By Gordon Richardson An archive is defined as a collection of historical records, or the place where those records are located. Archives contain primary source documents that have accumulated over the course of an individual or organization’s lifetime rather than those which have been consciously written or created to communicate a particular message to posterity. Archival records are normally unpublished and almost always unique. This means that archives (the places) are quite distinct from libraries with regard to their functions and organization, although archival collections can often be found within libraries or universities. Two major archival collections, ONE in Los Angeles and HOMODOK in Amsterdam are housed within larger institutions. The Canadian Lesbian and Gay Archive (The ArQuives), however, is community based and now the largest such queer archive in the world. The ArQuives collection is presently housed in two Toronto locations: the main offices and research space is at 34 Isabella Street and off-site storage is at 65 Wellesley Street. Included in the collection are many one-of-a-kind documents, artifacts, and ephemera, always unique and often surprising. Watch this space in subsequent editions of the newsletter for the series What’s in the Archive.
