Archives News

At the recent ACA-AAO Conference at Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario, the Elgin County Archives was presented with the 2007 AAO Institutional Award for "overall achievements and especially for the preservation of Tweedsmuir Histories as part of Ontario's valuable documentary memory." The award is largely attributable to the strong support and leadership that Elgin County Council has shown towards the Archives since the program's inception in 2002. To acknowledge this achievement, the AAO presented the award directly to Elgin County Council at a meeting in September, 2007.

The First World War Digitization Project. For the third consecutive year, the Archives has received funding from Library and Archives Canada and the Canadian Council of Archives under the Archival Community Digitization Program. This year's project involves the digitization, online publication and interpretation of the Archives' holdings relating to Elgin County's contributions to Canada's First World War effort. The project will also involve the preparation and online distribution of educational resources based on the digitized records for use in schools. Work on this project began in August, 2008 and will be completed in March, 2009.

The Alma College Photograph Digitization Project. The Archives received funding from Library and Archives Canada and the Canadian Council of Archives, under the Digitization Program for the Archival Community, to digitize the photograph series in the Alma College fonds. The Alma College Alumnae Association has also made a generous financial donation to this project. This project: Toujours en Evant: A Pictorial History of Alma College was completed in March 2008.

The Tweedsmuir Digitization Project. The Archives received funding for this project from Library and Archives Canada and the Canadian Council of Archives, under the Digitization Program for the Archival Community. Under the stewardship of Digitization Assistant Jan Row, the project was completed and launched in April 2007. The County of Elgin Women’s Institutes Tweedsmuir Histories are now available online.

Robert Moore Postcard Collection. In August, 2007, the Elgin County Archives completed a 12-week project involving the arrangement, description and digitization of the Robert Moore Postcard Collection. The collection comprises approximately 1000 unique postcards, [189-?]-[199-?], with black and white and colour images documenting civic architecture, railway and other commercial activities, and urban and rural scenes throughout Elgin County and particularly in St. Thomas and Port Stanley, Ontario. The project was financially supported by Heritage Canada through the Young Canada Works in Heritage Institutions Program administered by the Canadian Council of Archives. Item-level descriptive records are available through the Archives' online database at http://inmagic.elgin-county.on.ca/descr/

Elgin County Archives releases its 2006 annual report to Elgin County Council. Read about the Archives' usage and activities in its fourth year of operation.

Anderson Department Store and Anderson Family Records. The archives received a grant to process records of the Anderson Department Store and Anderson family of St. Thomas. Included in the records is material pertaining to retailing in St. Thomas for nearly a century, records of community organizations, and military photographs and letters. The project was completed in March 2006. The project was made possible by financial assistance from the Government of Canada through Library and Archives Canada and the Canadian Council of Archives, as well as the Elgin Photographic Heritage Society.

Ontario Visual Heritage Project. The Archives is a major partner in the Ontario Visual Heritage Project for Elgin County. This DVD and online resource is now available for local schools, museums and tourist sites, and can be purchased from the Elgin County Archives. Further information is available at www.visualheritage.ca

Display Photographs for Speaker of the Legislative Assembly. In July 2008, the Archives supplied several photographs from its Scott-Sefton Studio and C.W. Ellis fonds for permanent display in the Office of the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario, Steve Peters. The photographs depict significant events and structures in the St. Thomas-Elgin region.

Preservation Grants. As a result of funding received from Library and Archives Canada and the Canadian Council of Archives under the National Archival Development Program, the Archives was able to treat and preserve a large volume of plastic acetate negatives from the Scott-Sefton Studio fonds affected by "vinegar syndrome." More than 1,100 negatives were selected and removed from the collection for treatment, digitization, re-cataloguing and transfer to off-site freezer storage. The project was completed in August, 2008.

An $8,200 contribution from Library and Archives Canada and the Canadian Council of Archives allowed the Archives to complete, in December 2004, a project to develop preservation policies and conserve the Elgin County Clerk's fonds.

The Archives in the News. Since Alma College was destroyed by fire in May 2008, photographs of the College from the Archives' collection have been printed in numerous publications, including the Toronto Globe and Mail, the Aylmer Express, Canadian Architect, and the Ontario Heritage Trust journal Heritage Matters.

Photographs pertaining to Jumbo's unfortunate demise in St. Thomas in 1885 were used for a television series called "Modern Marvels" which aired in March 2005 on U.S. History Television. The show focused on historic taxidermy and the work of Carl Akeley and Henry Ward to reconstruct Jumbo's bones.

The Archives received considerable media coverage over the launch of the Alma College Collection. This included the London Free Press (February 23rd, 2004), the St. Thomas Times-Journal (February 24th and March 9th, 2004), and London's The New PL which aired a story on both its six o'clock and eleven o'clock news broadcasts (March 8th, 2004). Rogers Cable Television in St. Thomas also based its first local program from the Archives in late March 2004. These stories focused both on the collection and the fate of the building.

Three photos from the Archives' Elda Mae Patterson collection were used for a documentary which aired on CBC television on March 6th, 2004. The documentary was entitled "John Kenneth Galbraith - The Abiding Liberal". Mrs. Patterson was Dr. Galbraith's cousin and her collection includes several photographs of the family.





		Elgin County Archives receives the Archives Association of Ontario Institutional Award! At the recent ACA-AAO Conference at Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario, the Elgin County Archives was presented with the 2007 AAO Institutional Award for "overall achievements and especially for the preservation of Tweedsmuir Histories as part of Ontario's valuable documentary memory." The award is largely attributable to the strong support and leadership that Elgin County Council has shown towards the Archives since the program's inception in 2002. To acknowledge this achievement, the AAO presented the award directly to Elgin County Council at a meeting in September, 2007. In other news... The First World War Digitization Project. For the third consecutive year, the Archives has received funding from Library and Archives Canada and the Canadian Council of Archives under the Archival Community Digitization Program. This year's project involves the digitization, online publication and interpretation of the Archives' holdings relating to Elgin County's contributions to Canada's First World War effort. The project will also involve the preparation and online distribution of educational resources based on the digitized records for use in schools. Work on this project began in August, 2008 and will be completed in March, 2009. The Alma College Photograph Digitization Project. The Archives received funding from Library and Archives Canada and the Canadian Council of Archives, under the Digitization Program for the Archival Community, to digitize the photograph series in the Alma College fonds. The Alma College Alumnae Association has also made a generous financial donation to this project. This project: Toujours en Evant: A Pictorial History of Alma College was completed in March 2008. The Tweedsmuir Digitization Project. The Archives received funding for this project from Library and Archives Canada and the Canadian Council of Archives, under the Digitization Program for the Archival Community. Under the stewardship of Digitization Assistant Jan Row, the project was completed and launched in April 2007. The County of Elgin Women’s Institutes Tweedsmuir Histories are now available online. Robert Moore Postcard Collection. In August, 2007, the Elgin County Archives completed a 12-week project involving the arrangement, description and digitization of the Robert Moore Postcard Collection. The collection comprises approximately 1000 unique postcards, [189-?]-[199-?], with black and white and colour images documenting civic architecture, railway and other commercial activities, and urban and rural scenes throughout Elgin County and particularly in St. Thomas and Port Stanley, Ontario. The project was financially supported by Heritage Canada through the Young Canada Works in Heritage Institutions Program administered by the Canadian Council of Archives. Item-level descriptive records are available through the Archives' online database at http://inmagic.elgin-county.on.ca/descr/ Elgin County Archives releases its 2006 annual report to Elgin County Council. Read about the Archives' usage and activities in its fourth year of operation. Anderson Department Store and Anderson Family Records. The archives received a grant to process records of the Anderson Department Store and Anderson family of St. Thomas. Included in the records is material pertaining to retailing in St. Thomas for nearly a century, records of community organizations, and military photographs and letters. The project was completed in March 2006. The project was made possible by financial assistance from the Government of Canada through Library and Archives Canada and the Canadian Council of Archives, as well as the Elgin Photographic Heritage Society. Ontario Visual Heritage Project. The Archives is a major partner in the Ontario Visual Heritage Project for Elgin County. This DVD and online resource is now available for local schools, museums and tourist sites, and can be purchased from the Elgin County Archives. Further information is available at www.visualheritage.ca Display Photographs for Speaker of the Legislative Assembly. In July 2008, the Archives supplied several photographs from its Scott-Sefton Studio and C.W. Ellis fonds for permanent display in the Office of the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario, Steve Peters. The photographs depict significant events and structures in the St. Thomas-Elgin region. Preservation Grants. As a result of funding received from Library and Archives Canada and the Canadian Council of Archives under the National Archival Development Program, the Archives was able to treat and preserve a large volume of plastic acetate negatives from the Scott-Sefton Studio fonds affected by "vinegar syndrome." More than 1,100 negatives were selected and removed from the collection for treatment, digitization, re-cataloguing and transfer to off-site freezer storage. The project was completed in August, 2008. An $8,200 contribution from Library and Archives Canada and the Canadian Council of Archives allowed the Archives to complete, in December 2004, a project to develop preservation policies and conserve the Elgin County Clerk's fonds. The Archives in the News. Since Alma College was destroyed by fire in May 2008, photographs of the College from the Archives' collection have been printed in numerous publications, including the Toronto Globe and Mail, the Aylmer Express, Canadian Architect, and the Ontario Heritage Trust journal Heritage Matters. Photographs pertaining to Jumbo's unfortunate demise in St. Thomas in 1885 were used for a television series called "Modern Marvels" which aired in March 2005 on U.S. History Television. The show focused on historic taxidermy and the work of Carl Akeley and Henry Ward to reconstruct Jumbo's bones. The Archives received considerable media coverage over the launch of the Alma College Collection. This included the London Free Press (February 23rd, 2004), the St. Thomas Times-Journal (February 24th and March 9th, 2004), and London's The New PL which aired a story on both its six o'clock and eleven o'clock news broadcasts (March 8th, 2004). Rogers Cable Television in St. Thomas also based its first local program from the Archives in late March 2004. These stories focused both on the collection and the fate of the building. Three photos from the Archives' Elda Mae Patterson collection were used for a documentary which aired on CBC television on March 6th, 2004. The documentary was entitled "John Kenneth Galbraith - The Abiding Liberal". Mrs. Patterson was Dr. Galbraith's cousin and her collection includes several photographs of the family.