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Starting a Community Archive

Introduction

This toolkit is an introduction to starting a community archive. It also includes examples of pre-existing community museums and a list of additional resources. Before reading this guide, check out the What are Archives and Museums to familiarize yourself with the basics of archives.

Note: Archival standards and procedures are constantly changing. This guide is meant to be an introduction, not a definitive authority. For the most up-to-date information, contact your local archives association.

Should you start an archive?

Starting an archive is a large undertaking and requires continuous upkeep, so your organization will need skilled staff, like someone to administer records and conduct archival processes. Since your repository will likely be the place where many of the documents are kept for the foreseeable future, it is important to plan for the future of your archive. Starting an archive is not a one-time project, but a permanent institution that will require ongoing upkeep.

Things to consider:

  • What are your archival needs?
  • How will you fund your archive?
  • Who will provide access to and maintain the archive? Volunteers? Paid staff?
  • Can you secure a space for the archive?

Steps to Creating a Community Archive

  1. Consider your purpose
  • Take some time to reflect on your reasons for establishing an archive.
  1. Secure a space
  • Consider environmental goals for an archive.
  • See Chapter 6 (p. 81) in A Manual for Small Archives
  1. Create a mandate:
  1. Secure funding 
  • Decide how you will fund your archive and ensure that the archival mandate has been approved by the sponsoring body. 
  1. Acquire Materials
  • Begin actively gathering records from and for the community you seek to serve. 
  • Always document new acquisitions through a Deed of Gift (further details in the next section. 
  • You do not need to acquire everything that is donated to you. Before accepting material you must determine if it fits your mandate and if it is worth bringing into your archive; this is referred to as Appraisal. Further details on the process of appraisal are outlined in the “Ongoing Considerations” section below. 
  1. Gain control of materials
  • This is a key step and must not be overlooked! Once materials are acquired, archives should work to achieve legal, physical, and intellectual control over their materials. When materials are donated or acquired by an archive, they become the property of the archive.
  • Legal: Legal control means that the archive has documented the change of hands through aDeed of Gift, which is a formal agreement between the archive and the donor that transfers legal ownership of the material.
  • More on Deed of Gift: Society of American Archivists – A Guide to Deeds of Gifts
  • Example Deed of Gift: Brock University – Deed of Gift Agreement
  • Physical: Physical control over archival holdings refers to safe and secure storage of materials.
  • Intellectual: Intellectual control means that you as an archive have knowledge of the materials in your archive and where it came from.
  1. Make Materials Accessible
  • Materials need to be made accessible by the creators, donors, and the general public. This can be done in a number of ways:
  • Creating an archival finding aid. 
  • Creating a searchable database. This can be as simple as an excel spreadsheet.

Ongoing Considerations

Collections Management

Appraisal

Things to consider when conducting appraisal:

  • Administrative value: Are the materials important for administration, financial, or legal activities of the creator? If so they should not be destroyed.
  • Quantity: Is it a reasonable amount of material for your archive to maintain? 
  • Uniqueness: Is the material one of a kind? Does your archive already have similar materials?
  • Physical quality: Is the material in good condition? Items that are deteriorating might be more difficult to maintain and not worth the effort.
  • Use: What are future uses of the material? 
  • Further resources on appraisal:
  • The National Archives – What is appraisal?
  • Video on the basics of archival appraisal

Organizing Archival Material

Archives are arranged by specific principles. When possible, archival material is arranged in the order in which it was originally created and maintained. This is referred to as “original order” and helps contextualize the materials. Archives are arranged according to the following levels of arrangement: 

Fonds: whole collection created by one creator, this could be an individual or corporate body 

Series: grouping of records according to their use, type, or subject (and sub-series if necessary)

File: folder of items treated as one unit relating to same series

Item: individual record

Description

In order to be discoverable, archives must be described. Description offers the user of the archive an overview of the content and context of the material. Archival materials should be described from the general to the specific. First, the entire collection as a whole (the fonds) must be described. This can be done with as much specificity as the archive can manage. Once the fonds is described as a whole, separate series can be described, then files, and finally items. It is more rare for archives to describe materials at the file or item level as these endeavors require a lot of time.

  • For more information on archival description see A Manual for Small Archives Chapter 5, “Describing Archival Material” (page 56)

Examples of Pre-Existing Community Archives

Slovenian Canadian Historical Society

  • Website
  • “Building Community Through Archives: A Report on the Activities of The Canadian Slovenian Historical Society” By Anne Urbančič, Article Link: CSHS Urbancic.pdf
  • “Our Story” Newsletter outlines their journey to creating a community archive, link:Vol. 13 No. 2 Summer 2023 (2).pdf

Ontario Jewish Archives

The ArQuives: Canada’s LGBTQ2+ Archives

Don’t get discouraged!

Some of these steps may seem beyond your reach. Yes, starting an archive is a big endeavor but you do not necessarily need to undertake each of the suggestions outlined in this guideline. Each archive is unique in its material, resources, and goals. You likely cannot do it all. As long as you are working to preserve materials and make them discoverable in some capacity you are making a difference.

Additional Resources

Archival Resources