May 17, 2023

Archives Association of Ontario Awards: 2023

The AAO Awards Committee - consisting of Jean Dryden, Matt Szybalski, David Sharron, and Rodney Carter - were pleased and honoured to announce the winners of the 2023 AAO Awards at the AAO's Annual General Meeting held on May 12th, 2023. 

An Emerging Leader Award, an Alexander Fraser Award, and an AAO Corporate Award were presented this year. 

The 2023 AAO Emerging Leader Award was presented to Sarah Glassford for her contributions to the archival community through her collaborative work, archival advocacy, professional service, mentoring work, and outreach to academic and general audiences. 

In recognition of her contributions to the archival community in Simcoe County and across Ontario, the Archives Association of Ontario presented Ellen Millar with the Alexander Fraser Award. 

For its continuing support and stewardship of the College's Archives program, particularly the hiring of professional archivists to care for the collection and the recent major capital investment to upgrade the Archives facilities, the Archives Association of Ontario presented Appleby College with the Corporate Award for 2023.

The full citations for the winners can be found below. 

On behalf of the Awards Committee and the AAO Board, congratulations to this year's award winners! 

AAO Emerging Leader Award - Sarah Glassford

The Emerging Leader Award was created in 2018 to mark the 25th Anniversary of the Association. The award recognizes early-career archivists (who have been in the profession between two and ten years), whose work and service demonstrate consistent growth, leadership, and promise to the archives profession in Ontario. Achievements may include involvement in professional organizations, and/or participation in relevant projects, and/or written and scholarly work. This award is intended to recognize cumulative contributions rather than any single activity. 

The AAO Emerging Leader Award for 2023 is being presented to Sarah Glassford. 

Dr. Sarah Glassford holds a Ph.D. in history from York University and is a 2018 graduate of the Faculty of Information and Media Studies at Western University, where she previously completed her Honours BA and MA degrees. 

Sarah was hired as University Architect at the University of Windsor's Leddy Library in July 2019 where she runs the Archives & Special Collections unit. Sarah was hired only nine months before the first COVID-19 lockdown and, despite being relatively new to the position, she found ways to maintain patron service through one-and-a-half years of little or no access to the physical archives, to advocate for the archives' needs throughout the pandemic, and to prioritize digital projects such as a new AtoM database. 

In her work at the University of Windsor, Sarah has demonstrated a commitment to teaching archival literacy and promoting archives to students. She hosts archives practicum students and regularly gives classroom presentations and archival tours to students where she talks about the importance of archives and suggests archives as a career path. Additionally, she serves as a Canadian Historical Association's "Career Contact" mentor for History students interested in archival careers and has shared archival career tips in the CHA’s “Careers in History” webinar and its Employing History publication for students. Sarah’s advocacy for archives also extends into her scholarly writing and public speaking and she has received numerous invitations to give public talks, keynote addresses, and media interviews.

Looking outside of the university, Sarah has engaged in community collaborations that draw on archival collections pertaining to traditionally marginalized communities. She partnered with the university library’s Centre for Digital Scholarship and the Essex County Black Historical Research Society to co-supervise a Black graduate student who researched and curated an exploration of Windsor’s historically-Black McDougall Street neighborhood in the “We Were Here: Documenting the McDougall Street Corridor” digital exhibit. Sarah is also engaged in an ongoing collaboration with the Windsor-Essex Rainbow Alliance to produce a “Queer Life in Southwestern Ontario” digital exhibit which highlights LGBTQ+ history in Windsor-Essex and surrounding areas, where she provides archival support for the project and co-supervises the student research assistant.

Since 2018, Sarah has served on many professional organizations, including on the national council of the Canadian Historical Association as liaison for the Archives & Libraries portfolio; as a member of AAO’s Professional Development Committee; on the Board of the Canadian Council of Archives; as a member of both the Program and Host teams for the 2023 Association of Canadian Archivists conference; as a volunteer archivist for the Canadian Red Cross, advising local CRC branches on how to handle their historical collections; and she is a founding member of the Ottawa-based Canadian Network in Humanitarian History (CNHH) which brings together archivists, historians, and humanitarian aid practitioners, and currently serves as the editor of its blog.

In the words of her nominators, Sarah “is an emerging leader whose work for the archival profession in this province will have a broad impact for years to come.”

In recognition of her collaborative work, archival advocacy, professional service, mentoring of future professionals, and for her outreach to both scholarly and general audiences the AAO is pleased to present Sarah Glassford with the 2023 AAO Emerging Leader Award.

Alexander Fraser Award - Ellen Millar

Named after the first Archivist of Ontario, the Alexander Fraser Award is given to individuals who have contributed in a significant way to the advancement of the archival community in Ontario. Achievements may range from written and visual work to involvement in organizations or participation in projects. This award is designated to recognize cumulative contributions rather than any single activity. Generally speaking, contributions need to go beyond a specific archives or community.

The 2023 Alexander Fraser Award is being presented to Ellen Millar.

Ellen’s involvement with the archival community began as an undergraduate volunteer at the Trent University Archives. She was one of just 12 applicants accepted into the University of British Columbia’s Archival Studies graduate program in 1993. Upon graduation, Ellen returned to her home community and accepted a position with the County of Simcoe. Staff archivist at the Simcoe County Archives since 1995, as Assistant Archivist and later Corporate and Municipal Records Archivist, Ellen has worked tirelessly to assist the records programs of 16 lower-tier municipal partners, the City of Barrie, and the County of Simcoe. Ellen brings not only a wealth of experience and expertise to her role, but also genuine enthusiasm.

One of Ellen’s greatest contributions to local heritage preservation has been through her development of the Simcoe County Remembers database. First launched in 2018, Simcoe County Remembers serves as a digital memorial roll of more than one-thousand war dead connected to Simcoe County. The extremely well-used resource was the result of approximately ten years of research. According to her nominators, “the database is a remarkable achievement, and perfectly illustrates Ellen’s work ethic and selfless dedication to her profession and community.”

Beyond her work in Simcoe County, Ellen has made numerous contributions to the archival community in Ontario. She has been an active member of the Archives Association of Ontario, serving as Secretary of the Municipal Archives Interest Group from 2003-2008, was the founding editor of MAIGazine, the annual newsletter of the group and she edited and revised the listings in the 3rd and 4th editions of the AAO’s Directory to Municipal Archives in Ontario. From 2008-2010 Ellen served as Chair of the AAO conference’s Local Arrangements Committee and was instrumental in the planning and successful execution of the 2010 AAO Conference held in Barrie. Furthermore, she wrote the chapter of the AAO’s institutional history In Pursuit of the Archival Endeavour which charts the association’s years between 2006-2016.

In addition to her archival work, Ellen has been involved with numerous local societies and heritage organizations. She served as the Recording Secretary for the Simcoe County Historical Association from 2002-2012, as the Chair of the Cemeteries Committee for the Simcoe County Branch of the Ontario Genealogical Society in 2004-2005, and she served as an External Reviewer for the Friends of the OPP Museum Heritage Awards Committee from 2014-2022. Ellen has delivered over 400 talks, tours, and educational programs on such topics as archives, history, genealogy, preservation, archival information literacy, and records management.

According to her nominators, even when visited upon by literal plague, flood, and fire – as she has in the past few years – Ellen “has managed each challenge with grace, determination, and unwavering dedication to professional standards.” They state that “over the course of her career, Ellen has worked quietly and diligently to uphold and raise the profile of the archival profession in Ontario” and that “through her written work, involvement in heritage organizations, and general advocacy, she has left a lasting, positive impact on the archival profession in Ontario.”

For her contributions to the archival community in Simcoe County and across Ontario, the Archives Association of Ontario is pleased to present Ellen Millar with the Alexander Fraser Award.

AAO Corporate Award - Appleby College

The AAO Corporate Award is given to organizations, corporations, or agencies of any kind that have been particularly supportive of archives and/or the archival community. Nominees may include: organizations that have provided significant support to the promotion of education, publication, and/or other professional activities; organizations that have provided significant support to the activities of a particular institution; and organizations that have demonstrated imagination or creativity in the use of archives.

The AAO is pleased to present the 2023 Corporate Award to Appleby College.

Appleby College was established in 1911 as an independent day and boarding school for boys on the outskirts of Oakville, Ontario. Originally offering classes from Grades 4 through 12, in 1991 the school became co-educational and transitioned to offering classes for grades 7 through 12.

The Appleby College Archives was established in the fall of 1974 when a member of the Alumni Association began to collect and organize College memorabilia. In 1979, a donation was made which provided for a permanent home for the Archives within the school and, from 1985 to 2001, the Archives was maintained by the Executive Director of the Alumni Association. In the leadup to its centennial anniversary, the College embarked on professionalizing the Archives, beginning in 2002 with the Board of Governors’ endorsement and approval of the Appleby College Archives as the official repository to preserve the institutional memory of the school. A five-year plan was prepared in 2005 outlining the steps required to develop an archives program in the advance of Appleby’s centennial in 2011-12 and, in August 2007, the school hired its first professionally-trained archivist.

With an archivist in place, the Archives was moved from the basement of one of the residences into the new library where they had a small room for an office, a small reference area, and some storage space. The collection – including archival documents, photographs, textiles, magnetic media, artwork, artifacts, furniture, and rare books – was, however, stored in multiple locations across the campus. In 2021, the archives was moved into a new, larger space in the Barr Commons Area but, in order to provide adequate storage conditions, a significant capital investment would be required.

A new archivist, hired in April of 2021, prepared a feasibility study for the renovations, determined the needs of the collection and the resources required, and submitted a proposal to the College’s Senior Leadership Team. Beyond making the space merely functional, the proposal sought to build a space that met the highest professional standards in order to preserve and protect the College’s archives. In addition to renovating the space, this included Class-A HVAC and a fire-suppression system and the installation of mobile shelving, art racking, and artifact and oversize shelving.

Recognizing the importance of making a long-term commitment to preserve and properly house the irreplaceable items stored in the school Archives, the Senior Leadership Team approved the proposal in March of 2022 and the work was completed by September 2022. The Appleby College Archives collection is now consolidated into a single, secure climate-controlled space which has enhanced access to and preservation of the collection.

For its continuing support and stewardship of the College’s Archives program, particularly the hiring of professional archivists to care for the collection beginning in 2007 and the recent, major, capital investment which funded archival-grade storage, climate controls, and fire suppression for its archives, the Archives Association of Ontario is pleased to present Appleby College with the 2023 AAO Corporate Award.

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