A resource which has advanced archival research immensely is ARCHEION. ARCHEION is a database of archival holdings in Ontario created under the auspices of the Canadian Council of Archives and the Archives Association of Ontario. This electronic "union list" of resources is linked to the national list, Archives Canada. Trent University Archives was a participant in the pilot project and we have all of our records submitted to ARCHEION complete with clickable links to our full-text, on-line finding aids. ARCHEION and Archives Canada are important aids to researchers as they may search for archival holdings throughout Ontario and across Canada by title, subject, repository or name.
The Heritage Canada project is a ten year project designed to digitize significant Canadian archival collections. Broadly it covers genealogy, government documents, aboriginal history, military history and important collections of private papers from archival collections all over the country.
The University of Saskatchewan maintains an excellent site which organizes and lists archives across Canada by type. Even if an archives doesn't have all its finding aids on-line, just knowing the hours, an address and a contact person can be very useful. The list is on the Archives Canada website.
The Canadian National Digital Heritage Index (CNDHI) is "an index of digitized Canadian heritage collections located at Canadian universities and provincial and territorial libraries." (Taken from CNDHI web site, 17 January 2018). The index currently includes references to approximately 1400 collections. Canadian Research Knowledge Network (CRKN) merged with Canadiana.org in April 2018 and continues the name CRKN. "As a merged organization, CRKN will continue its core licensing activities for scholarly journal content, while expanding support for the digitization, access and preservation of Canadian heritage content through the services of Canadiana... The merger allows CRKN and Canadiana coordinated representation as part of the Canadian National Heritage Digitization Strategy, which outlines a way for Canadian memory institutions to work together to digitize, preserve and make accessible Canada’s documentary heritage." (Taken from CKRN website, 5 April 2018).
Locally, Peterborough Museum and Archives, managed by the Culture & Heritage Division of the City of Peterborough, is an excellent resource for material related to the City of Peterborough and its history. Contact the PMA for further information and to make an appointment.
Thanks to the City of Peterborough, local historical City and County directories have been digitized and are available online. These are a tremendous resource for those researching names and business in the local area. See also the City of Peterborough's Interactive Web Mapping Application highlighting Little Lake Cemetery. This resource was created by the City's Geomatics/Mapping division and the Heritage Preservation Office in conjunction with students from Fleming College’s Geographic Information Systems program.
Following are links to web sites of additional organizations with local resources:
Kawartha Ancestral Research Association Inc.
Trent Community Research Centre
The Trent University Library subscribes to a number of primary document databases. Note: some may be limited to members of the Trent community.
Other sites which comprise supplementary research resources are listed with annotations on a separate page. Another page with additional information pertaining to archival functions, legislation, etc. will be useful as well.
