We are a group of researchers who hope to provide training regarding research in archives concerning Missing children, unmarked graves and burial sites associated with Indian Residential Schools. We are fortunate enough to have received a grant to develop and offer basic training with little or no cost. Before creating this training, we will consult and establish relationships with different groups of interest, including research teams, archivists, and translators, to hear about their experiences and the needs they observe. We see this as a collaborative effort and value your input. 

On October 23rd, we hosted our first online forum, where we heard from IRS research teams across the prairie provinces. This time, we are hoping to engage with archivists who collaborate directly and indirectly with IRS research teams.

This will be an opportunity for you to share about your own needs regarding training and learning regarding the history of residential schools, and the needs you have seen in IRS research teams. The forum will include presentations from panelists and will leave plenty of room for you to share your experiences, needs, and thoughts as well. 

The Speakers will include:

Sarah Story, Archives Advisor and Office Manager for the Association of Manitoba Archives (AMA)

Heather Bidzinski, archivist for the University of Manitoba

We now hope to hear from archivists. We invite you to join us on Tuesday, January 28 2024, from 9-11:30 (SK time), through Zoom:

https://uregina-ca.zoom.us/j/92735915102?pwd=ZWTC7HIqblIjCCBeDNCO9zwg1OxNMj.1 

Your participation would be greatly appreciated and we look forward to the possibility of working together. If you have any questions, we will be happy to discuss this project further with you. Please feel free to share this invitation with everyone who might be interested. Thank you in advance for your collaboration.

Best,

Véronique Mireault

On behalf of Jérôme Melançon (U of R),  Emily Grafton (U of R), Winona Wheeler (U of S), Anne-Marie Wheeler (U of S), and the Office of the Treaty Commissioner.

 

Are you looking for financial assistance to attend ARCHIVES * RECORDS 2025 in Anaheim, CA? There are four travel award opportunities available to help with registration, transportation, and lodging costs while attending the SAA Annual Meeting. See descriptions and requirements of individual awards below. Nominations will be accepted until February 28, 2025. Note that you can apply for multiple awards in a single cycle, but may only receive one. All applications must be submitted online.

Brenda S. Banks Travel Award

The Brenda S. Banks Travel Award recognizes and acknowledges individuals, such as those of African, Asian, Latinx, Middle Eastern/North African, Native American, Alaska Native, or Pacific Islander descent, who have demonstrated professional archival experience and who manifest an interest in becoming active members of SAA. Recipients receive full complimentary registration and related expenses for hotel and travel to attend the SAA Annual Meeting during the year in which the award is received. In addition, recipients receive a complimentary one-year membership in SAA.

 

Click here to preview the application and/or to apply for the Brenda S. Banks Travel Award. All applications must include the following:

1. Personal statement/essay of no more than 500 words;
2. CV or resume. 

If you have any questions regarding the award or the application process, please contact Jane Cross, Brenda S. Banks Travel Award Committee Chair, at jane_cross@yahoo.com.

Donald Peterson Student Travel Award  

The Donald Peterson Student Travel Award supports students and recent graduates from graduate archival programs within North America to attend SAA’s Annual Meeting. This participation must include either a presentation of research during the Annual Meeting or active participation in an SAA-sponsored committee, section, or roundtable. 

Click here to preview the application and/or apply for the Donald Peterson Student Travel Award. All applications must include the following:

1. A 500-word essay describing the applicant's career goals and potential impact on the archival profession.
2. Unofficial transcript to verify student status or copy of graduate diploma.
3. Two letters of recommendation from individuals having definite knowledge of the applicant's qualifications.

If you have any questions regarding the award or the application process, please contact Megan Mummey, Donald Peterson Student Travel Award Committee Chair, at megan.mummey@uky.edu.

Harold T. Pinkett Student of Color Award

The Harold T. Pinkett Student of Color Award recognizes and acknowledges graduate students of color, and seeks to promote their participation in SAA and in the archival profession. Up to two awards may be given during an awards cycle. Recipients receive full complimentary registration and related expenses for hotel and travel to attend the SAA Annual Meeting during the year in which the award is received. In addition, each recipient receives a complimentary one-year membership in SAA.

 

Please note that this year, in an effort to encourage the broadest and most inclusive pool of applicants, the awards committee has removed the requirement for official transcripts and letters of recommendation. Learn more about the Pinkett Award and preview the application.

 

All applications must include the following:

1. Personal statement/essay of no more than 500 words discussing your experiences with and/or commitment to working with, or documenting and preserving, the histories of communities of color.
2. CV or résumé.  

If you have any questions regarding the award or the application process, please contact Kimberly Barzola, Pinkett Award Committee Chair, at kimvillafuertebarzola@gmail.com.

Oliver Wendell Holmes Award  

The Oliver Wendell Holmes Award enables international archivists, who are currently training or studying in the United States or Canada, to augment their experience by traveling to the Annual Meeting of the Society of American Archivists. Recipients receive a certificate and a cash award of $1,000 to help cover costs of the SAA Annual Meeting for archives students who are not U.S. or Canadian citizens (or permanent residents) and are studying in the United States or Canada. Self-nominations are welcome.

 

Please click here for additional details and to preview the online application for the Holmes Award. All applications must include the following:

1. Personal statement/essay;
2. CV or resume. 

If you have any questions regarding the award or the application process, please contact Susan Swiatosz, Oliver Wendell Holmes Award Committee Chair, at s.swiatosz@unf.edu.

The Association of Canadian Archivists has released its Competency Framework. The Competency Framework outlines competencies generally required in the archives profession. Core competencies provide the foundation of the framework, describing the knowledge and skills needed to achieve professional goals. It is available on the ACA Website : https://archivists.ca/resources/Documents/2024-ACA%20Competency%20Framework.pdf

The ACA would like to thank all members, past and present, of the Professional Competencies for Archivists Working Group for their time and effort creating the framework.

On December 31, 2024, the ACA Board and PAAC sent a letter to Ministers Anandasangaree and Hadju urging the Government of Canada to further support funding the investigation into missing children and unmarked burials associated with Indian Residential Schools across Canada.  The text is linked below.

ACA-PAAC_Letter in Support of Funding for Unmarked Burials (1).pdf

The ACA’s Public Awareness and Advocacy Committee (PAAC) has developed a Trauma-Informed Archives Resource List. This list includes English and French-language resources from within and outside of the archival profession for both individual practitioners and organizations.  

The intention is for this list to be dynamic and to develop over time. If you have any feedback or suggestions for additional resources, please get in touch with the ACA at aca@archivists.ca.  

Visit the list here: https://archivists.ca/Trauma-Informed-Archives-Resource-List

Please note that our membership system (Wild Apricot) has been having some issues with membership levels, randomly changing membership salary levels for some members.  Please check that the salary level is correct on your invoice before paying.  If it is not correct please contact the office at aca@archivists.ca so that we can change it back to the correct level.

We are sorry for the inconvenience this has caused.

A letter of opposition to the Government of Alberta against the proposed bills 33 and 34, intended to replace the existing Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy (FOIP) Act has been sent on behalf of the Board of the Association of Canadian Archivists.

As noted in this letter, the Board of the ACA believes that these bills in their current form serve to suppress rather than promote government transparency by creating additional barriers to accessing government information. These bills also erode the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner's (OIPC) ability to serve as an independent oversight body.

The Board of the ACA strongly urges the Government of Alberta to engage in good faith consultations with the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Alberta (OIPC) and amend these bills.   

La version française suit  

Call for Proposals for Concordia University's Library Research Forum 2025 (Deadline: January 24, 2025)   

Presentation proposals are now being accepted for Concordia University's 23rd Library Research Forum. This year's Research Forum will be a one-day event, with presentations taking place in person at Concordia University’s Loyola Campus on Friday, April 25, 2025. 

This year’s plenary speaker will be Sophie Montreuil. Sophie holds a Masters from the Université de Montréal and a doctorate and post-doc from McGill University. She is the Executive Director of Acfas as of December 2019, having been first Director of Research then part of the higher administration at Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec. She currently or has recently served on the boards of several organizations and she chaired the Board of the Cegep du Vieux-Montréal for a six-year term. She has co-edited several collections, including Faire connaissance : 100 ans de sciences en français, published in 2023 by the Éditions Cardinal for the 100th anniversary of Acfas. In 2023, she was named to the rank of Chevalier in the Ordre des Palmes académiques, and, in 2024, became a mentor for the Trudeau Foundation.    

Proposal deadline: January 24, 2025. For more details about the event and how to submit a proposal, visit: https://library.concordia.ca/about/staff/forum/index.php 

Questions? Please contact the Forum Committee at lib-forum@concordia.ca  

Library Research Forum Committee 2024-2025: Tomasz Neugebauer, Kate Ripley, Pat Riva, Ellen Wright (chair) 

  

****************************************************************** 

Appel à propositions pour le Forum de recherche de la Bibliothèque de l’Université Concordia 2025 (Date limite : le 24 janvier 2025)  

 

Vous êtes invités à soumettre une proposition pour le 23^e Forum annuel de recherche de la Bibliothèque de l'Université Concordia. Le Forum de recherche de cette année aura lieu sur place au Campus Loyola de l’Université Concordia vendredi le 25 avril 2025.  

Cette année, notre conférencier invité est Sophie Montreuil. Sophie est détentrice d’une maîtrise de l’Université de Montréal et d’un doctorat et postdoctorat de l’Université McGill. Elle est directrice générale de l’Acfas depuis décembre 2019, après avoir été directrice de la recherche, puis cadre supérieure à Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec. Elle a été ou est toujours membre du conseil d’administration de plusieurs organismes et elle a présidé celui du cégep du Vieux-Montréal pendant six ans. Elle a codirigé plusieurs collectifs, dont Faire connaissance : 100 ans de sciences en français, paru 2023 aux Éditions Cardinal pour les 100 ans de l’Acfas. Elle a été nommée, en 2023, au grade de Chevalier dans l’Ordre des Palmes académiques et, en 2024, est devenue mentore pour la Fondation Trudeau. 

Date limite pour les propositions : le 24 janvier 2025. Pour plus de détails sur l'événement et sur la façon de soumettre une proposition, visitez : https://library.concordia.ca/about/staff/forum/francais.php 

Questions? Veuillez contacter le comité du forum au lib-forum@concordia.ca  

Le comité organisateur du Forum sur la recherche en bibliothéconomie 2024-2025 : Tomasz Neugebauer, Kate Ripley, Pat Riva, Ellen Wright (présidente du comité), 

 

The CAPAL Awards Committee is excited to announce two prestigious new awards from CAPAL: the Early Career Researcher Award and the Student Research Paper Award. These awards aim to recognize and encourage excellence in research within our community.

Early Career Researcher Award

This award, which includes a $500 prize and a one-year CAPAL membership, is designed to encourage excellence in research among early career professional academic librarians. It is open to individuals who have graduated from a Master of Library and Information Science program or equivalent within the last five years. Group submissions are welcome, with the prize money split among winners.

Application deadline: January 31, 2025

Student Research Paper Award
This award recognizes research excellence in an unpublished paper written by students completing an MLIS or equivalent degree. The award includes a $500 prize and a one-year CAPAL membership. It is open to both individual and group submissions, with the prize money split among winners.

Application deadline: March 1, 2025

Applications for both awards should be submitted to capalawards@gmail.com.

For detailed information about the eligibility criteria, application requirements, and submission guidelines for each award, please refer to these documents: Early Career Researcher Award, Student Paper Award on the CAPAL Awards Committee webpage.

We look forward to celebrating the innovative research contributions of our members. Apply today and showcase your impactful work!

Colleagues,

We invite you to join us for the upcoming webinar "Fighting Fungi: Mould Control Solutions for Archives", led by Megan Fisher, the Conservation Associate at Kelowna Museums Society. This webinar will be useful for those who work in the heritage field and want to learn how to effectively manage the threat of mould in their collections with the right knowledge and techniques. This webinar will cover:

   - Understanding mould: what it is, how it grows, and the environmental

   factors that contribute to its development.

   - Identifying mould: how to spot both active and dormant mould in

   archival materials.

   - Safe removal: techniques for removing mould without damaging

   collections or compromising safety.

   - Preventative measures: best practices for mould prevention and

   long-term care of archives.

Date: Wednesday, December 11, 2024

Time: 10:00 - 11:30am PST

 

Cost: members $20.00, non-members $35.00 CAD

Registration deadline: Tuesday, Dec. 10 @5:00pm

The registration link for this webinar can be found at:

https://aaobc.wildapricot.org/Webinars