The Archives Association of Ontario (AAO) is a professional network of archives and archivists based in

Toronto, Ontario Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

History

Focused on advocacy, education and professional development programs, the AAO was formed in 1993 following the amalgamation of the Ontario Association of Archivists and the Ontario Council of Archives. It is one of twelve heritage organizations to receive funding from the

Government of Ontario The government of Ontario (french: Gouvernement de l'Ontario) is the body responsible for the administration of the Canadian province of Ontario. A constitutional monarchy, the Crown—represented in the province by the lieutenant governor� ...

's Provincial Heritage Organization Operating Grant administered by the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Sport. ''In Pursuit of the Archival Endeavour: The Story of the Archives Association of Ontario,'' an organizational history of the AAO, was published in 2018 in recognition of the association's 25th anniversary. The administrative records of the AAO are held at the

Archives of Ontario The Archives of Ontario are the archives for the province of Ontario, Canada. Founded in 1903 as the Bureau of Archives, the archives are now under the responsibility of the Ministry of Public and Business Service Delivery. The main offices of ...

Operations and services

Services for archives

The AAO operates the Archives Advisor Program which provides remote and on-site support regarding archives management and the preservation of archival holdings. Between the 1991, when the program was established, and 2014 the program's staff made more than 1,000 site visits, and answered about 8,000 requests for assistance. The organization also hosts training programs, co-ordinates the development of provincial archival practices and organizes an annual conference.

Public outreach and advocacy

The AAO, and its regional chapters, have organized about 300 events to raise awareness about archival programs, often focused on engaging the public on themes of community heritage, preservation, family genealogy and public memory. The AAO also maintains ''Archeion,'' an online portal that provides researchers with information about member archives throughout Ontario. The AAO has also sponsored local public events celebrating Archives Awareness Day in the province.

Publications

The AAO releases publications related to the subject of archiving, including Carolyn Bart-Reidstra's 2009 book ''Archives for Genealogy: A beginner's Guide''.Marian Press.
Education and Ontario Family History: A Guide to the Resources for Genealogists and Historians
'. Dundurn; 1 January 2011. GGKEY:GTATU6FB0GY. p. 13. The organization also publishes ''Off the Record'' a quarterly publication focused on news and events within Ontario's archival community.

Awards

The AAO administers five awards in recognition of individual and organizational achievement related to archival theory and practice: AAO Emerging Leader Award, Alexander Fraser Award, Corporate Award, Institutional Award, James J. Talman Award. Previous winners include the

Shingwauk Residential Schools Centre The Shingwauk Residential Schools Centre (SRSC) is an archival repository and cross-cultural education centre within Algoma University with a special mandate to collect and preserve material relating to the legacy residential schools in Canada, h ...

, the

William Ready Division of Archives and Research Collections William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...

, the Clara Thomas Archives & Special Collections, and

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public university, public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park (Toronto), Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 ...

professor

Heather MacNeil Heather MacNeil is a professor at the Faculty of Information of the University of Toronto, Canada. She teaches archives and record keeping related topics. She is a former General Editor of ''Archivaria'' (2014-2015) and helped develop the concept ...

. The AAO also administers the Shirley Spragge Bursary, named after former Queen's University Archivist Shirley Spragge. Given out annually, the award helps cover costs associated with attending the annual AAO conference.

References

External links

Archives Association of Ontario
*{{cite web , title=Archives Advisor , url=https://aao-archivists.ca/Archives-Advisor , website=aao-archivists.ca , publisher=Archives Association of Ontario , access-date=31 December 2018

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...

Professional associations based in Ontario Organizations based in Toronto Organizations established in 1993 1993 establishments in Ontario