Feature Story
Online Exclusive

Introducing the new Record Online

Mount Allison's alumni Record celebrates a century of publication with a new online version
By: Laura Dillman Ripley

Google 'magazines over 100 years old.' Along with more than a few irrelevant results, you will see many household names: Maclean's, The Atlantic, and Harper's to name a few. This year, we are excited to have the Record join this century club as we celebrate our 100th anniversary.
 

While Michael deAdder’s (’91) clever cartoon gives some humour to the Record's recent arrival online, ensuring we had the right format for this move forward was something we did not wish to rush. After all, you only get one chance to mark a 100th anniversary.

Through our 2015 survey, in which nearly 3,000 of you generously participated, we were able to gain a concrete image of your thoughts on the Record, and what format it should take. This feedback greatly assisted us in determining how we would create future content for both the print and online versions.

The new Record online includes many web-based exclusives — alumni stories, photos, and videos from key Mount Allison events and announcements, in addition to the news and stories shared in the print version. Through these new methods we hope to reach many more Allisonians, particularly our new grads with features such as the ability to share stories and news on social media channels, something that was not possible with the print magazine.

This new digital version gives us the ability to share more content with a larger audience, while ensuring we remain an environmentally and financially sustainable publication. In an increasingly mobile world, we also know having any time access to a publication from your inbox is a key feature for any magazine.

In preparing for this next milestone, we took a look back at the past 100 years of the Record. A small newsletter established in 1916 served to share the news of the day with Mount Allison alumni and the larger University community on a monthly basis. A black and white, newsprint publication, the magazine included many speeches, University documents, and milestones, collected by an anonymous 'editor' in the early days.  We are working to compile some of the highlights from these past issues — stay tuned.

The magazine and its content has evolved and changed over the years, much like our alumni and the University itself. We are excited to move to this next chapter, ensuring the Record remains viable and accessible for all Allisonians as we head into our next century of publication.

We could not have made this leap without you, our loyal alumni, and we want to hear from you again. What do you think of the new Record? Please share your thoughts with us via this short online survey.