Agenda - 2nd Annual Area 83 Archives Workshop - June 9, 2007. Kingston, ON

I am really excited about being able to share with all of you the progress made to date on putting together a really dynamite Archives Workshop. With the help of the Archives Association of Ontario's (AAO) Archives Advisor, Carolynn Bart-Riedstra, and Preservation Consultant, Iona McCraith, we have been able to confirm two excellent speakers who are professionals in their fields and also to secure the commitment of Queen's Unviversity Archives to give us a tour on Saturday afternoon (which they don't ordinarily do for it is closed on Saturdays)! Both speakers, Jermey Heil on Electronic Data storage, and Iona McCraith on Principles of Preservation, are aware of our principle of poverty and anonymity. Though they are professionals in their respective fields they have spoken often to groups of novices such as ourselves and are intrigued by our 'unorganized' organization.

Remember this is a potluck lunch so bring a bag of sandwhiches, a bunch of fruit, a little something sweet and let's have a really great day!

Area 83 Eastern Ontario International

Archives Workshop

Queen Street United Church

221 Queen Street

Kingston, ON

June 9, 2007

10:00
Opening Remarks
Oral Histories: Review of G.S.O. Oral History Kit & Electronic Storage

10:50 Break

11:00
Electronic Data Storage presented by Jeremy Heil, Queen’s University Archives

12:00
Potluck LUNCH

1:00
Principles of Preservation presented by Iona McCraith, Preservation Consultant, Archives Association of Ontario (AAO)

2:00
Question & Answer Period

2:30
Break for Tour of Queen’s University Archives

3:00
Tour Queen’s University Archives presented by Heather Home, Public Services Archivist, Queen's University Archives

Getting Started in Archives

Just been 'elected' to be the District Archives Chair? The job ahead of you is not as scary as it may seem. Any one of us that has taken on a position in service has faced the question of whether or not we can do this job. For archives it is almost easier than all the other positions. Wait now before you get all excited it is true. As the Archives chair, archivist or liaison, a big part of your responsibility is to get the groups active in recording their own history. When I began my archivist journey as the archivist for the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) Intergroup Archives Committee, I went and visited all the Districts here and spoke to them about the contents of the Archives Workbook (found under Documents & Forms) to take the mystery and fear out of what we do. One way to get the groups in your District to participate in archives is to get the G.S.R. to have a look at the Area 83 Group History form and get them to fill it out at a group business meeting. Talk to the District table about what you read in the Oral History kit (found under Documents & Forms) and get the G.S.R. to identify a few long timers in their group, make a date over coffee and get them to 'tell what it was like when they came in.' If you can encourage your District G.S.R.s and officers to do these things and actually have them do it,then you have done a remarkable job of accomplishing what would not have been done had you not started.

Any questions about these things? Come to the 2nd Annual Area 83 Archives Workshop on June 9, 2007 in Kingston!

Preserving Our Future

Friends and kindred spirits,
The choice to create this blog was born of a need to try and reach as many of those in Area 83 that are or want to be doing something archives. It can sound like such a large task - being elected to be an archives chair, trying to get an active committee going, grappling with what seems like innumberable tasks such as oral histories, group histories, memorabilia vs. artifactual and archival material, preservation and conservation! We have precious little time in our busy days with meetings and our group service commitments that it seems that we may indeed have bitten off more than we can chew, except that the rewards are so great. To sit down with a longtimer as they reminisce about times gone by, to actually hold the first edition of our meeting in print, the Grapevine, to listen to Bernard Smith orate on the spiritual vision of the Alcoholics Anonymous movement and to share these 'spiritual goose bumps' with kindred spirits, all these conspire to evaporate the trudging that this work sometimes is.

As the archivisit for Area 83, it is my intent to make this piece of your service journey as smooth as possible. As I gain more skill with posting documents and so on, you will be able to download what you need for your group and district to record oral and group histories.

I will be regularly posting information that will be helpful to you in carrying out your responsibilities as archives chairpersons and archivists.

You will want to put into your calendars June 9th, 2007. It is the 2nd Annual Area 83 Archives Workshop to be held in Kingston. We are still working on getting the location settled - we are deciding between two group meeting locations (visit again soon and this will be posted). The day will commence at 10:00 and end around 3:00. We will have 3 hour long seminars on oral histories, data storage methods, and preservation of paper and textiles. For those interested we are working on arrangements with a local archives to get a first hand experience of a working archival collection. There will be a pot luck - these are always great fun.

Pass the information along and visit this blog often for updates on archives events throughout Area 83.