Enriching Our Heritage - The Community Records Project
The Canadian Jewish Heritage Network is committed to
ensuring that archival material from the Jewish community's
institutions and families are preserved for the future.
Today's minutes, reports, e-mails and websites are tomorrow's rare
and valued records of how the community lived and
worked.
The Canadian Jewish Congress Charities Committee
National Archives (CJCCCNA) and the Jewish Public Library Archives
(JPL-A) are increasing efforts to collect new materials and
encourage transfers from individuals or organizations that already
have collections at our archives. Both institutions are also
available to assist organizations in records management for
documents that may become permanent archival collections in the
future.
Why Deposit Records
in an Archive?
Your records, photographs and artifacts help to
document the heritage of the Jewish community. Your donation
will supply future research material to countless academics,
journalists and students. By nature, archival material is
unique and therefore requires special training to provide proper
access, long-term preservation and arrangement and
description. The CJHN partners are staffed by trained
professional archivists who will provide unequalled care for your
archival materials. Each donation of archival material
transferred to us is appraised for historical significance,
arranged and described into our online database and preserved for
permanent storage. In addition to this work, archival
donations are often used in exhibits, may be digitized for online
access and made accessible to researchers. Your archival
donation provides a future for the heritage of the Jewish
community.
Collecting Mandates
of the CJHN
The CJCCCNA and the JPL-A work closely to ensure that
archival material is transferred and preserved in the appropriate
archival repository. This collaboration ensures that new
donations from organizations already with archival collections are
kept together and that areas of collecting specialities are
respected. For example, the JPL-A specializes in education
and school material collections and the CJCCCNA has a large
collecting project in Russian Jewry materials. New donations
in these areas would thus be transferred to the appropriate
repository. Additionally, both institutions work closely with
other archives and museums to ensure that material is donated to
the most appropriate repository. To view the respective
collecting mandates of CJHN institutions, visit the individual
websites of the JPL-A and
CJCCCNA .
What Do We
Collect?
The CJCCCNA and the JPL-A preserve many types of
archival materials in various formats, including, but not limited
to:
- Correspondence
- By-laws and minutes
- Various types of
photography
- Playbills and
programmes
- Posters
- Personal narratives or oral
histories
- Journals or diaries
- Audio-visual materials
- Artifacts
- Textiles
By nature, archival material is original and unique.
Archives very rarely accept photocopied materials for this reason
as well as difficulties in allowing access because of copyright
legislation.
From Whom Do We
Collect?
Archival materials come from numerous sources
such as the examples below. The Community Archives
Program of the Canadian Jewish Heritage Network aims to ensure that
all documentary heritage of the Quebec Jewish community is
preserved for future generations, regardless of type of institution
or donor. If you have records that you feel do not fit in
with the listed examples, contact the archives to discuss your
material in greater detail. The Jewish community is diverse
and its archival heritage should be a reflection of
this.
- Synagogues
- Community, fraternal and/or social
organizations
- Sport and cultural organizations
- Federation CJA agencies and
departments
- Schools and alternative education
organizations
- Businesses and Professional
Services
- Families and individuals
Records Management
Assistance
Good management and organization of your records can
save you or your organization time as well as money (i.e. more
efficient storage and retrieval of materials). A records
management program for your material also provides a clear plan for
future disposal of non-permanent records, regularly schedules
transfers of permanent material to the appropriate archive and
provides organizational sustainability important for training and
turnover of staff as well as legal responsibilities. Records
management is not just for businesses and organizations
either! Organizing your personal or family papers is an
important step in tracking genealogy, passing on heritage to
children or grandchildren or if you are downsizing your
home.
The archivists at CJCCCNA or JPL-A are available for
records management consultations, prior to or during your decision
to transfer archival material to our repositories. Contact us
directly for more information!
Transferring Records
to the CJCCCNA or JPL-A
Transferring material to the CJCCCNA or JPL-A begins
with an initial review of your material. The archivist from
one of these institutions will usually schedule a first visit to
your location to go over the archival material with you as well as
to discuss historical significance and permanency of records.
From there, the archivist will discuss with you the most
appropriate archival repository for your material as well as the
next steps in physical transfer and archival
processing.
Donations and
Monetary Issues
The CJCCCNA and the JPL-A are not able
to purchase archival donations. However, in some cases, a
Canadian tax receipt can be issued based on the fair market value
of the donated material. Donors are responsible for any costs
associated with the hiring of an external appraiser necessary for
the issuance of such a tax receipt.