Publication of the Archives Canada Working Group Report
The Canadian Council of Archives (CCA) Board of Directors is pleased to announce the formal acceptance of three core recommendations submitted by the Archives Canada Working Group (ACWG) in their 2026 final report now available to the archival community. The report can be found on the CCA website at the following link: https://archivescanada.ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/ArchivesCanadaWorkingGroup_Report_2026_EN.pdf
The ACWG report is the culmination of two years of extensive research, including national surveys and focus groups involving practitioners and researchers. The Board wishes to express its sincere gratitude to the archival community for their invaluable contributions, expertise, and participation throughout this process. The Board recognizes that the dedication of individual archivists and institutions is key to the Canadian Archival System.
Key Recommendations Accepted by the Board:
- Re-envisioning Archives Canada as a Service: Archives Canada will transition from being viewed as a static database to an active service requiring ongoing oversight and development. The immediate priority will be the creation of a comprehensive, up-to-date public directory of Canadian archival institutions.
- Addressing the Existing Database: To ensure data integrity, the CCA will temporarily remove current archival descriptions from public view to allow for necessary maintenance and updates. A complete copy of legacy data will be preserved, and new workflows will be established to empower institutions to manage their own content.
- Establishing a Standing Governance Committee: To provide steady leadership, the CCA will establish a standing Archives Canada Governance Committee. This committee will represent diverse regions and professional roles, ensuring the service evolves in alignment with the needs of the archival community and researchers.
The CCA remains committed to fostering a “network of networks” that empowers small and under-resourced archives while providing researchers with the robust discovery tools they require. The new Archives Canada Governance Committee is expected to hold its inaugural meeting by December 2026.
Survey on the use of Rules of Archival Description (RAD)
In 2024, an Ad Hoc Committee / Working Group was established by the Canadian Council of Archives (CCA) to follow-up on the 2016 work on RAD, the March 2024 survey regarding RAD, and the Reconciliation Framework. Six meetings took place and there were discussions on a way forward to address the diversity of concerns and ultimately, the work of the Ad Hoc committee was suspended, but has continued to be part of the work of the CCA Board and its long-term objectives.
CCA is mindful that Records in Contexts continues to be a priority for the International Council on Archives and that the community is seeking leadership and direction with regard to updating the current Canadian standard, Rules for Archival Description, last updated in 2008.
To that end, CCA has been working with Library and Archives Canada and the Council of Provincial and Territorial Archivists, considering the concerns raised by members of the Ad Hoc Committee, as outlined in the Spring 2025 Archivaria, “Whither RAD: Do We Continue the “Voyage of RAD” or Prepare for the “New Canoe”?”, and as a point of departure, is seeking your input regarding ways that you work around or modify your use of RAD. If you are able, we would also appreciate documentation, policies, or training materials you use to adapt RAD at your institution.
Click here to fill out the Survey on the use of Rules of Archival Description: https://form.jotform.com/261324717590054
This survey can be completed by both active and retired archival professionals. Please answer as many questions as relevant. No field is required.
Please complete the survey by Sunday, July 19th, 2026.
Thank you,
Paul J Henry, FRSA CA SIG
City Archivist / Archiviste municipal
City of Ottawa / Ville d’Ottawa
Director, Canadian Council of Archives Board of Directors / Directeur, Comité de direction du Conseil canadien des archives
J.M. McCutcheon, PhD
( she | her | elle )
Executive Director / Directrice exécutive
Canadian Council of Archives / Conseil canadien des archives
ARCHIVESCANADA.ca Working Group Announced
Ottawa, ON, October 8, 2024—The Canadian Council of Archives has constituted a Working Group to assess and re-envision the national finding aid network, ARCHIVESCANADA.ca. The Working Group consists of 18 members from across Canada. The members are tasked with:
- Developing a snapshot of users (researchers, archives patrons, archivists) and their needs.
- Assessing the current status of, and problems with, ARCHIVESCANADA.ca.
- Determining whether there are solutions that will improve the status quo.
- Evaluating alternatives to the status quo.
The Working Group will deliver a final report on ARCHIVESCANADA.ca to the Canadian Council of Archives on the completion of its two-year mandate which began in January 2024.
The terms of reference and list of Working Group members is available on the Canadian Council of Archives website: https://archivescanada.ca/committees/
Working Group meeting minutes are open to the public and may be found here: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1Uev64xTyn2bY0MQZzeFRJvaHffLfYi_i?usp=drive_link
A survey of archives, gallery, library, and museum workers and a survey of researchers will be distributed this Fall to gain public feedback. Plans are also underway to conduct individual interviews and focus groups. Background research about the history and context of ARCHIVESCANADA.ca is also underway.
Working Group membership came together organically during discussions with CCA, the Joint US-Canada AtoM Users Group, and through invitations to contacts at provincial and territorial archives associations. We acknowledge that the membership does not reflect the rich diversity of the GLAM field in Canada. We hope through the surveys, interviews, and focus groups to widely consult with as many people as possible. If you are interested in supporting this work either through participating in a focus group, individual interview, or nominating members to join the Working Group please contact us.
Contact:
Jo McCutcheon, Executive Director
Canadian Council of Archives
execdirector@archivescanada.ca
Archival community response to the Consultation on Copyright in the Age of Generative Artificial Intelligence
Dear Colleagues,
The archival community response to the Federal Government Consultation on Copyright in the Age of Generative Artificial Intelligence, submitted by the Canadian Council of Archives and endorsed by the Association of Canadian Archivists and l’Association des archivistes du Québec, is now available here. A French translation of the submission will be posted when it becomes available.
The submission was prepared by the Canadian Council of Archives (CCA) Statutory Review Working Group – established to examine and address issues related to the Canadian archival community in the current review of the Canadian Copyright Act. The Working Group is composed of:
Nancy Marrelli, Chair
Jean Dryden, appointed by the Association of Canadian Archivists
Nancy Marrelli is also Interim representative of l’Association des archivistes du Québec
The consultation submissions required responses to an online questionnaire, so the attached document replicates the questions and our responses. Some questions were not applicable to our community and they have been tagged as Not Applicable (NA)
The submission clearly delineates the three separate stages/processes of Generative AI:
- Ingestion and encoding of millions of documents to create the datasets used to train machine learning models
- Creation of the underlying computer programs/algorithm used for generative AI tools
- AI-generated outputs
Please note that the responses in the submission clearly distinguish between each of these elements and/or the generative AI process as a whole.
Nancy Marrelli
Special Advisor – Copyright / Conseillère spéciale, Droit d’auteur
Board of Directors / Comité de direction
Canadian Council of Archives / Conseil Canadien des archives
130 Albert Street, Suite 1912 Ottawa ON K1P 5G4
Tel: (613) 565-1222
Cell: (514) 804-8118
http://www.archivescanada.ca/
Employment Opportunity – Executive Director – CCA
The Canadian Council of Archives (CCA) invites applications from individuals inspired by the opportunity to support cultural institutions from coast to coast to coast in the role of Executive Director.
Job description
NAAB Masterclasses 2023-2024 dates announced!
National Archival Appraisal Board (NAAB) & Canadian Council of Archives (CCA) are pleased to announce new dates for the Practising NAAB Appraiser (PNA) Masterclasses!
See details on the NAAB website