Scope and Content Monthly ACA Newsletter
August 2024, Volume 5, Issue 8
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Click here if you are having trouble reading the newsletter.
Scope and Content will be published September 5, 2024. If you have any comments or feedback, please contact the Communications Committee.
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While I write this, I am watching the news unfold about the horrible disaster in Jasper, Alberta. I am filled with profound sadness over the loss of so much of this beautiful town to fire. Like many people in Alberta and across Canada, my family and I have spent many holidays in Jasper celebrating birthdays, weddings, anniversaries, and other special occasions. I cannot begin to imagine the grief and pain that residents of Jasper are experiencing right now over the loss of their homes, businesses, places of worship, and historic landmarks.
Sadly, we are experiencing a summer of climate related disasters in Canada, with over 950 active wildfires burning across the country. Many of these fires are burning in British Columbia and Alberta, but there are active fires burning in the Yukon, Northwest Territories, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, and Newfoundland. My thoughts are with everyone living in communities who have had to evacuate in recent weeks.
In addition to fires, we are also seeing flooding in Toronto and parts of Ontario, and witnessing tornadoes touch down in Quebec - three in total! This increasingly erratic weather is causing widespread destruction across the country. While saving lives is paramount, we also hope for the best when it comes to saving our homes and belongings. People who have lost their homes will often mourn the loss of cherished memories in the form of photos and family papers.
As archivists, records managers, and heritage professionals, we are responsible for the security and preservation of our documentary and built heritage. Many of us may feel unprepared to deal with the aftermath of a destructive event. Fortunately, we are a community that supports one another, and there are resources available to guide and help. The Canadian Council of Archives and the Society of American Archivists have free resources available to download. Various provincial and territorial archival associations also have disaster preparedness and recovery resources. The Canadian Conservation Institute also has several publications available and offers emergency advice to members of the Canadian Heritage community in the aftermath of a fire, flood, earthquake, or other catastrophe. Just call 1-866-998-3721 day or night and press 0 for Security.
Anna Gibson Hollow President, Association of Canadian Archivists
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I would like to begin my message this month by hoping that everyone and all their loved ones (whether they be two-or four-footed) are safe from the fires, floods, and tornadoes that are affecting so many across Canada. It has been shocking to watch and I truly cannot even imagine having to live through this and to see the extent of the damage and loss. The images that have been shared have been devastating.
As Anna has so eloquently said in her message, we are a community that supports one another and one which comes together to help. I encourage you, as I am going to do, if you are able to help, consider finding a reputable charity accepting donations. If we cannot help in person let’s help those who are.
I have so many memories of Jasper, but none stick out to me as much as the memory of my mother and cousin sitting on the rocks by a lake in Jasper National Park, commenting on the beauty of a dead dragonfly. It made me think that they were trying to find the beauty in something tragic. It is a blessing that the Jasper Yellowhead Museum and Archives has come through okay. These events and those recently of our neighbours to the south show us how quickly life can change.
I had planned on giving a brief update of the Committees and the Working Group for which I am pleased to be the board liaison, but it just didn’t seem fitting giving all these events.
Angela Fornelli
Vice-President, Association of Canadian Archivists
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Call for Submissions for the ACA 50th Anniversary Logo
The Association of Canadian Archivists is pleased to announce the launch of a Call for Submissions for the ACA 50th Anniversary logo. This logo will be used by the Association during the ACA’s 50th Anniversary celebrations in 2025. The logo will mainly be used online (website, Scope and Content, and social media) with some potential use in print. There are no existing brand elements that must be included in the logo.
Submission: Please send your submission to Dr. Gillian I. Leitch, Executive Director, at executive.director@archivists.ca. Include your name, email address, a short paragraph about your design, your preferred Creative Commons license option (recommended: CC BY-ND 4.0), and your 50th Anniversary logo.
Technical requirements: Dimensions of the logo should be 1600x1600 pixels and submitted in PNG format.
Deadline for submissions: Sunday, October 20, 2024
Determination of Winner: The Association of Canadian Archivists Board of Directors will review the submissions and select logos for the contest. Association of Canadian Archivists Members will electronically vote to select the winning logo. In the event of a tie, the Association of Canadian Archivists Board of Directors will determine the winner.
The winning submission will be awarded a free one-year membership to the Association of Canadian Archivists. Only one prize is available. There is no monetary compensation for creating or putting forward a submission for this call.
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ACA Hashtag Party
You’re invited to the ACA Hashtag Party! What is it?
On the last Thursday of every month, the ACA Social Media Team organizes a hashtag party, which takes place virtually on Facebook, Instagram, X, and Threads. There is a different theme for each month, which we announce on social media and ARCAN-L in advance. On the day of the party, you can share materials in your collections related to that theme, tag us and use the hashtag, and we’ll re-share your post. The goal of the parties is to engage more with institutions across Canada, see what kinds of materials other institutions have, and promote weird, fun, and interesting items from your own collections. What’s the latest?
Last month’s party took place on Thursday, July 25, and the theme was #ArchivesBigandSmall! Thank you to everyone who joined – we loved seeing the wide array of plans from your various institutions. If you missed it, you can still head to all our social media channels to see everything that we re-shared, or search for the hashtag. What’s next?
The next ACA Hashtag Party will take place on August 29, 2024, and the theme will be #ArchivesduCanadaFrancais. Please note that we printed a typo in the previous issue of Scope and Content, and this is the updated hashtag! We are looking forward to celebrating the legacy of French-Canadian history in archives across the country. On the day, share your materials, and don’t forget to tag us and use the hashtag so we can re-share your posts.
The rest of theACA Hashtag Party themes for 2024 will be: - September 26, 2024: #ArchivesNewAccessions
- October 31, 2024: #ArchivesBacklog
- November 28, 2024: #ArchivesFounders
Keep an eye on future issues of Scope and Content and on all our social media accounts to learn more about what each of these themes mean! For any questions or feedback, or if you have initiatives that you would like the ACA Hashtag Party to support, please email us at communications@archivists.ca.
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Carr McLean Discount Available for 2024
The Carr McLean
10% discount is available for both Individual and Institutional ACA
members for the entire membership year. This discount can be applied to
any order over $100 and is non-transferable. Contact the ACA Secretariat at executive.director@archivists.ca for the new discount code that will remain effective until December 31, 2024.
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If you are interested in volunteering for any of these committees and special interest sections, please sign up using the Volunteer Form. Please note, all volunteers with the ACA are required to abide by the ACA's Volunteer Code of Conduct.
ACA Financial Review Committee (FRC)
The ACA’s Financial Review Committee (FRC) is looking for volunteers for a two-year term. The FRC is responsible for reviewing financial policy, budgets, and safeguarding the financial assets of the Association. These positions are open to all members. If you're a financial whiz, or hoping to hone your budgeting chops, we're happy to have you join us! If you have questions, please contact Kyle Pugh, treasurer@archivists.ca.
ACA Governance Committee
The Governance Committee needs volunteers. The Governance Committee advises the Board of Directors on the overall governance of the ACA. These duties include reviewing and recommending changes to ACA Policy to meet the needs of the Association and its membership. If you have any questions, please contact Shamin Malmas at shamin_malmas@sfu.ca.
Chair Positions Open for ACA Special Interest Sections
We are currently seeking passionate and dedicated volunteers to chair three of our Special Interest Sections: Special Interest Section for Indigenous Archives (S.I.S.I.A.), Government Records (G.R.S.I.S.), and Sound/Moving Images (S.M.I.S.I.S.).
As a Chair, you will play a key role in leading discussions, organizing events, and advocating for best practices within your section. This is a fantastic opportunity to make a meaningful impact, collaborate with fellow archivists, and contribute to the advancement of our profession.
If you are interested in volunteering for one of these important roles, please contact John Richan at DAL1@archivists.ca with a brief statement of your interest and experience.
Emerging Professionals and Student Special Interest Section
Are you a student in an archives-related program or new to the profession? Do you have an interest in growing your professional network and engaging in a supportive environment? Join our team in re-establishing the Emerging Professionals and Student Special Interest Section. We are currently looking for ACA members to help develop and implement the special interest section in its earliest stages. Students and emerging professionals are integral to the ACA and the broader archival community, and this is a great opportunity for you to assist in creating a supportive space.
For more information or to express your interest, contact Carolyn Smith at Carolyn.Smith@dal.ca. We look forward to bringing back this special interest section in the 2024/2025 year!
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In the Field: The ACA Blog
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Over the last few months, the Archives Spotlights series on the In the Field blog has highlighted some of the different environments where archivists work: religious archives, community archives, academic archives, and museum archives. We have only begun to explore the varied range of settings where archivists work across Canada! Archives Spotlights resumes in August with the theme of provincial archives.
Participating in Archives Spotlights is simple: it entails answering a few written prompts via email. What type of records do you work with? What type of projects do you work on? What do you wish the public understood better about provincial archives? The objective is to give blog readers a glimpse into a typical day in your life and to share the particularities of the archives you work with every day. To learn a bit more about the format, check out these recent Archives Spotlights interviews with Ashlynn Prasad about museum archives, and with John Moran about academic archives.
If you’d like to participate in August’s edition of Archives Spotlights about provincial archives, please contact the blog team by email at blog@archivists.ca. The deadline for submissions is August 15, 2024, so contact us ASAP to participate! Stay tuned for Archives Spotlights call outs about Indigenous archives, audiovisual archives, digital archives, and municipal archives in the coming months.
And remember that the In the Field blog is always open for free form submissions outside the Archives Spotlights series! In the Field is a space for you to engage in discussions happening in the archival world and to share ideas and reflections. We want to read about the projects you’ve been working on, the field visits or conferences you’ve attended, and the fresh thoughts on archival theory and practice you’ve been thinking. We especially welcome submissions from students and new professionals. To propose a blog post, check out the submission guidelines and complete the submission form or reach out directly at blog@archivists.ca. We look forward to hearing from you!
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Call for Proposals: Archivaria 100: Legacies of Critical Theory in Archives
In recognition of the 50th anniversary of Archivaria and the 30th anniversary of the English language publication of Jacques Derrida’s Archive Fever: A Freudian Impression, this special issue look towards the legacy of critical theory in discussions on archives, particularly within the pages of Archivaria, and its impact on the far ranging and interdisciplinary landscape of contemporary archival thought. Born of the union between archival practice and what was alternately called “poststructuralism” or “postmodernism,” early forays into the critical interrogation of archival praxis were rooted in the effort to reclaim the theorization of “the archive” from the proverbial clutches of philosophers, postmodernists, and others not steeped in the quotidian struggles of stewarding cultural heritage and memory.
Archivaria was at the forefront of this new and syncretic force in scholarship, and rarely shied away from asserting the theoretical challenges posed by archives, and their implications for the cultural, historical, and socio-political landscape. In contrast to sister publications on the North American continent, Archivaria’s focus was pointedly dedicated to wrestling with the anti-foundationalist and boundary pushing work emanating from critical theory in the 1980s and 1990s, and its ramifications for the intersectional relationship of archives with feminism, queer theory, critiques of racism, and Eurocentric assumptions about history. Furthermore, this engagement with critical theory precipitated the necessary reconsideration of fundamental understandings and definitions of archives, and the entrenched praxes that had functioned as professional gatekeepers, laying the ground for a greater opening in archival thinking and practice.
This special issue, in turn, seeks submissions that are in conversation with this legacy of critical theory in archives and in Archivaria, but which moreover engage with the current and future use of critical theories to understand archives, the people that work with them, and their impact on the world. Even with the democratization of archival theorization and the increased proliferation of “archives” as a phenomenon across a number of disciplines, there continues to be a need for archivists themselves to interrogate the tools of their trade and to lead this critical conversation. We welcome submissions on a wide variety of topics, including:
Guest Editors:
Mario H. Ramirez, Associate Dean and Chief Librarian, The City College of New York, CUNY, and Rebecka Taves Sheffield, Head, Special Collections & Archives, University of Waterloo.
Submission Process – Important Dates:
Please consult the IJIDI Author Guidelines and IJIDI Peer Review Process. Any questions related to this issue should be addressed to Dr. Mario H. Ramirez.
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Society of American Archivists – Archivists of Religious Collections Section
Here are the upcoming events from the Society of American Archivists – Archivists of Religious Collections Section:
Lunch and Learn webinars
Register here for all sessions.
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"Opening the Archives" Conference
Registration is now open for this year’s annual conference. As part of the reciprocal membership with the Australian Society of Archivists (ASA), ACA members can attend the conference at ASA member rates.
Together with Archives & Records Association of NZ Te Huinga Mahara (ARANZ) and the Pacific Regional Branch of the International Council of Archives (PARBICA), the ASA extends a warm invitation for you to join them in Ōtautahi |Christchurch or online from October 22-25, 2024, for Opening the Archives: access, engagement, innovation.
Register here.
The draft program is now live and an abstract booklet will be available soon.
You will hear from a diverse range of keynote speakers including Dr. Stanley Griffin, Hinerangi Himiona (Ngāpuhi nuitonu), Michele Leggott and Catherine Field-Dodgson (Rongowhakaata, NgāiTāmanuhiri, Te Aitanga a Mahaki) with AnaheraMorehu (Ngāti Whātua, Ngāpuhi, Te Rarawa, TeAupōuri, Ngāti Kahu) and Timoci Balenaivalu and Mamao Tafoa forming the keynote panel to discuss opening national archives – the panel will be facilitated by Simon Froude.
For those intending to attend in person, you can find accommodation information (including delegate discounts) and things to do in and around Ōtautahi | Christchurch on the conference website.
Do you want to sponsor the conference?
A range of sponsorship opportunities are available for Opening the Archives! Could you or your organization benefit from sponsoring the event?
Secure your spot now and join them in Ōtautahi | Christchurch for a conference that promises to be unforgettable.
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All proceeds raised through the ACAF store go towards advancing education by providing publicly available scholarships, bursaries and other forms of financial assistance to post-secondary students, graduates and professionals to be used for training in the fields of archival science, record-keeping and information management. Support the Foundation with this very stylish swag! Visit the ACAF store here for these items and more!
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15 oz ceramic mug "Archives are the gift of one generation to another." $15 + tax and shipping
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Bamboo case with sticky notes "Archives are the gift of one generation to another." $8 + tax and shipping
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Research Study on Digital Storage
As part of its pilot phase, the Node Library is engaging in the research and development of a digital storage system prototype utilizing the network infrastructure of decentralized protocols.
They are conducting a short (5-10 minutes) anonymous survey to understand how arts and cultural heritage workers use digital storage technologies to inform the development of a web3 storage system for our sector.
You are invited to complete the survey by August 5, 2024.
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London library eyes digitization to rescue local history from deteriorating microfilm
The London Public Library is in a race against time to digitally save more than a century's worth of local history from a vinegary grave.
"The clock is ticking. Inevitably, this will all be an unusable mess of vinegar-soaked acetate," said David Caloren, the library's co-ordinator of central adult services.
Caloren was referring to the hundreds of reels that make up the library's microfilm collection, containing generations of reporting published in newspapers including the London Free Press, London Advertiser, and The Dawn of Tomorrow, dating back to the mid-1800s.
A majority of the collection is in the early stages of degradation, a result of the material the microfilm is made of — cellulose acetate.
Read more at CBC News, London.
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More decayed microfilm of London Free Press newspapers sit in a small freezer in the administrative area of the London Public Library's London Room. (Matthew Trevithick/CBC News)
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Submit your job opportunity here and it will be posted to the ACA website. We will also share this opportunity on our social media channels.
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Collections Manager, Audio-Visual Archives, Research and Collections Division, Royal BC Museum, Victoria, British Columbia
Deadline: Extended to August 14, 2024
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Project Archivist, Vancouver Holocaust Education Centre, Vancouver, British Columbia
Deadline: Until position is filled
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Contract Archivist, Gwich’in Tribal Council – Culture and Heritage Department, Yellowknife, Northwest Territories
Deadline: Until position is filled
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Archivist, Villa Maria Pastoral Centre, St. Paul, Alberta Deadline: Until position is filled
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Do you have news you’d like the ACA to share via its social media channels? The Communications Committee has created a form you can use to give us the details!
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The next issue of Scope & Content will come out on
Thursday, September 5, 2024. See you then!
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Contact Us
Suite 1912-130 Albert Street
Ottawa, Ontario K1P 5G4
Tel: 613-383-2009
Email: aca@archivists.ca
www.archivists.ca
The ACA office is located on the unceded, unsurrendered Territory of the Anishinaabe Algonquin Nation whose presence here reaches back to time immemorial.
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