Black Friday and Cyber Monday are the biggest shopping days of the year. Giving Tuesday was created to get away from the rampant consumerism and provide a moment to give back through acts of generosity. This Giving Tuesday we are asking for your support.

The Association for Canadian Archivists Foundation is the charitable arm of the Association of Canadian Archivists. It raises and grants funds supporting the educational and research needs of the Canadian archival profession.

We are looking for donations (small and large) to the Foundation to advance education by providing publicly available scholarships, bursaries, and other forms of financial assistance to post-secondary students, graduates and professionals to be used for education

All money raised will go towards the ACAF Scholarship Endowment Fund was established in 2010 to produce a long-term income stream for the provision of scholarships to archival studies students, and thus support the Canadian archival profession.

Donations are tax deductible.

 

Thank you for your support!

While the MASIS group has been quiet we have still been holding meetings and events and we would like to take this opportunity to invite you to let the co-Chairs know what types of or topics for meetings would encourage you to participate in future MASIS virtual meet-ups.

Topics and ideas for future meeting that were discussed at our Fall get together included:

• Where does your archive live in your organization (i.e. as a part of corporate services, Information Services, Clerk’s division, etc.) and how that helps and / or provides challenges for you,
• Origin stories of how your municipal archives program came to exist,
• What are you equipment needs and how easy / what are the challenges to getting what you need,
• Archive Access vs Privacy,
• Digital archiving,
• Larger municipality issues and concerns vs small municipal archive issues and concerns,
• Government accessions vs. private,
• What supports do you get and where are they lacking, and
• Friends of societies

If folks have other ideas or some topic ideas listed resonate more than others we encourage you to email either Jamie Sanford (MASIS.Chair1@archivists.ca) or Angela Fornelli (MASIS.Chair2@archivists.ca) to let us know.

We are hoping to schedule our next meeting for late January or early February and hold meetings every four months (for a total of 3 a year). Meetings will include a one minute update for all attendees, doodle polls to past participants on meeting dates, and hopefully lots of laughs and support.

Have a say in the MASIS group by reaching out to one or both of the MASIS co-Chairs.

 

Thank you,

 

Jamie & Angela

The ACA 2024 Virtual Conference will be “hosted” by Alberta, and we need volunteers for the Host Team! What does the Host Team do? Well, we’re the team responsible for planning and coordinating those fun social activities that conference participants love to do. 

We are looking for ACA members at any stage in their career and from all backgrounds to help us plan some engaging, virtual activities. Please sign up using the ACA Volunteer Form. 

Interested, but not sure if you want to commit or just looking for more information? Just email Anna Gibson Hollow at Host.Team@archivists.ca.

12 October 2023

In May 2023 the Province of Ontario announced plans to break up the Region of Peel (Peel Region) into its three constitutive municipalities: Mississauga, Brampton, and Caledon by January 1, 2025. Times of change and transition can endanger archives; however, in the wake of the Province’s decision to dissolve the Peel Region, we have observed rhetoric regarding the Peel Archives that has concerned the Association of Canadian Archivists (ACA) and members of our professional community. Accordingly, we are writing today to update our members about some of the issues we and the Archives Association of Ontario (AAO) are keeping an eye on.

The ACA extends its support of the letter released by our colleagues at AAO and call for the protection of the Peel Archives throughout the process of dissolving the Peel Region. Following on the announcement to dissolve the Peel Region, a five-member board was appointed by the Province to provide recommendations for a dissolution process that "respects taxpayers and protects existing services.” We support the AAO’s call for this board to consider the crucial role that the Region of Peel Archives plays in not only safeguarding the Peel Region’s municipal records, but also in preserving the historical and cultural memory of the Peel Region. We affirm that plans for the dissolution of the Peel Region be made with concern and care for the archival records of its communities and citizens. Furthermore, we stress that any decision about the Peel Archives be made in close consultation with professional archives staff with knowledge of the unique records of the Peel Archives.

Although the plans to dissolve the Peel Region are largely unclear at this time, any plans that impact the Peel Archives must be made in consultation with archivists who can advise on the best course of action for the archival records of the region. Archivists are highly trained professionals, with a unique understanding of the importance of records and the challenges inherent in their preservation. It is essential to the successful dissolution of the Peel Region that its archival staff be consulted on decisions regarding the Peel Archives. Finally, the ACA recognizes the unique importance of the Peel Archives to the archival heritage of the Peel Region and urges the consideration of these recommendations as the plans to dissolve the Region are made in the coming year.

As the calendar moves towards the Province’s deadline, the ACA will collaborate on matters with the AAO where we believe we can provide assistance and support. The ACA recognizes and values the AAO’s expertise and for matters related to Ontario archives, and will lend support where requested, particularly where an impact can be made nationally.

 

Yours in archival solidarity,

Erica Hernández-Read, President

On behalf of the Association of Canadian Archivists Board of Directors

I am pleased to announce that Al Cunningham Rogers has been awarded the 2023 Dodds Prize for their paper "Theoretical Approaches to the Appraisal of Graffiti Ephemera: A Toronto Case Study.”

Al will graduate from the University of Toronto this spring, and their paper was submitted by Fiorella Foscarini. During their time at UofT, Al has been working with Dr. Shana Almeida at Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) as a research assistant on a SSHRC funded project considering race, racism, and governance strategies in Toronto. They have recently accepted a position at Scholar’s Portal to assist with digital preservation.

Instituted in 2011, the Dodds Prize recognizes superior research and writing on an archival topic by a student enrolled in a Master's level archival studies program at a Canadian university. The award honours Gordon Dodds (1941–2010), first President of the ACA, and Archivaria's longest-serving general editor. Submissions received for the 2022-23 academic year were reviewed by adjudication committee members Amy Marshall Furness, Brett Lougheed, Alexandra Mills, and Heather Home. I thank the committee for their service.

Al’s paper will be published in the Spring 2024 issue of Archivaria. The citation reads:

Written in a concise, energetic, and persuasive tone, Al Cunningham Rogers’ paper Theoretical Approaches to the Appraisal of Graffiti Ephemera: A Toronto Case Study does an excellent job of establishing a conceptual model for understanding the function(s) of graffiti—an inherently ephemeral, evolving, and transitory record. Borrowing from scholarship on the affective impacts of archives in the creation of an archives of feelings, particularly feminist theory and Althusser’s subject interpolation theory of call and response, Rogers skilfully makes use of close reading for a number of examples of anonymous, marginal graffiti to provide a framework for the appraisal and selection of exemplars of graffiti for an archive of everyday life.

Congratulations, Al, on your excellent work.

Rebecka Taves Sheffield

Managing Editor

Archivaria

You are cordially invited to a free in-person showcase and curators’ talk at McMaster’s Mills Memorial Library (5 October 2023, 4:30 p.m. EST): “Wherein She Plainly Shews”: Women of the Printing Trades in the Hand-Press Era.

The centuries following the advent of the printing press in Europe were characterised by an overwhelmingly male print industry. Guild rules, social norms, and financial pressures conspired to keep women out of the printing workforce. In spite of these obstacles, many thousands of women were involved in the printing business, with some rising to own and operate their own presses.

Please join Ruth-Ellen St. Onge, Distinctive Collections Cataloguing Librarian, and Myron Groover, Archives and Rare Books Librarian, for an exploration of women working in the printing trades and the output of woman-owned presses – including those of Mary Clark, Elinor James, Anne Dodd, Sarah Harding, Sarah Cotter, la veuve Mazières, and the completely woman-operated École Typographique des Femmes established under French Revolutionary auspices in 1791.

This showcase event is part of McMaster University Library’s theme year, “Transformative Stories: Year of Gender and Justice.” McMaster Library’s biannual “Year of” celebrations highlight the Library’s unique collections, resource, and expertise.

Register for this event using this link: https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/women-of-the-printing-trades-in-the-hand-press-era-tickets-695509596927?aff=oddtdtcreator. Please feel free to share this invitation with other interested parties.

Nominations and Awards Committee (NAAC) Volunteers Needed!

The ACA is looking for volunteers for the Nominations and Awards Committee to be a part of the process to recognize and celebrate ACA members.

The mandate of NAAC is to manage the ACA Honours and Awards program as well as to support the succession of qualified members to serve on the ACA Board of Directors and it's committees by facilitating the transparent search, nomination, and election process.

If this sounds like something that would be of interest and if you are an ACA member in good standing please contact Angela Fornelli, Vice President of the ACA (vicepresident@archivists.ca) or fill out the ACA Volunteer form here! 

 (le message en français suit)

The Department of Canadian Heritage is pleased to announce the release of the 2021 report on the Government of Canada Survey of Heritage Institutions (GCSHI), which collected financial and operating information for the 2020 data year on not-for-profit heritage institutions, including museums, art galleries, archives, historic sites, zoos and botanical gardens. The 2021 survey recorded the initial effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and the associated public health measures which forced the temporary closure of heritage organizations across the country.

The Department would like to thank all heritage institutions who responded to the 2021 survey. Your input contributed to making the survey a success.

Please take a moment to discover some of the latest results from the 2021 GCSHI report: https://www.canada.ca/en/canadian-heritage/corporate/publications/general-publications/about-survey-heritage-institutions.html

Highlights from the survey include…

○ 87% of all museums and other heritage institutions in Canada were temporarily forced to close their doors due to COVID-19 public health measures in 2020. On average, heritage institutions reported having to remain closed for approximately 5 months.

○ Temporary closures and social distancing restrictions during 2020 meant that heritage institutions saw fewer visitors come through their doors. There were only 16.9 million visits in 2020, a substantial decrease of nearly 79% from the 79 million visits in 2017.

○ Temporary closures due to public health measures in 2020 meant that heritage institutions were not able to generate as much income from earned revenue sources as in previous years. Earned revenue accounted for approximately $593 million (24%) of total revenue for all heritage institutions in 2020; a decrease of nearly $276 million or 32% from 2017.

○ All three levels of government increased spending toward the heritage sector in 2020 to $1.5 billion collectively: an increase of nearly $170 million (13%) from 2017. The federal government provided the bulk of this increase, contributing over $131 million or 77% of this new temporary spending through pandemic support measures (approximately 70% of all heritage institutions indicated that they had received financial support).

○ Overall, approximately 28% of organizations indicated that they had laid off paid staff at some point in 2020.

 - Employment in the heritage sector was negatively affected throughout the height of the pandemic, employing just 32,150 people during 2020, a decrease of nearly 14% (down approximately 5,070 jobs) from 2017 when employment figures reached over 37,200.

○ The heritage sector is heavily dependant on volunteers. In fact, approximately 20% of organizations are solely run by volunteers. 2020 saw a substantial decrease in volunteers (down 51% to 56,000 volunteers), and volunteer hours (down 61% to 3.6 million hours) from 2017. This the equivalent loss of 1,823 full-time positions.

○ Online virtual visits to heritage institutions experienced a less severe decrease than overall physical visits during the pandemic. There were over 161 million online visits overall throughout 2020, a decrease of approximately 36% from pre-pandemic levels (254 million online visits).

○ During the pandemic heritage institutions concentrated their efforts towards enhancing their digital activities, thus increasing online access to their archival records, artefacts, programing, retail, etc. Approximately two thirds of heritage institutions (68%) had indicated they enhanced their overall digital activities in 2020.

 - 56% of institutions said they increased/introduced social media.

 - 40% said they increased/introduced online public programing.

 - 36% worked towards digitizing their collections (i.e., artefacts or archives).

 - 35% improved/cleaned existing collections records (i.e., data quality/accuracy on collections)

 - 33% of all institutions increased/introduced online public access to digitized holdings or exhibitions.

 - 24% enhanced digital preservation activities (i.e., maintain hard drives, etc.).

Thank you

Erica Hernandez-Read

President

Association of Canadian Archivists

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

** DIFFUSION PUBLIQUE DU RAPPORT 2021 DE L’ENQUÊTE DU GOUVERNEMENT DU CANADA SUR LES ESTABLISSEMENTS DUE PATRIMOINE **

Le ministère du Patrimoine canadien est heureux d'annoncer la publication du rapport de 2021 de l’Enquête du gouvernement du Canada sur les établissements du patrimoine (EGCÉP), qui a recueilli des renseignements financièrs et opérationnels pour l'année de données 2020 sur les établissements du patrimoine à but non lucratif, y compris les musées, les musées d'art, les archives, les sites historiques, les zoos et les jardins botaniques. L'enquête de 2021 a enregistré les premiers effets de la pandémie de COVID-19 et les mesures de santé publique associées qui ont contraint à la fermeture temporaire des organisations du patrimoine dans tout le pays.

Le Ministère aimerait remercier tous les établissements du patrimoine qui ont répondu à l'enquête de 2021. Votre contribution a contribué au succès du sondage.

Prenez un moment pour découvrir quelques-uns des résultats du rapport 2021 de l'EGCEP :  https://www.canada.ca/fr/patrimoine-canadien/organisation/publications/publications-generales/enquete-etablissements-patrimoine.html .

Quelques faits saillants de l'enquête :

○ 87 % de tous les musées et autres établissements du patrimoine au Canada ont été temporairement contraints à fermer leurs portes en raison des mesures de santé publiques liées au COVID-19 en 2020. En moyenne, les institutions du patrimoine ont déclaré avoir dû demeurer fermées pendant environ 5 mois.

○ Les fermetures temporaires et les restrictions de distanciation sociale au cours de l'année 2020 ont fait que les institutions du patrimoine ont vu moins de visiteurs franchir leurs portes. Il n'y a eu que 16,9 millions de visites en 2020, soit une baisse substantielle de près de 79 % par rapport aux 79 millions de visites en 2017.

○ Les fermetures temporaires dues aux mesures de santé publique en 2020 ont fait que les institutions du patrimoine n'ont pas été en mesure de générer autant de recettes à partir des sources de revenus gagnés que les années précédentes. Les revenus gagnés ont représenté environ 593 millions de dollars (24 %) des revenus totaux de toutes les institutions du patrimoine en 2020 ; une diminution de près de 276 millions de dollars ou 32 % par rapport à 2017.

○ Les trois ordres de gouvernement ont augmenté leurs dépenses envers le secteur du patrimoine en 2020 pour atteindre 1,5 milliard de dollars collectivement : une augmentation de près de 170 millions de dollars (13 %) par rapport à 2017. Le gouvernement fédéral a fourni la majeure partie de cette augmentation, contribuant plus de 131 millions de dollars, soit 77 % de ces nouvelles dépenses temporaires, par le biais de mesures de soutien en cas de pandémie (environ 70 % de tous les établissements du patrimoine ont indiqué qu'ils avaient reçu un soutien financier).

○ Dans l'ensemble, environ 28 % des organisations ont indiqué qu'elles avaient licencié du personnel rémunéré à un moment donné en 2020.

 - L'emploi dans le secteur du patrimoine a été affecté négativement pendant toute la durée de la pandémie, employant seulement 32 150 personnes au cours de l'année 2020, soit une diminution de près de 14 % (environ 5 070 emplois en moins) par rapport à 2017, année où les chiffres de l'emploi atteignaient plus de 37 200.

○ Le secteur du patrimoine dépend fortement des bénévoles. En fait, environ 20 % des organisations sont uniquement gérées par des bénévoles. L'année 2020 a connu une baisse substantielle du nombre de bénévoles (de 51 % à 56 000 bénévoles) et des heures de bénévolat (de 61 % à 3,6 millions d'heures) par rapport à 2017. Cela équivaut à la perte de 1 823 postes à temps plein.

○ Les visites virtuelles en ligne des institutions du patrimoine ont connu une baisse moins significative que l'ensemble des visites physiques pendant la pandémie. Il y a eu plus de 161 millions de visites en ligne dans l'ensemble tout au long de 2020, soit une baisse d'environ 36 % par rapport aux niveaux d'avant la pandémie (254 millions de visites en ligne).

○ Pendant la pandémie, les institutions du patrimoine ont concentré leurs efforts sur l'amélioration de leurs activités numériques, augmentant ainsi l'accès en ligne à leurs documents d'archives, artefacts, programmation, vente au détail, etc. Environ deux tiers des institutions patrimoniales (68 %) avaient indiqué avoir renforcé l'ensemble de leurs activités numériques en 2020.

  - 56% des institutions ont déclaré avoir augmenté/introduit les médias sociaux.

 - 40 % ont déclaré avoir augmenté/introduit la programmation publique en ligne.

 - 36 % ont travaillé à la numérisation de leurs collections (c'est-à-dire des artefacts ou des archives).

 - 35 % ont amélioré/nettoyé les dossiers des collections existantes (qualité/exactitude des données sur les collections).

 - 33% de toutes les institutions ont augmenté/introduit l'accès public en ligne aux fonds numérisés ou aux expositions.

 - 24 % ont amélioré les activités de conservation numérique (entretien des disques durs, etc.).

Merci

Erica Hernandez-Read, Présidente

Association of Canadian Archivists

Notification of the Ancestry Grant Program 2023
(Canada)

During 2023, Ancestry is offering a series of grants to support the family history & archival community within Canada.  

• 2 x Gold Grants up to the value of $100,000 CAD for digitization services to be awarded within Canada to assist with digitization within the archival & family history community. Also included is five years of free Ancestry access. The individual grants have a maximum value of $100,000 CAD but can also cover works of any lesser amount up to that total figure. The grant will be for imaging of records only, meaning that the services provided are for scanning of paper or microform collections.
• 2 x Silver Grants up to the value of $25,000 CAD for digitization services to be awarded within Canada to assist with digitization within the archival & family history community. Also included is five years of free Ancestry access. The individual grants have a maximum value of $25,000 CAD but can also cover works of any lesser amount up to that total figure. The grant will be for imaging of records only, meaning that the services provided are for scanning of paper or microform collections.
• 1 x Bronze Grant up to the value of $15,000 CAD for digitization services to be awarded within Canada to assist with digitization within the archival & family history community. Also included is five years of free Ancestry access. The individual grant has a maximum value of $15,000 CAD but can also cover works of any lesser amount up to that total figure. The grant will be for imaging of records only, meaning that the services provided are for scanning of paper or microform collections. The Bronze Grant can also be used for philanthropic causes that may not align to typical family history digitization.

The grant submission period will begin on 3 July 2023, and your submissions are encouraged. The submission period will remain open until the end of August 2023.

Application Ancestry Digitization Grant Program 2023 (Canada) 12062023.docx

Contract Ancestry Digitization Grant Program 2023 (Canada) AC 12062023.docx

Please find some initial Q&A below:

Q: How do I apply?
A: For now, simply review the documentation and ensure you agree to the terms contained within. If so, please send an email to Jared Akenhead - jakenhead@ancestry.com - containing information on the collection / content you wish to see digitised – the more information the better but as a minimum:

• Collection Name(s)
• Date Range
• Record Count / Image Count
• Existing Format (i.e., paper, volumes, microfiche)

Q: If my submission is successful, does Ancestry take ownership of the records I’ve put forward?
A: No. Ownership of the original records and the intellectual property rights in them will remain with the organisation or entity providing the records. However, it’s important that you do have the necessary rights to share the records being submitted.

Q: Will I get a copy of the digital images created by Ancestry?
A: You will be provided with a digital preservation copy of all images taken from the original records.   

Q: Who will own the digital images?
A: Within this program, we seek to create an easy, rewarding opportunity for the archival community to achieve their digistation goals and therefore recognise that obtaining ownership of the digital assets forms an important part of those goals. The provider will receive ownership of the digital images.  

Q: What’s in it for Ancestry?
A: You will retain the ownership of the originals and the digital images. Ancestry simply asks that you agree to allow us to publish the images in perpetuity & that you will not share those digital images outside the organisation for a period of 5 years.

Q: What records will help me be successful in securing a grant?
A: Ancestry’s focus is Family History. Therefore, records that are relevant to that endeavour are the most appropriate for this program. Ideally rich on details at an individual level – the records would cover a collection of individuals in some aspect and will therefore include information such as, but not limited to;

• Name
• Date of Birth
• Date of Death
• Location
• Occupation
• Relations
• And so on...

Q: How do you select the successful applications?
A: Grant winners will be selected completely at the discretion of Ancestry – however, making sure the records fit the guide above will ensure you have the best possible chance for success.

Q: I’m from a small historical society – can I still apply?
A: Yes, you can apply for any of the grants.

The ACA Foundation is so excited to announce that we have begun selling merchandise!

If you would like to purchase any of these items, you can order online and pick-up at the conference registration desk!

The link to items is here: ACA Foundation - Fundraiser

All proceeds go to support the ACA Foundation. Thank you!