Canadian Heritage Information Network

Canadian Heritage Information Network (CHIN)

Agency overview
Type	Special Operating Agency
Headquarters	Gatineau, Quebec
Parent department	Department of Canadian Heritage
Website	www.canada.ca/chin

The Canadian Heritage Information Network (CHIN) is a Government of Canada-supported organization that provides a networked interface to Canada's heritage. CHIN is a Special Operating Agency within the Official Languages, Heritage and Regions sector of the Department of Canadian Heritage. It offers valuable collections management resources to the Canadian museum community and online public access to millions of collections records. CHIN assists Canadian museums in documenting, managing, and sharing information about their collections, which in turn ensures that this information is accessible.

CHIN has three core areas of activity:

1. create and maintain an online point of entry to Canadian collections;
2. carry out research and development on collections documentation tools and standards;
3. provide guidance and training to cultural institutions on managing collections information.

CHIN is based in Gatineau (formerly known as Hull until 2002), in Quebec. In French, CHIN is known as the Réseau canadien d'information sur le patrimoine (RCIP). It provides bilingual information for all its resources.

CHIN was the first national organization to participate in the Virtual Library museums pages (VLmp) online museums directory, later supported by ICOM.

See also

• Virtual Museum of Canada

External links

• Canadian Heritage Information Network
• Réseau canadien d'information sur le patrimoine
• Artefacts Canada English
• Artefacts Canada French