Acquisition Policy

The mandate and activities of Elgin County Archives is governed by  By-Law No. 01-21. The primary function of the Archives is to assist the Corporation of the County of Elgin and its constituent municipalities in fulfilling public obligations for the preservation and access to records that must be retained according to provincial legislation or because of their enduring cultural value. Therefore, adequate space and resources must be devoted in the Archives at all times to meeting these obligations.

In addition to this mandate, County Council has made a strong commitment to acquiring records from private sources that, according to the aforementioned By-law, “have bearing upon the history of the County of Elgin as appraised by the archivist. …” However, the volume of potential private acquisitions dictates that firm criteria be put in place in order to strike a balance between the public obligations and remaining space and resources in the Archives.

Essential Criteria

In accordance with By-Law No. 01-21, County Council established the criteria below to govern private (i.e. non-municipal) acquisitions to the Elgin County Archives. The Archivist will assess the records according to these criteria prior to acceptance. Donors are urged to read these criteria and understand that the inability of the Archives to make an acquisition is not a statement of the records’ inherent value.

All of the following criteria must be met for the archives to accept a private acquisition:

Additional Considerations that may affect a decision to acquire private records:

To discuss whether we are a suitable repository for your records, please contact our Archivist by emailing archives@elgin.ca.