The ArQuives is currently open by appointment only.

If you’d like to order materials OR to work onsite, please contact Queeries as we aren’t accepting walk-ins at this time.

Our staff will help you set up an appointment to view the material and will give you further instructions about your visit.

When you arrive, please sign in and wear a mask; we’ll provide them at the front entrance, along with hand sanitizer.

As of March 20, 2023, we have updated our COVID-19 Policy to ensure the health and safety of all our staff, volunteers and researchers.

  • All staff, researchers, and volunteers must wear a mask while in the building.
  • Requests for accommodation based on protected grounds under the Ontario Human Rights Code will be assessed on a case-by-case basis.

Offsite Storage

Our collection constantly expands, so finding storage space is an ongoing challenge. A select few collection items are housed in our deep storage facility, primarily our fiction collection, digitized periodicals, T-shirts, and a handful of personal and organizational records (or fonds). Our Reference Archivist will notify you if you’ve selected materials that are housed in deep storage. These records are accessible; however, The ArQuives:

  • needs at least two weeks’ notice (10 business days) for retrieval
  • charges a $50 Document Retrieval fee payable online by selecting “retrieval of any materials stored off-site.”

Remote Researcher Services

The ArQuives offers a remote researcher service for a fee of $50/hour to be paid in advance. This service involves speaking to a reference archivist at queeries@arquives.ca and selecting materials you’d like looked at in your stead by an archivist through our Online Collection Portal. The archivist may direct you elsewhere should they know of a more efficient or effective resource. Materials that have been deemed helpful through conferring together, will either be emailed to you or summarized should that suffice. Remote researcher services are available depending on researcher availability. Depending on the archives capacity and amount of research required, this process may take several days to weeks. Archivists are not able to do rush research requests, and researchers should not expect research to be conducted within an hour or day.

Become a Member

There are three ways to become a member of The ArQuives! By making a financial donation, donating your records, or volunteering!