The last two months of my life have been consumed not by COVID-19, but by my role as Chair of the Program Team for the Association of Canadian Archivists’ 45th annual conference. This journey began[…]
Category: Education
COVID-19: An Archivist at Home (Part Two)
So, it’s been two weeks since I posted my first COVID-19 blog post. I am hoping to post every two weeks or so as I think this will be an interesting chronicle of how things[…]
COVID-19: An Archivist at Home
I have been struggling with whether or not to write a blog post in these strange times. Like everyone else, I have been adjusting to the new reality of social distancing, self-isolation, and remote work. But part[…]
ACA@UBC 2020 – From Accountability to Memory
Another year older and another ACA@UBC in the books. Congratulations to the students at the UBC iSchool for another great day out of the office, chit-chatting with other archivists, and learning about archival practice around[…]
Accio Archives: Unleashing BitCurator
I am stepping aside for this one and giving the Things I’m Fonds Of floor over to a guest today. This post has been provided by John Moran. Originally from Ireland, John now lives on the unceded[…]
#AskAnArchivist Day 2019
I crunched the old numbers and it seems that this is my 50th Things I’m Fonds Of post! I can’t quite believe it! It blew me away so I didn’t want this milestone to go[…]
Accession, Arrange, Take Action! Archivists and Climate Change
Across the world, on September 20th, 2019, people demanded action on climate change. Students abandoned their classrooms for the climate change cause—possibly the most human of all issues. We created the problem, we made it[…]
20/20 Vision: Seeing Archives Differently (ACA Conference Call for Submissions)
I have the privilege of chairing the Program Committee for the annual conference of the Association of Canadian Archivists in 2020. The theme is 20/20 Vision: Seeing Archives Differently and the conference will be held[…]
Archival Origins: ACA 2019 Toronto
Another year has passed and so another Association of Canadian Archivists (ACA) Conference is in the books. ACA 2019 in Toronto explored our “Archival Origins” and encouraged us to think about the roots of the[…]
Fighting Archival Stereotypes – Ditching “Dusty”
Let me tell you about something I am not ‘fonds’ of – the word dusty. It makes me irrationally (or perhaps perfectly rationally) angry when I hear it in reference to archives. It makes me[…]
Hope Beyond Hope: Archival Professionals in Rural and Northern BC
This month, I am so pleased to feature a guest post from Kathryn Louro. In this post, she provides some much-needed insight into archival life outside of urban centers. Enjoy! Brief Bio: Kathryn Louro is an[…]
Archivists as Curators
I have been thinking a lot about archivists as curators lately. People might not immediately associate archivists with curators (ok let’s be honest, people don’t associate archivists with much of anything except dust…mini rant over…)[…]
Searching for Answers in Archival Records (You can’t just Google them)
Anyone else out there addicted to Google Analytics? I regularly get lost down the rabbit hole of search queries that are being made on my archives’ online search portal. I want to know what researchers are[…]
Ready Archives Patron One: Virtual Reality and Archives
Imagine being able to visit your local archives from your couch. Or have unmediated access to 18th century manuscripts half the world away. Virtual reality (VR) technology has incredibly exciting possibilities for archives. The technology allows humans[…]
Archival Photographs: To Colour or Not to Colour?
“This will change how you feel about the past.” This headline from Pulptastic.com signals a trend that may not be entirely new but has recently exploded in popularity – the colourization of historical photographs. Pulptastic[…]
#AskAnArchivist Day – The Sequel
It’s that time of year again – seriously, how has it been a year? Yesterday was #AskAnArchivist Day and although I kind of agree with @EiraTansey that the participants are likely made up mostly of[…]
Teaching with Documents: Using Archives to Educate
Exciting archival publishing news! The Archives Society of Alberta has just released its inaugural issue of Fonds d’Archives. This new online, open access, scholarly journal is an exciting departure from other archival publications in Canada and the[…]
Fonds or Fiction? Archives as Inspiration for Creative Writing
“There is no doubt fiction makes a better job of the truth.” – Doris Lessing We are all well aware that academic researchers and non-fiction writers pour over archival records in the search for the truth[…]
So this one time, at AtoM Camp…
Nothing like a 90’s catch phrase you never wanted to hear again to get things started! Last week, I had the privilege of attending the first ever AtoM Camp, hosted by Artefactual Systems, the lead developers of[…]
Reflections on the ACA@UBC Symposium
During my master’s years, I had the privilege of co-organizing the Carleton University Underhill Graduate Student Colloquium with Jenna Murdock Smith, friend and fellow archivist. Established more than 20 years ago, the Underhill Colloquium provides[…]
Inventive Ways of Using Archives to Engage with the Past
Before I dive into this post, I want to mention that the City of Coquitlam Archives is hiring! We are looking to recruit a permanent, full-time, Archives & Records Officer. The successful applicant will split[…]
Interview with an Archivist
Recently, I was approached by an archival masters student from the University of Texas at Austin, Chido Muchemwa. Her assignment was to talk to an archivist to gain insight into his or her daily work and the general[…]
Lest We Forget: Archives in the Classroom
When I worked at Library and Archives Canada (LAC), I was aware of the Lest We Forget Program and the work being done to introduce students to working with archival records, but it wasn’t until[…]