Greetings archival community of Ontario!

It’s midwinter and you know what that means… time to share information on archival accessions with your colleagues and the wider public.

The Archives Association of Ontario wants to invite each and every institution in the province that collects archival records to contribute to the 2019 edition of the Ontario Archival Accessions Register (OAAR). As in previous years, we are asking repositories to submit basic details on new accessions by completing the attached reporting form. We hope to continue building on past surveys by encouraging even more institutions to participate, whether they are currently AAO members or not.

Please use the attached form to report material legally acquired by your institution in the calendar year 2019.  Completed forms should be directed to: chairs@aao-archivists.ca  The deadline to submit responses is Friday, February 28th, 2020. The collected data will be made available on the AAO’s website during Archives Awareness Week in April.

Background information and FAQs on the OAAR and the Provincial Acquisition Strategy of which it forms a part can be found on the AAO website.

Drawing upon data received during the first three years of this initiative, we are pleased to offer the following facts about archival accessioning in Ontario:

Participation and scope

• 2016 – 17 institutions took part, resulting in 638 entries in the register

• 2017 – 11 institutions, resulting in 413 entries

• 2018 – 17 institutions, resulting in 587 entries

• 2016-2018 totals – 26 separate institutions together contributing over 1,600 entries to the OAAR

Oldest accession - Grant of land in Leeds County, Ontario, 1798, accessioned by the Community Archives of Belleville and Hastings County (CABHC)

Most recent accession – 2018 (multiple institutions)

Who to talk to about your dinner party? – CABHC, acquired 2 table cloths and a plate in 2017

Digital records: just over 215 GB plus numerous DVDs, USBs, MP3s, etc.

Number of entirely new accessions (as opposed to accruals): 657

Number of accessions with descriptions in ARCHEION: 184

Records of or donations by people with the name Bob: 5

Top three most popular subject keywords of accessioned records (in terms of ARCHEION subject headings):Community Life (293 entries), Organizations (175), Arts and Culture (160)

Bottom three most popular subject keywords of accessioned records (in terms of ARCHEION subject headings): Labour (8 entries), Birds (1), Cemeteries (1)

Best regards and happy reporting,

Aaron Hope,

On behalf of the Provincial Acquisition Strategy Working Group