Central Library, which has a local history section, and found a book entitled Orkney Surnames, by Gregor Lamb (1981), which could be a useful secondary source. I also discovered that the Central Library holds the parish records for the Orkneys until 1855, when the official census began. 

These records are located in the family history section of the Central Library, located on the lower level of the library.

There are 30 boxes of parish records available in microfilm at the Central  Library. The records date up to the mid 1800s.

Again, however, without knowing the surname of a particular family, these records have limited value.

References
Recollecting: Lives of Aboriginal Women of the Canadian Northwest and Borderlands 
     (n.d.). AU Athabasca University Press. Retrieved August 14, 2015 from
     http://www.aupress.ca/index.php/books/120181.

The right to stitch: Visiting the Magna Carta

Dateline: Wednesday, July 8, 2015
Place: British Library, Magna Carter Exhibit 
Time: 10 - 11:30 a.m.
Temperature: 21° C
Song of the day: Oo-de-Lally by Roger Miller

The Magna Carter (or "Great Charter") is having her 800th birthday this year and the British Library is celebrating with a special exhibition that runs until September 1, 2105. 

Although it's an "optional" visit for our class, who wouldn't want to go back to the library and pay homage to the document that brought to the citizens of many nations the right to a trial by jury ... theoretically a fair trail. And vanquished (sort of) bad King John?

The Magna Carta was signed in 1215 at Runnymede and according to the description of the exhibit on the British Library (BL) website, the exhibit includes:

• Two of the four original 1215 Magna Carta documents (two other copies are on tour in Canada this summer);
• Thomas Jefferson’s handwritten copy of the Declaration of Independence;
• one of the original copies of the US Bill of Rights, both on display in the UK for the first time;
• and other manuscripts, paintings, statues and royal relics.

(Google Maps)

Thoughts
The BL exhibit is detailed and interesting because it traces the history of events leading to the initial demands for reform through to the influence of the ideas contained in the document on other nations (e.g., the U.S. Declaration of Independence.

What I found really captivating, however, was the display of Cornelia Parker's Magna Carta (An Embroidery). As the BL web page on the embroidery explains, this project reproduces in stitch the entire Wikipedia article on the Great Charter as it appeared on the document’s 799th anniversary in 2014. Many hands worked on the stitchery from all across Britain, "from prisoners to lawyers."

I teach students to avoid depending upon Wikipedia as a reliable research source ... but now I will have to qualify this advice as clearly it can be a source of tremendous creativity and understanding of rights at a fundamental level.

The right to stitch ...

References
Google Maps. (2015). [Runnymede and Heathrow Airport]. Retrieved from https://www.google.ca/maps/place/Magna+Carta/@51.444481,-0.566031,13z/data=!4m2!3m1!1s0x487670a3d510c4c7:0x3bc6c9ff2d410d7a

Handle with care: rare books and information literacy

Dateline: Monday, July 6, 2015
Places:  St. Paul’s Cathedral Library and the National Art Library 
Times:  10 a.m. - 11:30 a.m. and 1:30 - 3:00 p.m.
Temperature: 23° C
Song of day: Dear hearts and gentle people by Bing Crosby

Visiting a rare book or special collections library, at institutions such as St. Paul's Cathedral and the National Art Library, is like walking into a treasure trove of primary sources filled with beautiful old books and manuscripts. These visits remind me that such materials are important resources for researchers but helping students gain "primary source literacy" is a challenge for those of us doing information literacy instruction, especially if we only have "one shot" to teach a range of literacies (Daines & Nimer, p. 1). Should we try to include such sources and, if so, what and how to teach?

On the steps of St. Paul's ... like the little old bird woman.

"How to readers take books out of the library?" This seems like an innocuous question but after an hour with Joseph Wisdom, I have a feeling that a teachable moment is upon us. Joseph Wisdom is the librarian for St. Paul's Cathedral and responsible for a collection of ecclesiastical tracts, pamphlets, manuscripts and books that date back to the early 1700s and are consulted by scholars from around the world. During our one-hour tour, I realize that he is trying to share not just information about the history of the library but also something of his philosophy of librarianship ("we should do what we do with love").

During our tour, Mr. Wisdom took us to see Christopher Wren's model of the cathedral the architect envisioned In the 17th century. The current cathedral was built after the great fire of London gutted the old one in 1666.

Prof. Teresa Welsh and Mr. Wisdom in the cathedral library. The light in the library is misty and musty, as is the smell of decaying leather which permeates the room. Old books!

Instead of simply answering my shelf question by describing the borrowing policies, Mr. Wisdom takes the opportunity to demonstrate how to handle rare books. Even though we are at the end of the session, he is still willing to take the extra few minutes to teach us this skill, which is critical to primary source literacy.

"Press in on the volumes on either side of the book you want, grasp your book gently, support it underneath and at 110 degrees from [the shelf] and pull it out. Read it flat so that there is no damage]."

Although the rest of the information about the library and the collection is interesting, it is this moment I will remember--for the skill itself and because Mr. Wisdom took the time to teach, even though he only had "one shot" and thus not a lot of time to do so.

The library holds books and other artefacts, like this "globe" win which there is a miniature of Wellington's funeral carriage.

The lighting in the library is not meant for iPads but Mr. Wisdom was happy to pose in a photo with our group.

Likewise, the librarians at the National Art Gallery take the time to give us some of the history of the library and its collections but also something about handling and using such sources. In showing us the treasured books, photographs and ecclesiastical texts that she has carefully chosen for our visit, Sally Wilson also spends time pointing out the features of the tools (such as book snakes, cushions and special boxes) that are necessary to ensure that these primary sources are handled properly.

The reading room at the National Art Library (left) is the stuff of readers' dreams--elegant, quiet and well lit. Just the place for librarian Sally Wilson to display rare books and demonstrate how they are cared for.

Thoughts
All of these "logistics" are critical to using such sources for research and important for beginners like me to understand if we are to develop a literacy related to such materials. As Daines and Nimer (2015) point out, traditionally the use of such sources has been seen as the limited territory of areas of historical research--art history, political history, social history--and information literacy skills for using such primary sources has been limited to specialized fields. For example, a recent case study at McGill University was a collaboration between a rare books librarian and an art history professor (Garland, 2014).

However, Daine and Nimer (2015) seem suggest that students in other areas could benefit from being introduced to the use of such sources and I am rethinking their use for my subjects. Certainly students in Indigenous Studies, grappling with current issues such as that of the residential schools, might benefit from some preliminary instruction--not just in how to access and handle rare books but also perhaps some of the information seeking behaviour of historians, as described by Duff and Johnson (2002), might be transferable to other disciplines. Even highlighting one source (or using my experiences from this summer) might be worth developing into a session for students.

This would be a challenge--given the tendency of some professors to only allot one-hour "one shots" for information literacy instruction. But it's worth a shot.

References
Danier, G. D.  and Nimes, C. L. (2015). In search of primary source literacy: Opportunities
      and challenges. RBM: A Journal of Rare Books, Manuscripts, and Cultural Heritage
      16(1), 19-34.

Duff, W. M., & Johnson, C. A. (2002). Accidentally found on purpose: Information-seeking
      behavior of historians in archives. Library Quarterly, 72(4), 472.

Garland, J. (2014). Locating Traces of Hidden Visual Culture in Rare Books and Special 
      Collections: A Case Study in Visual Literacy. Art Documentation: Bulletin Of The Art
      Libraries Society Of North America, 33(2), 313-326. 

Bonus video!

To the coast and inland: To Dover and Canterbury then on to Stonehenge and Winchester

Dateline: July 4 and 5, 2015
Places:  Saturday in Dover and Canterbury; Sunday at Stonehenge and Winchester
Times: 7ish to 7ish each day
Temperatures: Saturday was 27° C; Sunday was 23° C
Songs of the weekend: Winchester Cathedral and The White Cliffs of Dover

We are so lucky to have the chance to take two day trips this week to iconic parts of England, both arranged for us by Peter Allen, who has been with the Southern Miss British Studies Program for a while:

• Dover Castle
• Canterbury
• Stonehenge
• Winchester

I wasn't sure quite what to expect and didn't do any homework before I left on these jaunts. I was willing to take things as I found them. And the trips were delightful.

I am really impressed with how English Heritage manages both Dover Castle and Stonehenge in a way that seems similar to how Parks Canada manages Canadian historical sites such as Dawson City and the Fortress of Louisbourg--it's easy to move around both places, even though Stonehenge in particular is incredibly busy--more than 1.3 million people visited in 2014.

Dover Castle overlooks the English Channel and Calais in France, which we could faintly make out through the haze of an otherwise perfectly sunny day. 

The keep: the heart of the castle.

Overlooking the English Channel.

Operation Dynamo:
saving the troops 

Vice-Admiral Ramsay
(Ibilio)

I knew it is a medieval castle and assumed that, in the way of castles, it had been used as a major defense point for centuries. 

But I didn't realize that Dover was strategic to the evacuation of allied troops from France to England in 1939-40 as German soldiers seemed poised to take France. 

As mentioned on the website, the castle was a naval command centre in WWI. 

During Operational Dynamo, Vice-Admiral Bertram Ramsay organised the troops from Dunkirk to Dover. He hoped to move 25,000 troops to safety and instead was able to evacuate more than 250,000!

Canterbury is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and not just because Chaucer wrote The Canterbury Tales. As per the UNESCO criteria, the city is of "outstanding universal value, in part because it is the "cradle of English Christianity" and because the architecture is outstanding (e.g, Canterbury Christchurch Cathedral).  

Inner courtyard at Canterbury Christchurch Cathedral. The soaring gothic ceilings and pillars are iconic for medieval churches. In addition, there are cobblestones to walk and other interesting sites to visit such as the  Eastbridge Hospital, which has been (and still is!) offering sanctuary to pilgrims for centuries. Plus, we made our way to the old city from the coach parking lot along a pretty pathway along the  Great Stour River and I found a marvelous cafe for lunch: Kitch! This almshouse is still a place of refuge after hundreds of years. The fisherfolk were busy catching all manner of  beasties including carp.

Lunch was curried vegetable soup and a sandwich of
garlic & rosemary seasoned chicken with pesto and spinach. Delish!

And the best part was, this was only Saturday!  Sunday saw us leaping onto the bus again (well, not really as the coach left quite early so we more slid quietly into our seats for a snooze) for another adventure.

Stonehenge almost needs no introduction as it is another UNESCO World Heritage Site and so famous, it's almost as if I'd already been there. But, of course, I hadn't and nothing quite prepared me for actually standing in front of these majestic stones ... how on earth did these prehistoric communities move such rocks--slabs really--without the benefit of a motorized crane?

Two types of stone -- the larger sarsens and the smaller ‘bluestones’--make up the site.
The sarsens are arranged in an inner and outer circle
while the bluestones  sit between the two circles in a double arc.

Archeaologists reckon that Stonehenge was built about 5,000 years ago as a burial site. It is designed using enormous sarsens and smaller bluestones and was erected in the late Neolithic period around 2500 BC--the website does a way better job than I ever could. The stones are now cordoned off to prevent further erosion or damage (except that done by Mother Nature). It's a lovely walk to a from the stones, along a gravel pathway and I was pleased to see wild poppies that reminded me of Flanders Fields.

That day was windy and cool, so I was happy to gobble a hot sausage roll at the visitors' centre café before travelling the 52K to Winchester.

The poppies are back, after being plowed under for years.

Our journey (Google Maps)

Like Canterbury, Winchester is known for its gothic cathedral. 

The cathedral was built in the 7th century and has gone from being a small cross-shaped church called Old Minister, to a priory church of a community of monks whose chants began the English choral tradition, through many renovations that would make it one of the largest cathedrals in England. The photo above is of the mysterious "man in in the crypt."

But did you know that the cathedral is also the last resting place of author Jane Austen and a funky art gallery to boot?

Just as Christian pilgrims make their way to the cathedral, devotees of Jane Austen arrive to pay homage to one of their favourite authors. But the cathedral is also a space for other artistic endeavours and was playing host to a local art show the day I was there!

Wandering narrow, cobblestoned lanes is charming (although hard on the feet), so I was happy to get to the central square and find a young fella playing the uke ... I perched on the statue behind him for a bit and enjoyed the music--and had a chance to strum a bit too!

The wood on this uke is really interesting--although a bit hard to see from this photo. The musician isn't sure what kind it is, as he bought it when travelling in Australia.

However, the instrument has a really lovely sound and I wasn't the only one stopping at the statue to listen for a while. 

Lots of folks were eating ice cream or drinking tea but I pushed on to the Great Hall.

The hall is where King Arthur met his knights of the round table ... which curiously hangs on the wall and has no legs (photo below)!

My final stop was a wonderful café called Eat Drink Be ... made me think of my friend Michelle (whose husband was a beekeeper).

So, who goes to England and doesn't try the "Cream Tea" at least once, twice or thrice?

References
Google Maps. (2015). [Stonehenge to Winchester]. Retrieved from https://www.google.ca/maps/dir/Winchester,+UK/Stonehenge,+Amesbury,+Wiltshire+SP4+7DE/@51.1325555,-1.7240492,11z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m14!4m13!1m5!1m1!1s0x487405528df97463:0x67a4865d66a8eda1!2m2!1d-1.310142!2d51.059771!1m5!1m1!1s0x4873e63b850af611:0x979170e2bcd3d2dd!2m2!1d-1.8262155!2d51.1788823!3e0
  
Vice-Admiral Sir Bertram H. Ramsay. (n.d.) Ibilio. Retrieved from
      http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/UN/UK/UK-NWE-Flanders/UK-NWE-Flanders-13.html.

Research stage one: The Orkney Islands and Lambeth Palace

Dateline: Friday, July 3, 2015
Place: Library of Lambeth Palace
Time: 10:00 a.m. - 3:30 p.m.
Temperature: 25° C
Song of the day:  For the light by Digging Roots

Originally, my research problem was to examine collections at the following institutions to determine what documents or artefacts can tell us about Hudson Bay Company (HBC) families and their return to the United Kingdom. And certainly my voyage through the Ottawa International Airport on the way to the "over the pond" plane seemed to confirm that I was on a good path ...

Le canot d'écorce or the bark canoe hangs near 
the departure gates at the Ottawa International Airport.

King Charles II granted a royal charter to the
Hudson's Bay Company in 1670. This shop is 
also in the departures area of the airport.

Search process
Although my problem has now shifted to focus on the information seeking process itself, I have still done some useful work with primary sources based on this initial research problem.

Following up on suggestions from faculty and graduate students at Carleton, I reviewed looked at the primary sources for two core texts considered for the topic of fur trading families:

1. Sylvia van Kirk's Many tender ties : women in fur-trade society, 1670-1870 
2 Jennifer S. Brown's Strangers in blood : fur trade company families in Indian country

I also contacted three scholars who have specifically done work on fur trading families where the Aboriginal wife and/or Metis children are known to have returned to the United Kingdom, and in particular Scotland:

1. Allison Brown (University of Aberdeen)
2. Patricia A. McCormack (Professor Emertia, University of Alberta)
3. Cheryl Purdey (Alumna [MA], University of Alberta)

Based on my preliminary scan of the sources used by van Kirk and Brown as well as my telephone and email conversations with Patricia McCormack and Alison Brown respectively as well as advice from Prof. Pamela Walker, an expert on 19th century British missionaries, I took the following preliminary steps in my research:

1. I contacted contact the Orkney Library and Archives in Kirkwall, Scotland. Kirkwall is one of the main cities in the Orkney Islands and according to the literature, many of the HBC fur traders came from either the Orkneys or the Scottish Highlands. 

Assistant Archivist Lucy Gibbon forwarded to me some research on two sisters, Sylvia and Elizabeth Miller, who were listed in the 1911 census as coming from Ungave. I have had several other email exchanges with Lucy and, having decided not to travel to Kirkwall to examine materials, she will be sending me scanned versions of relevant documents.

2. I made an online request to consult records at Church of England Record Centre, located at the Lambeth Palace Library. Prof. Walker had suggested that some of the holdings in this library might be potential resources, given that missionaries from a variety of denominations were active in Canada (or Rupert's Land as the Hudson Bay region was known from the 17th to 19th centuries).

The Most Revd and Rt Hon
the Lord Archbishop of Canterbury Archibald Tait
(Wikipedia)

I limited the scope of my searching to the 19th and early 20th centuries and did several keyword searches using terms/strings such as:

(Indian* or native* or Aboriginal*) and "Hudson's Bay Company"
"fur trader* famil*" and Canad*
(Indian* or native* or Aboriginal*) and women and Canad*
"Rupert's Land" and famil*

The searches for materials related to the Hudson's Bay Company were the most successful and I identified the following materials to consult initially:

Hudson’s Bay Company
Tait 226 ff. 251-9 passim
Correspondence on grants to the diocese of Rupert’s Land

Archibald Tait was the Archbishop of Canterbury (1868 - 1882) and all his papers are held at the Lambeth Palace Library. I sent an email request to view these documents and Library Assistant Jessica Hudson emailed me back with permission to view them on July 3, 2015.

Observations

Page 1 of a letter dated 1875 that appears to be from Robert Machray, Bishop of Rupert's Land (1865 - 1904).

Last page of this same letter from Robert Machray, presumably to  Archbishop Tait.

1. The documents I viewed could provide some contextual information for students. For example, there are several documents from the Bishop of Rupert's Land regarding Moose Factory, located on the south-western tip of Hudson's Bay. This might be of interest to Aboriginal student researchers for whom Moose Factory is their home community or who know folks from whom it is (such as one of our elders at Carleton).
2. While this preliminary search does not find any material directly related to fur trading marriages or families, it does help me refine my search terms. For this period, Esquimaux is an appropriate search term (rather than the contemporary Inuit) and Indian* will work, if coupled with other terms such as Rupert's Land (so as not to identify material related to India).

Aside from these process observations, the Lambeth Palace library is delightful to use. The reading room is small but well lit, there are two long tables for readers to work at and the staff is very helpful. 

Lambeth Palace is located very close to the Stamford St. Apartments,
near the Lambeth Bridge on the south side of the Thames.

After I looked at the initial materials I had ordered, I requested others and these were brought to me within 15 minutes. The rare books librarian was a bit nervous about one item, as the binding on the spine is deteriorating and he placed it on the viewing cushion as if it was a newborn. 

A rare book containing photographs from the dioceses in Canada and America.

I have used brittle newspapers before but not a book so this was a useful exercise for me. In retrospect, this experience certainly put Joseph Wisdom's lesson on taking rare books off the shelf into perspective (more to come on this subject)!

References
Achibald Tait. (n.d.) In Wikipedia. Retrieved from
     https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archibald_Tait