Bruce County Museum marks Archive Awareness Week

Archives preserve the records of yesterday and today for future use. Discover why this is so vital during Archives Awareness Week at the Bruce County Museum and Cultural Centre April 4-9, with free admission to the Archives and Research Room.

Learn more about how archives ensure historically-significant records are systematically described and available for a variety of research uses. Discover how archives serve as society’s collective memory and help people understand their history and the role of particular organizations, individuals and movements in shaping the past. Realize how archives help foster and promote a sense of community and identity.

The museum's Archives and Research Room will be free to use this week from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

The archives holds all county-related public and private records and historical documents, preserves them, and makes them accessible to the public. Staff care for these records and assist researchers in their exploration of the county’s stories and past. The museum also offers Ancestry.com for searching further afield.

Patrons can then “Celebrate Archives, History and Genealogy” Sunday, April 10, from 1-4 p.m. and learn more about the Bruce County Historical Society’s Bruce County Heritage Documentary Project. This is a three-part television series set to air on TVO in 2017, in celebration of Bruce County’s 150th anniversary. An introduction to genealogy will also be given, including details on how to get started by using Ancestry.com.

There will also be the chance to browse through photo and military collections on-line and learn about the Archives’ newest venture, “Online Collections”. This on-line database will allow researchers around the world to search parts of the museum collection never seen before. The event concludes with a guided tour of the the museum's Research Room and a rare behind-the-scenes tour of the Archival storage area.

“It is always so exciting to share the treasures we have in our Archives with visitors,” says archivist Ann-Marie Collins. “We have such an amazing collection of photographs, letters, municipal, organizational and business records, and so many people don’t even know it’s here. Having the opportunity to open the stacks to the public for this tour is really a lot of fun! I hope people will take advantage of the opportunity.”