AAO News

Hello AAO members!

The Winter 2023 issue of Off the Record is now available. Members can access the issue here: https://aao-archivists.ca/page-18317.

This most recent issue of OTR features a message from AAO president Rachel E. Beattie; Archeion updates from its new coordinator, Kelli Babcock; insights on the preservation of corporate memory by Sevda Sparks; and member spotlight on Julia Gilmore, Digital Projects Librarian at University of Toronto. We close this issue with some important AAO announcements. 

I'd like to add that the Spring issue is just around the corner. Submissions are due March 21st and I look forward to receiving your articles, news or announcements. For full details, please visit our submission guidelines. 

Best,

Adam Cavanaugh 

Off the Record Editor, 2022-2023

Today is GivingTuesday, and we’re asking all AAO members (and whoever else is feeling generous!) to help us develop and sustain our programs and services. Monetary donations mean you’re investing in Ontario’s cultural and documentary heritage, and they assist the AAO in planning, organizing, and offering cost-efficient or free workshops, conferences, and other professional development opportunities for archivists and professionals in related fields.

• The AAO relies on donations to fund some of its core programming, such as the administration of Archeion or the publication of Off the Record

• Things like our Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (EDI) workshops are able to be offered to members for free because of donor support

• The Shirley Spragge Bursary, crucial to ensuring students and new archivists can take part in the annual conference without undue financial burden, would not have the impact and effect it has had without the generosity of our membership 

Donations can be made online, and all donations over $20 qualify for a tax receipt.

You can help support the AAO in other ways too! Consider donating your time, talent or resources and become a volunteer or a workshop speaker! You can also help us spread the word on various social media platforms by re-sharing the AAO’s GivingTuesday campaign or by sharing your own message as to how the AAO has helped support you in the past.

Thank you for your support, and have a happy GivingTuesday! 

With gratitude, 

The AAO Advancement Team

The fall 2022 issue of Off the Record is now available. Members can access the issue here: https://aao-archivists.ca/page-18317.

This most recent issue of OTR features a message from AAO president Rachel E. Beattie; former Archeion coordinator Jazmine Aldrich gives a brief history of Archeion as well as updates to service; Megan Lockhart, MAIG Chair, discusses the IDC’s COVID-19 Survey; and member spotlight on Angela Fornelli, MSc. Manager, Corporate Records and Archival Services Clerk’s Office, City of Kawartha Lakes.

The fall 2021 issue is now available to all here: https://bit.ly/3pE94Ow

All our best, 

Mitchell & Adam

Student and New Professional Outreach Committee Call for Volunteers

Greetings from the AAO! 

We are currently looking for volunteers for the Student and New Professional Outreach Committee. As a member of the SNPOC, you will:

• Recruit student and new professional members by brainstorming and implementing advertisement strategies and recruitment events

• Support student and new professional members with a wide range of activities

• Collaborate with other AAO committees in the above activities

• Build communication networks with education institutions with students in Archives and related fields

• Network with other archivists in the AAO

We would love to have you join us! 

Registration is Now Open for the 2022 Municipal Archives Interest Group (MAIG) Open House!

The MAIG Executive is pleased to announce that the MAIG Open House will be returning as an in-person event on October 14, 2022. This year, the Open House will be hosted by the Dufferin County Archives! Please join us and our gracious host Laura Camilleri as we explore the archives and its collections, and the exhibits, galleries, and grounds at the Museum of Dufferin. Attendees will also be provided with the opportunity to sit in on seminars by guest speakers Sahana Puvirajasingam (Museum of Dufferin and City of Toronto Museums & Heritage Services), who will be providing a video presentation about the “Collecting the Community” project; and a live virtual presentation by Alex Avdichuk and Gabrielle Major both with the City of Toronto Museums. “Collecting the Community” is an initiative by the Museum of Dufferin to engage with, collect, preserve, and interpret the past, present, and future history of historically marginalized communities in Dufferin County. Alex Avdichuk will be speaking on contemporary collecting policy and the sensitivity around collecting oral histories, and Gabrielle Major will be discussing collecting sensitive items. Read this year’s edition of the MAIGazine on the MAIG webpage for biographies on the speakers.

Lunch will be provided at the event. We hope you join us for a day of fun, learning, and connecting with our archival colleagues. Space is limited this year so please send your RSVP as soon as possible if you plan on attending in person. 

For those who cannot attend in person, there will be an opportunity to attend the live virtual session with Alex Avdichuk and Gabrielle Major and the MAIG meeting virtually through Zoom. Stay tuned to the AAO Listserv, the MAIG Listserv and webpage at https://aao-archivists.ca/maig for more details on how to take part in the virtual portions of the Open House. 

Please RSVP by Friday, September 30^th to: Gina Dewaele, MAIG Secretary-Treasurer: gdewaele@elgin.ca or call 519-631-1460 ext. 154. We ask that you please send your questions for Sahana with your RSVP so they can be addressed in her pre-recorded video.

NEW EDITION: Municipal Archives Interest Group - Annual MAIGazine Publication

The MAIG Executive is pleased to present the 18th edition of the MAIGazine. After living through a series of “historical events'' over the past few years, it’s safe to say that many municipal archives have gone through exceptional transformations. In this edition, we have several exciting updates from our municipal archive colleagues and thought-provoking articles for readers that touch on a range of topics from re-imagining archival policies and practices, reaching new audiences, and growing an online presence in innovative ways. Please enjoy the fantastic submissions this year, which can be viewed here.  

We are also happy to share that the results from the Municipal/Government Archive COVID-19 Pandemic Recovery Survey are now in. This survey was created as a collaborative effort between the Municipal Archives Interest Group and the Institutional Development Committee of the AAO to gauge and better understand how Ontario Archives are recovering from the impacts of the pandemic, and the challenges that archives continue to face. To determine how to best support our members during pandemic recovery, we asked Ontario archives for assistance in providing important information to the AAO Board and MAIG Executive, through completing this short survey. We had eleven archives respond in total, including nine municipal/government archives.

All survey responses from Municipal and Government Archives are available to view online here. Information from other respondents will be kept anonymous at this time.

Feel free to contact the MAIG Executive with any questions or concerns about the survey.

Greetings from the MAIG Executive,

On behalf of the Executive I am pleased to share the second part of the Municipal Archives Interest Group’s (MAIG) Industry Survey. This second installment of the survey, a collaborative effort between MAIG and the AAO’s Institutional Development Committee, focuses on pandemic recovery for archives throughout Ontario. Many archives have resumed services and reopened their doors, but we recognize that many institutions are not necessarily back to “business as usual”. 

To determine how to best support our members during pandemic recovery, we ask your assistance in providing important information to the AAO Board and MAIG Executive through completing this short survey. The data provided will be essential in determining the ongoing archival response to COVID-19 in Ontario and various concerns of AAO Institutional Members. We ask that you submit your response by August 3, 2022.

The Pandemic Recovery Survey can be filled out online here: https://forms.gle/QVhYS9E7bb7vLHNi9.

Please Note: Once the survey closes, all survey responses from municipal and/or government archives will be identified and made public to members via the Municipal Archives Interest Group (MAIG) website: https://www.aao-archivists.ca/maig. This is due to the overwhelming request for this data from MAIG Members. Information from other respondents will be anonymized at this time.

To provide feedback on this form, or if you have any questions or concerns, please contact the IDC Chairidc@aao-archivists.ca or MAIG Executive (contact information available at https://www.aao-archivists.ca/maig).  

Thank you for taking the time to fill out this short survey.

Sincerely,

The MAIG Executive – Megan, Amber, and Gina

The AAO Board of Directors is looking for AAO individual members to join the newly established Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Committee for a two-year term (2022-2024). 

Building on the efforts of the DEI Working Group, this committee will advise the AAO Board of Directors, standing committees and membership on issues relating to DEI within the AAO itself and in the archival profession at large. 

Questions and expressions of interest can be sent to the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee chair Krista McCracken (past.president@aao-archivists.ca).

Archives Association of Ontario 2022 Annual General Meeting (AGM) information package

The Archives Association of Ontario will hold its 2022 annual general meeting (AGM) virtually on May 27th, 2022, between 9:30 and 11:00am via Zoom. The AGM information package is now available here and you can register for the meeting here. 

Details on how to join the meeting will be sent to registered attendees in advance of the meeting. Please register by May 20th if you wish to attend the meeting.

We hope that you will join us on May 27th!

Please register here.