Scope and Content Monthly ACA Newsletter
December 2025, Volume 6, Issue 12 |
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Click here if you are having trouble reading the newsletter.
The next Scope and Content will be published January 15th, 2026. If you have any comments or feedback, please contact the Communications Committee.
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It’s hard for me to believe that December is here and another calendar year is coming to an end. As we near the end of our 50th anniversary year, let’s take a moment to reflect on what we’ve achieved together. From our anniversary logo contest, to our annual conference in Ottawa, to our insightful 50th anniversary interview series, this year has been filled with meaningful connections across our organization and community. We also launched special anniversary prints (still available on the ACAF website) and wrapped up with our anniversary panel discussion. We are incredibly proud of these accomplishments and deeply grateful to our dedicated ACA staff, volunteers, and members who made them possible. Thank you for your energy, commitment, and creativity throughout this year In November, the ACA Board and Committee Chairs met at our annual fall Priorities and Planning (P&P) meeting. This year our meetings were held in Ottawa, making it our first in-person P&P since before the pandemic! We spent two days together planning for the year ahead and discussing new ways for committees to collaborate. I found our time together very productive and had so much fun getting to know everyone who attended. Thank you all for making it such a wonderful experience.
On the final afternoon of the P&P, the Board reviewed the shortlist of candidates for the Executive Director position and discussed our next steps. Members will be happy to hear that we are now moving to the interview stage and are that much closer to having a new ED in place. Please stay tuned.
I would like to close my final message of the year by thanking our ACA staff for all that you do. Thank you, Maureen Tracey, for all your support during this past year, especially during these past few months. Thank you also to Mickenna Ward who is now working with us part-time. Finally, I want to thank Jo McCutcheon, past ACA Executive Director, for stepping in to assist us while we work to fill the ED position. I am so grateful to you all.
I wish all our members a safe and restful winter season and look forward to seeing you in 2026!
Sincerely,
– Anna Gibson Hollow, President |
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The ACA Board of Directors and committee heads at the 2025 Planning & Priorities meeting in Ottawa last month. |
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This month’s Scope & Content is of course the last of the year, and as Anna has hit all the highlights of the year for the association. I will keep my message short and sweet, just adding that this year's Planning & Priorities meeting was the best one I have ever attended. It really felt as if we were able to really dig deep into topics and flesh things out. In my eyes, it was a complete success. Decisions were made and a path forward forged. It feels like we are all now on the same page and working towards the same goals. It’s a good way to end the year.
The holidays are now beginning, and whatever you celebrate at this time of the year (it’s Yule and Ukrainian Christmas in my household), I hope it gives you time for rest, relaxation, and reflection. 2025 has gone by in a blink and it feels like everyone is busier and more stressed out. All the technology that’s supposed to make our lives easier seems to pressure us to stay engaged or feel guilty. I’ve been practicing leaving my phone upstairs in the bedroom as well as my tablet and playing games or watching a movie and to reading from a physical, in my hands book, before I go to sleep – even if it’s just a page. I’m also not sure if I’m alone in this, but I cannot wait to see the tail end of 2025 (despite the P&P being great) so here’s a toast to 2026 being a year of growth, happiness, and most of all, compassion and tolerance!
I want to end by thanking everyone for all their contributions this year big and small. It really is an honour to be your Vice-President and to work with amazing Board members and Committees.
– Angela Fornelli, Vice President
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ACA Mentorship Program Enrollment: Nov. 15 – Dec. 15
Enrolment for the 2026 Mentorship Program will be open from November 15 – December 15.
The Membership Committee offers a mentorship program for new archivists, with an option for BIPOC archivists to choose to engage with another BIPOC archivist. Please consider signing up as a volunteer mentor to connect with a new professional and offer your insight into archival issues, working environments, and career development. It is a meaningful way to contribute to the profession, and as a recent mentor told us, “I love having the opportunity to learn from students and those new to the field. If they get 1/10th out of the relationship that I get from them, then I can say 'success!'.”
We encourage archivists and information professionals with a range of job titles and backgrounds to be mentors, and welcome recent graduates and new practitioners to enroll as mentees.
To find out more about the Mentorship Program’s goals, structure and eligibility, visit the Program’s homepage.
Mentorship Program Coordinators Heather Hubert and Susan McClure are available to answer questions at mentorship.program(at)archivists.ca. Questions specific to the BIPOC Mentorship stream can be sent to: bipocarchivists(at)gmail.com.
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Renew Your Membership This Fall!
Get your 2026 membership in early and you’ll be entered in our annual Early Bird Prize Draw. Membership runs January-December so you’ll be covered for next year. Membership renewals will open November 17th. Remember, membership with ACA includes access to Archivaria, the Mentorship Program, discounted rates on workshops and the Conference, and more. Members can also help lead our Association by participating on Committees and the Board of Directors, as well as having voting power at our AGM. So why not renew early? Prizes for Early Bird renewals will be announced in December and winners will be drawn by the ACA Secretariat in January.
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ACA 50th Panel Discussion: December 3rd
We’re thrilled to share that our community raised over $800 for the Association of Canadian Archivists Foundation (ACAF) during this year’s Giving Tuesday campaign. Your generosity directly supports emerging professionals by funding student awards, scholarships, and initiatives that strengthen the future of the archival community in Canada.
As we approach year-end, we’d like to remind you that the deadline to make a donation and receive a 2025 tax receipt is December 31, 2025. Every contribution—big or small—helps us invest in the next generation of archivists. Make a donation here.
Thank you again for your support and commitment to the Canadian archival community!
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Carr McLean Discount Available for 2025
The Carr McLean
10% discount is available for both Individual and Institutional ACA
members for the entire membership year. This discount can be applied to
any order over $100 and is non-transferable. Contact the ACA President at acapresident(at)archivists.ca for the new discount code that will remain effective until December 31, 2025. |
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In the Field: The ACA Blog
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If you’d like to submit a blog post, please read and complete this form. We look forward to your contribution!
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The ACAF has recently added these items to its store: |
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Limited edition and numbered ACA Anniversary Print. Designed and printed by the Carleton University Book Arts Lab, this beautiful print is only $75 + tax. Prints come in a plastic sleeve, but a tube can be purchased for an additional $3 for safe transportation.
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ACA vintage Arthur Doughty Mugs. Unearthed recently! There are a limited number of mugs produced by the ACA, which feature an authentic likeness of Arthur Doughty, and the quote ,“Of all national assets, archives are the most precious: they are the gift of one generation to another and the extent of our care of them marks the extent of our civilization.” Mugs are $20 + tax each.
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These items and more can be purchased online and shipped to you directly (note that shipping costs are priced separately). All proceeds go toward funding publicly available scholarships, bursaries, and other financial assistance for post-secondary students, graduates, and professionals who are pursuing education and training in the fields of archival sciences, record keeping and information management! |
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Young Canada Works Grant Opens – Deadline: January 15 The Canadian Council of Archives (CCA) has launched the 2026-2027 Young Canada Works (YCW) campaign, which supports short-term student jobs and graduate internships in the GLAM sector. All archival institutions, as well as libraries (operating in English), can now apply online for short-term jobs for students (YCW in Heritage Organizations), and internships for graduates (YCW at Building Careers in Heritage) via the official YCW website.
To support applicants, the CCA is offering the following virtual information sessions. Please register using this form.
Apply online by January 15, 2026. For questions, archival applicants may contact ycw-jct@archivescanada.ca.
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CUTV Project Highlight
Community University Television (formerly Concordia University Television) in Montreal, Canada’s oldest student-owned and student-run television station, is digitizing its trove of campus–community recordings, including material from the late 1960s and early 1970s. The project is rescuing decades of student life and local activism footage from aging magnetic tapes, and their new video offers a behind-the-scenes look at how the team is giving this at-risk media a fresh future. Watch the video here.
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ICA Publishes Declaration on LGBTQI+ and Sex-Affective and Gender Diversity Archives and Archivists
The International Council on Archives’ Working Group on Sex-Affective and Gender Diversity Archives & Archivists (SAGDAA-WG) has published the Declaration on LGBTQI+ and Sex-Affective and Gender Diversity Archives and Archivists. It sets out a vision for ensuring that LGBTQI+ histories, identities, and communities are fully recognised, preserved, and represented. The ICA invites all archives, professionals, and communities to review and integrate the Declaration’s principles into their practices. |
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Submit your job opportunity here and it will be posted to the ACA website. We will also share this opportunity on our social media channels.
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Do you have news you’d like the ACA to share via its social media channels? Contact the Communications Committee to give us the details! Communications(at)archivists.ca
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The next issue of Scope & Content will come out on
Thursday, January 15th, 2026. See you then!
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Contact Us
Suite 1912-130 Albert Street
Ottawa, Ontario K1P 5G4
Email: aca(at)archivists.ca
www.archivists.ca
The ACA office is located on the unceded, unsurrendered Territory of the Anishinaabe Algonquin Nation whose presence here reaches back to time immemorial. |
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