Dear Member,
The AAO Board of Directors invites you to participate in a membership survey aimed at seeking your opinion of AAO programs and services. Your participation is crucially important to assist us in determining the association’s strategic direction, as well as identify gaps in programs and services the association should be developing for its membership.
The survey should only take about 15 minutes to complete, and will run from February 18th to March 6th, 2020.
Please click here to begin the 2020 AAO Membership Survey.
We thank you for your time and continued support in the AAO!
Sincerely,
James Roussain
President, 2018-2020 | Archives Association of Ontario
e: president@aao-archivists.ca
The AAOEe is currently looking for new members to join the Executive to help shape the Chapter’s program of archives and information professional development in Eastern Ontario.
What does the AAOEe do?
The Archives Association of Ontario East / est (AAOEe) Chapter is a volunteer-led organization under the AAO umbrella. The Chapter serves and engages our membership, provides programming and workshops, and promotes archives, heritage and information management to the public through events. We also connect with the AAO Board to support its efforts to build membership and advance the organization’s development.
The Executive meets roughly 8 times per year and consists of the following roles, all of which are one-year terms that are elected at the Chapter AGM (2 April 2020) and are open for the 2020-2021 year. In addition to the responsibilities described below, all members contribute some time to program development and implementation.
Which role do you want to fill?
- President
The President provides leadership to the Chapter. This includes acting as spokesperson for the Executive, the membership, and stakeholders to the AAO Board and other interested parties. For Executive meetings, work includes scheduling, setting the agenda and chairing the meetings. The President also ensures that the Chapter is fulfilling its responsibilities to the AAO Board, such as submitting required reports. Time commitment: 5 hours per month, with additional time required for the AAO Leadership Meeting and AAO Annual General Meeting
- Treasurer
The Treasurer looks after the Chapter’s finances. Duties include preparing budgets and financial statements, writing cheques, managing deposits and investments, and reporting on the previous year’s finances at the AAOEe AGM. Time commitment: 3-4 hours per month, with additional time required for the AGM.
- Secretary
The Secretary is the official recordkeeper for the Chapter. They take minutes of all meetings and distribute documentation to the Executive and the general membership as required. Time commitment: 2 hours per month
The Vice-President performs the duties of the President in their absence and advances the interests of the AAOEe. This often means providing support with planning and program development. The VP is encouraged to stand for President upon completion of the latter’s term. Time commitment: 3 hours per month
- Member at Large
The Member at Large position assists the Executive to build capacity in subject areas that may be pertinent to the broader membership.
For example, the Communications Officer is a portfolio assigned to a Member at Large. The Communications Officer updates the AAOEe Facebook page with upcoming events, tours and workshops. Other social media tools may also be used.
The Member at Large may be elected at the AGM with assigned responsibilities, or it may be project based and appointed by the Executive at any point in the year. The role often builds upon the subject expertise of the volunteer. Time commitment: flexible, 2-4 hours per month
Note: the AAOEe encourages student participation, particularly through the Member at Large position. There is no limit on the number of Member at Large positions.
For more information on any of the roles described above, and to discuss how you can contribute, please contact us at aaoeast@gmail.com.
The newest issue of Off the Record is hot off the presses to warm your digital screens! The issue is available to members here.
This issue is quite generously-paginated thanks to a fantastic suite of contributions from talented archivist-writers across Ontario. It includes great writing from Adele Torrance on the Ingenium Library and Archives' big move, Melissa Caza on McMaster's "rebel" med school's golden anniversary, and John Smart on the sad closure of the Algonquin College Archives and Records Management program.
Two contributors offer useful notes from recent archival events held in Toronto this Fall: Jennifer Grant provides a detailed summary of TAAG's successful Teaching with Archival Records Unconference, and I close the issue with a transcription of the panel talk "Doing Digital Preservation," featuring the smart thoughts of Amy Furness, Steve Marks, Danielle Robichaud, and Sarah Romkey.
Among our regular features is the talented Lisa Lawlis of the County of Lennox and Addington in the member spotlight, and a crucial checklist on archives security provided by AAO Archives Advisor Iona McCraith.
Winter 2019's issue is now open here.
Happy reading!
Grant OTR Editor
Are you interested in contributing to the Archives Association of Ontario? AAO committees are a fantastic way to network with other professionals in the field and support Ontario’s archival community.
The AAO Institutional Development Committee (IDC) is currently recruiting two new members!
The IDC advises the AAO Board on all matters pertaining to the interests of institutions and the development of a provincial archives system and assists the AAO in meeting its strategic objectives. The IDC is a voice for the AAO's institutional members and runs the annual Institutional Issues Forum. The IDC is currently drafting its 2020-2023 Strategic Plan.
IDC members serve for a two year term. The positions are open to all AAO members, including those with individual memberships. Members must attend approximately 6-8 teleconference meetings per year and are expected to contribute to all committee discussions and activities.
If you’re interested in joining the IDC or want more information on the mandate of the committee, please contact IDC Chair, Matthew Fells (idc@aao-archivists.ca).
Matthew Fells,
IDC Chair
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
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
The AAO Awards Committee is pleased to announce that nomination for the 2020 AAO Awards are now open.
We are accepting nominations for the 5 awards given out annually by the association: the Alexander Fraser Award, the James J. Talman Award, and the AAO Emerging Leaders Award, which are presented to individuals, as well as the Corporate and Institutional Awards which recognize archives, corporations and other organizations which have made significant contributions to the archival community in Ontario.
The awards will be presented at the AAO Conference being held in Thunder Bay, 13-15 May 2020.
For more information on the awards criteria and nominations process, please visit https://aao-archivists.ca/page-18198
Nomination are due by March 13, 2020.
Dear AAO member,
In light of the upcoming holidays and 2019 drawing to a close, we would like to offer you and our fellow members our best wishes throughout the season and a prosperous 2020.
We would also like to inform you that the AAO office will be closed for the holidays from December 24th, 2019 – January 2nd, 2020.
Until then, have a wonderful holiday season and a happy New Year.
Yours,
President, 2019-2020
president@aao-archivists.ca
Archives Association of Ontario (AAO)
Registration rates for the 2020 AAO Conference have now been posted! Join us in Thunder Bay from May 13-15, 2020 for another great annual conference.
While registration will not be open until closer to the conference, we hope that this advanced notice of the rates will help you as you make your conference plans for next year. In addition to attending the full conference, there are special rates for Early Birds, students, one-day attendance, and more.
Once registration opens, be sure to register early to take advantage of Early Bird prices.
See you in Thunder Bay! #aao20conf
The Archives Association of Ontario (AAO) is pleased to announce its Call for Papers for the 2020 Annual Conference to be held 13-15 May in Thunder Bay, Ontario.
Building Bridges, Connecting Communities
New partnerships, strategic alliances, and informal connections can play important roles in enabling archivists and their programs to reach new users, increase diversity in collections, build stronger, more inclusive senses of community, and to engage in new methods of outreach. Collaboration also provides the means to mitigate budget limitations and helps to avoid the isolation that can leave programs susceptible to cuts or potential downsizing. There are countless instances of AAO members pursuing new forms of collaboration and innovative partnerships, and we want to hear about them.
The 2020 Program Committee invites proposals for presentations that will speak to how partnerships have been fostered and the impact of these connections on the archives and their partners, as well as opportunities for future initiatives. Topics could include:
Community partnerships to support acquisition, storage, stewardship, preservation, and accessibility of archival material
New, inclusive methods of collecting or preserving memory
Collaborative approaches to resource description and discoverability
New engagement strategies with donor communities
User-focused digitization projects
Engagement with partners outside of the archival profession
The consolidation of archives, special collections, and records management programs as a means of promoting or highlighting services
Submissions of proposals for entire sessions or individual papers are invited.
Sessions may take the form of:
Traditional session (two or three presentations of approximately 20 minutes per speaker with questions to follow as time allows)
Discussion panel (brief presentations of approximately 10 to 15 minutes per speaker with discussion to follow)
Roundtables or debates (presentations of 5 to 7 minutes with open discussion between speakers)
Proposals for a session or an individual paper should include an abstract of up to 250 words and a biographical note of no more than 100 words for each speaker.
Proposals should be sent to the AAO Office at aao@aao-archivists.ca
Individual papers should use the subject line format: AAO 2020 Conference Proposal_[last name, first name]
Proposals for a session should select a “point person” and use the subject line format: AAO 2019 Conference Proposal_PANEL-[title]-[last name, first name]
The deadline to submit proposals is Sunday, 26 January 2020.
Depending on student interest, the 2020 Annual Conference will include a session devoted to student papers and possibly a poster session. A separate call for student submissions will be issued early 2020.
On behalf of the 2020 Program Committee.
Consider giving back to the archival community today!
Giving Tuesday is a global movement recognizing giving and volunteering. This year, consider directing your charitable dollars to the Archives Association of Ontario.
By donating to the AAO, you will help develop and sustain our programs and services. Your donation will assist the AAO in offering cost-efficient workshops and events for archivists and professionals in related fields as well as conference and educational bursary support for students and new or underemployed professionals. Donations also help to offset our reliance on grant funding. Our services, including our Archives Advisor and Archeion, Ontario’s Archival Information Network, are widely relied on by the community to improve the accessibility and preservation of Ontario’s irreplaceable documentary heritage.
You can donate directly on the AAO website. You will receive a tax receipt for your contribution. Donors who contribute $200 or more will receive a complimentary copy of the AAO’s organizational history, In Pursuit of the Archival Endeavour: The Story of the Archives Association of Ontario.
We truly appreciate your support.
President, 2018-2019
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Toronto ON
M4P 3A1
aao@aao-archivists.ca
(647) 343-3334
