A Spotlight on New Summer Volunteers
By Carmen Tang
This summer has certainly been a busy one around the office, with summer interns (featured in Vol. 2 Issue 5), a slew of interns and staff returning as volunteers (featured in Vol. 2 Issue 7), summer contract staff, and new volunteers. We have nearly 2,000 hours of volunteer work reported over this summer alone. Our new Collections volunteers include students in the field of archiving; we offer them the opportunity to put their studies into practice, while they provide us with their valuable resources to make sure our collections are processed and accessible. We have also welcomed a new cohort of volunteers to our Communications committee, who’ve brought their professional expertise to the table with the view to write longer, more diverse and in-depth stories for all our communications channels. The ArQuives continues to thrive as a result of their talent and commitment.
Meet some volunteers who joined The ArQuives this summer:
Joseph Abernethy
Communications Committee Volunteer
Joseph Abernethy is in his third year of Global Management studies at Ryerson. Beyond the world of academia and business Joseph spends much of his time reading about history, exploring the city and looking for his keys. He plays in a LGBTQ+ dodgeball league and is currently captaining a gay kickball team. Through volunteering with The ArQuives Joseph is hoping to raise awareness of the lesser known aspects of Canadas queer history.
“As someone whose been lucky enough to be openly out from a young age I think it’s important to preserve, remember and tell stories of the trailblazers who made that possible. The ArQuives does just that and I’d like to help.”
Nicole Gauthier
Collections Volunteer
Nicole Gauthier is a Master’s student at the University of Toronto iSchool with concentrations in Archives & Records Management and Library & Information Science. They completed a BA in Anthropology, also at the University of Toronto, in 2017. Nicole’s research interests include memory, oral history, and community archives.
“I volunteer at the ArQuives so that I can apply my knowledge of archival description while learning from other volunteers, interns, and staff (and from the records themselves!).”
James Gunn
Communications Volunteer
James Gunn is a writer and editor with a deep appreciation for art both high and low. He is co-publisher at IMPULSE [b], a publishing house focused on poetry, cultural enquiry, fictocriticism, graphic prose, and photography. James dedicated eight years of service to Toronto’s late, great independent bookstore, This Ain’t the Rosedale Library, previously located in the heart of the LGBTQ Village.
“I continue to be inspired by the forums that promote storytelling. Volunteering at The ArQuives grants me access to a treasure trove of community history. I am delighted to be involved in this collection.”