Local History and Archives Policy

Mandate

The Local History and Archives collection exists to: 

The ultimate responsibility for the management of Local History and Archives is with the Chief Librarian acting in accordance with the general policies established by the Library Board. In practice, this authority is delegated to the Director, Collections and Program Development and the Manager, Local History and Archives. 

The presence of materials in the Local History and Archives collection does not constitute an endorsement of their content or viewpoints by the Library Board. The Board recognizes that this policy is carried out in compliance and with due regard for all applicable legislation. 

Scope of Acquisition 

The archives will acquire material of cultural heritage value by donation, bequest, purchase, or transfer, regardless of medium, including but not limited to: textual records; photographs and other visual and artistic works; cartographic, technical and architectural records; audio and visual recordings as per the mandate. Material may be analog or digital in nature. 

The Local History and Archives department will only accept material on a permanent basis, except when borrowing material for short-term loans for reproduction, research or exhibition. 

Limitations of Scope 

Notwithstanding intrinsic, informational or historical value of records, Local History and Archives will acquire records, taking into consideration the following: 

• The resources required to make the material available for research purposes in a practical period of time. 

• The extent and terms of any restrictions, the legal rights and/or requests of the donor to place the records in the Archives. 

• The records’ relationship to the strengths and weaknesses in the existing holdings. 

• The availability of appropriate storage facilities and the physical condition of the records in relation to the probability of being able to conserve them in a reasonable period of time. 

• The acquisition mandates of other institutions. 

• The Archives retains the right to reproduce materials by mechanical, electronic, or photographic means for security, research, access, conservation and long-term preservation purposes in accordance with applicable Canadian law. 

Methods of acquisition 

• Archival materials are generally acquired by donation and not by purchase. The Archives may determine to acquire material by purchase if it fulfils a critical gap within the collection with the approval of the Chief Librarian. 

• Archival materials of private donors are accepted by gift, bequest, or transfer from another archival institution. A signed Deed of Gift is completed to transfer ownership and negotiated rights such as copyright of the records from the donor to the Hamilton Public Library. 

• The Hamilton Public Library’s institutional archival records are retained primarily according to approved records retention policy. The Archives does not function as a repository for financial records or human resources records. 

• The Archives does not generally accept fonds that have been willfully partitioned by a donor. 

• In special circumstances, and in line with the Library’s Working With Us Policy, Local History and Archives may work in or develop partnerships with local organizations to improve community access to materials. In the case of each partnership, a letter of agreement or memorandum of understanding is signed defining the scope of the project and the rights and responsibilities of all parties. 

• At the discretion of the Archives, tax receipts may be issued based on Canada Revenue Agency rules subject to external appraisal by individual(s) qualified in appraising the material in question.