Apologies for cross-posting.


Archivists from around the world will begin descending on Toronto for  
the 2011 ACA Conference in only three short weeks!

In the fifth installment of the ACA 2011 Conference Host Committee's series of
social activity spotlights we focus on two tours offered for the  
evening of Friday, June 2nd.


Step back in time with a tour of the Arts and Letters Club of Toronto.  
The club is located in St George’s Hall at 14 Elm St. just around the  
corner from the Delta Chelsea Hotel. St George’s Hall has been  
designated a building of National Historic Significance by the  
Government of Canada. A highlight of the tour will be the beautiful  
Great Hall, which has been used by the club for concerts, art  
exhibitions and theatre productions. This is also where club members  
have lunch together.

The Arts and Letters Club was founded in 1908 and moved into St  
George’s Hall in 1920. Today it is a club for arts professionals and  
those who love the arts. Members originally came from the disciplines  
of literature, architecture, music, painting, sculpture and stage.

Famous members have included members of the Group of Seven, Sir Ernest  
MacMillan, Vincent Massey, Marshal McLuhan, Robertson Davies and Jack  
Granatstein. Healey Willan, a longtime member, set the club’s  
constitution to plainsong. Women were first admitted in 1985.

This tour, which can accommodate fifteen (15) people, will be  
conducted by club Archivist Scott James and you will be able to sign  
up at the conference Host Committee table on a first come first serve  
basis.

The tour will be followed by drinks at the club’s cash bar.

The tour will be held on Friday June 3rd. Please meet in the hotel  
lobby at 5:40.

Please visit the club’s website: http://www.artsandlettersclub.ca/


**********


On Friday evening, June 3rd, ACA Conference delegates are invited to  
join a walking tour of The University of Toronto Libraries Media  
Commons. The Media Commons is located on the third floor of Robarts  
Library at 130 St. George Street. It recently underwent significant  
renovations and was re-launched in October 2010.  Two blocks away is  
the dedicated cold storage vault which will also be visited.

Media Commons is home to over 15,000 circulating audiovisual titles  
(DVD's, videos, 16mm films and other formats), more than 2 million  
microform items, and a large and diverse Media Archives collection  
relating to the Canadian media industries and popular culture - both  
historical and contemporary. Its acquisitions include still  
photography, broadcasting, film/video production, popular music  
production, oral history, animation, and advertising.

To ensure ongoing access to its archival holdings, Media Commons  
acquires both current and non-current cinefilm, audio, and video  
playback technology (such as 35 mm. /16 mm./8 mm. viewers, 2-inch  
multitrack studio audiotape; various ½ in. & 1/4-inch professional  
audiotape formats; turntables to access 33/78/45 rpm discs, 2 inch/1  
inch/1/2 inch open reel videotape; Betacam and Digital Betacam  
professional videocassette, 3/4-inch U-matic videocassette, VHS and  
Betamax cassettes).

This tour can accommodate a maximum of (20) people so remember to  
sign-up early at the Host committee table! We will meet in Delta  
Chelsea lobby at 5:30 pm depart hotel 5:45 (The Media Commons is a 25  
minute walk from the hotel).

To learn more about the Media Commons, visit their website:
http://www.library.utoronto.ca/mediacommons/

Sneak peek of facilities at URL:
http://mediacommons.library.utoronto.ca/media-commons-tour

Archival material at the Media Commons:
http://mediacommons.library.utoronto.ca/research/media-archives/finding-archival-material

For more conference information:

ACA Annual Conference website:
http://archivists.ca/content/annual-conference

Conference registration is now open at the ACA website:
http://www.archivists.ca/content/registration-and-forms

Stay tuned in the coming weeks for announcements on more conference  
activities!