Marcel Caya, Founding Fellow  

Highlights

Leader in ACA, AAQ, CCA, and ICA; co-chaired the Working Group on Standards of Description in Archival Studies; professor of archival science at Université du Québec à Montréal 1994-2011; longtime director of NAAB. 

Education and Background  

Born in Montréal, Marcel Caya received his MA in History from Carleton University in Ottawa (1971), and his PhD from York University (1981).   

Professional Career  

Marcel Caya began his career as an archivist at the Public Archives of Canada (PAC, now Library and Archives Canada) in 1970, working with records of the federal Department of Finance under the leadership of Jay Atherton. After one year there he left to pursue his PhD, but returned after achieving his three years of study to work in the government financial records portfolio within the Government Records Division. During this period Caya wrote his first reports exploring the possibility of standardizing archival descriptions within this Division. In 1977 he moved on to become Director of the McGill University Archives, and from 1985 to 1988 also served as Director General of the McCord Museum of Canadian history.   

In 1994 Caya left McGill to become a professor of archival science in the Department of History at the Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM), where he continued to teach until retiring in 2011. Caya’s academic work has focused primarily on standardization of archival practices, particularly on the area of arrangement and description, as well as on monetary appraisal of archival records.  

Contributions to the Profession  

Marcel Caya has taken an active role in the archival profession provincially, nationally, and internationally. He also has been active in the ACA’s sister organization, the Association des archivistes du Québec (AAQ), serving as chief editor of its professional journal Archives (1978-1980) and also as president (1985-1986).  

When archivists who were members of the Canadian Historical Association began discussions across Canada that led to the formation of the ACA, Caya (already a member of AAQ), immediately perceived the value of a national organization. He became interested in developing the ACA constitution and then served on ACA’s first executive board, as Director Without Portfolio. He served unofficially as Archivaria’s first editor of reviews.  

In 1976 Caya was a founding member of the Bureau of Canadian Archives (a committee that loosely maintained communications between the ACA and the AAQ), serving twice as its Secretary General (1975-1976 and 1979-1985). Additionally, Caya has been active in the more formal coordinating body, the Canadian Council of Archives (CCA), representing the BCA. He served on the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) Advisory Group on Archives (1978-1980), the SSHRC Advisory Committee on Archives (1983-1985), and co-chaired with Terry Eastwood the Working Group on Standards of Description in Archival Studies (1983-1986). Caya has been active in the National Archival Appraisal Board (NAAB) since 1978, serving as Quebec director for much of that time, as well as national chair (1983-1985; 1993-2007), and was Vice President until 2023. In this capacity he has prepared several hundred monetary appraisals of a variety of archival documents and fonds.   

Caya represented Canadian archivists internationally by taking a leadership role in the International Council on Archives (ICA), serving in various roles as member (1983-1988) and Chair of the Section for Professional Associations (1988-1992), then as Editor of its Bulletin (1992-2000), and subsequently as Deputy Secretary General (2000-2007). Caya has also been active in the Association Internationale des Archives Francophones. He has been particularly involved in the creation of the Portail international archivistique francophone (PIAF), serving on its Steering Committee (2002-2019) and contributing archival science content to this French language online resource, including a basic course on all aspects of archival practice.  

Marcel Caya reflected in an oral history interview with Shelley Sweeney that: 

The single biggest change is the confidence of the people. In the early days we never knew if we would have the resources to meet from one year to the other ... [there was no travel money] ... There was not the feeling that we were going to be sturdy enough to last, necessarily ... Today we are confident. We don’t have to fight [for] the idea of a professional association anymore. [Also] we have proved we can survive with a diversity of interests and opinions.   

Since his retirement in 2011, Caya has chaired the Memory of the World ad hoc committee for the Canadian Commission of UNESCO and has continued to be active in archival professional associations.  

Honours, Awards and Recognition  

• France, Chevalier des Arts et des Letters, 2003 
• ACA Fellow, 2008  
• ICA Fellow, 2007   

• ACA oral history interview by Shelley Sweeney, 2010, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jmnyV0N4tIs   

 Photo source: https://www.piaf-archives.org/presentation/cv/marcel-caya

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