Monday, March 25, 2013

The United Church of Canada’s Toronto Archives Is Moving

This is a press release that was released on their website on March 6, 2013, and may be of interest to my readers -

Toronto: The United Church of Canada announced today that its Toronto-based archives will be moving this summer from its current location at the United Church’s national office in west-end Toronto to the Toronto Christian Resource Centre in the Regent Park neighbourhood of downtown Toronto.

In announcing the decision on the new location for the archives, Nora Sanders, General Secretary of the General Council, said, “I am pleased that this move will mean not only that we will be saving a considerable amount of money but also that as a tenant we will be financially supporting a local United Church ministry.”

Sanders says that in addition to being able to house the United Church’s archival collection now located at the General Council Office at 3250 Bloor Street West in Toronto, the new location at 40 Oak Street offers more than enough space to accommodate records that are currently stored off-site at an archival facility.

She explains the decision to move the archives ahead of the anticipated relocation of the General Council Office to Bloor Street United Church in 2018 was an opportunity that made financial sense for all parties to the five-year lease agreement.

The United Church of Canada supports a network of archives situated in eight different locations throughout Canada. The archives in Toronto manages the records of the General Council and the Central Ontario Conference records of Bay of Quinte, London, Hamilton, Manitou, and Toronto Conferences and their respective presbyteries and pastoral charges. The church’s archives outside of Ontario are not affected by the move.

The United Church’s Toronto archives moved to its current location in 2008, after more than 50 years on the campus of the University of Toronto’s Victoria University. No decision has been made about whether the Archives will move again when the General Council Office relocates to Bloor Street United Church.

Nichole Vonk, General Council Archivist, will oversee the monumental task of moving close to 20,000 boxes of records to the new site. The church will be contracting specialized movers, the new location will meet the institutional standards set by the Canadian Council of Archives, and all the records will continue to be administered by professional staff.

Although not located directly on a subway line, the Archives’ new location at 40 Oak Street is easily accessible by public transit, will have on-site parking, and is closer to the United Church’s theological school at the University of Toronto.

While planning and preparations are underway to move the collection from its current location,

•the Archives will remain open during regular public hours until June 6, 2013.

•the Archives will not receive any records deposits after April 30, 2013. Records can be donated to the Archives when it reopens in September 2013.

•the Archives will be closed to all researchers June 10–September 15, 2013, reopening in the new location September 16, 2013.

•the Archives will continue to provide reference service for certificates or legal requests while it is closed to the public.

Vonk emphasizes that, throughout the transition, the church remains committed to providing continued uninterrupted, open access to its archival records related to residential schools for the purposes of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.

For up-to-date information about The United Church of Canada’s archival programs and on the move, see the Archives webpage. Questions and concerns about the move should be directed to Nichole Vonk, General Council Archivist.

The archival website is at www.united-church.ca/local/archives/on

New/Updated CANADIAN Websites, Blogs, Facebook, and Newspaper Articles - 25 March 2013

I have come across the following Canadian websites, blogs, Facebook, and newspaper articles this past week that were of interest to me, and I thought you might be interested in them, too –

Websites

There were no new/improved websites this past week.

Blog

If you want to get the Canadian viewpoint of RootsTech 2013, John D. Reid was there and reported on the events is his blog Anglo Cektic Connections at
www.anglo-celtic-connections.blogspot.com

And Diane Rodger was there also, and you can check her blog at CanadaGenealogy, or, 'Jane's Your Aunt' at http://canadagenealogy.blogspot.com/2013/03/canadagenealogy-at-rootstech-2013.html

Facebook - Video – You Tube

Have you been to DearMrytle Facebook page yet, and seen her Genealogy Community? Lots of Canadians listen every Monday to DearMyrt.

Today at noontime (Eastern), she will have her weekly meet-up, and if you want to be up-to-date on genealogy happening around the world, she will have it. As she says, it is “A newsy, "across Myrt's desk" event, exploring all types of genealogy research techniques, challenges, technology and such”.

Go to her Facebook page to catch up on the latest news, www.facebook.com/DearMYRTLE, and her YouTune page to hear her Monday at noon (Eastern) www.youtube.com/user/DearMYRTLE

Newspaper Articles

Public Libraries Under The Gun: Long-time neglect is catching up, say advocates
http://halifax.mediacoop.ca/blog/robert-devet/16796 Read how the libraries in rural Nova Scotia are struggling to maintain service to sparse and dwindling populations.

Rare Manitoba photos of Louis Riel found in Aus www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/story/2013/03/08/mb-rare-photos-louis-riel-austrialia-manitoba.html Rare, historic photographs of Louis Riel and Manitoba, taken in the 1860s and 1870s, were found amongst civil war memorabilia at a recent auction in Australia!

Discovering Sudbury's history http://www.thesudburystar.com/2013/03/23/ent--discovering-sudburys-history Nancy Vaillancourt of the OGS Sudbury Branch has written a column about the town’s history.

Rosa Harris-Adler: Listen carefully to heed call of long-gone forebears www.timescolonist.com/life/rosa-harris-adler-listen-carefully-to-heed-call-of-long-gone-forebears-1.96655 Learn how the writer sees her grandmother in the story she tells of her life.

Pictures and Story of the Week

The story this week has been RootsTech 2013 in Salt Lake City.

You can re-visit RootsTech and watch Live Streaming of some of the talks that were given at the conference. Go to www.RootsTech.org

You can see all three Keynote addresses, and two panel discussion session that I particularly liked which were The Future of Genealogy with Thomas MacEntee and panel, and The Genealogists Gadget Bag - Jill Ball and panel.

Both of these sessions really honed in on the “genealogy community” by discussing what genealogists would be looking for over the next five years (more records, ‘how-to-do’ websites, more crowd sourcing projects), and Jill Ball and her crew gave a good run through of what the genealogists carries with them when they go to cemeteries, reunions, and meetings.

The next conference will be held February 6, 7, and 8th, 2014 in Salt Lake City.

Look for more articles next Monday April 1st.