The AABC Archivist's Toolkit

The AABC Archivist's Toolkit offers access to a wide range of on-line and published resources for archivists and archives workers at all levels. Special care is taken to provide resources for small and medium-sized archives. Intended for the British Columbia archives community, the AABC Archivist's Toolkit has evolved into much more. Archives-related sites across Canada and internationally link to this valuable site.

Recommendations for additions, revisions and corrections are encouraged and should be directed to the EAS Coordinator at aabc.advisor@aabc.ca. 

Hard copies of A Manual for Small Archives (originally published in 1988 and last revised in 1994) are no longer available, however you can download a PDF (3.5 MB).

Revision date: January 2019, EAS Coordinator

Introduction to Archives

Establishing an Archives

Acquisition, Appraisal & Accessioning

Arrangement & Description

Preservation & Emergency Planning

Access & Privacy

Automation & Digitization

Electronic Records & Digital Preservation Management

Grants, Fund-raising & Projects

Outreach & Public Awareness

Other Resources

History of the AABC Archivist's Toolkit

First offered as advisory pages in 1995 by AABC Archives Advisor / Network Coordinator Bill Purver, the AABC Archivist's Toolkit took on its current form in 1999. As Bill recollects: "It was really a pioneering thing -- it was considered one of the first of its kind in the archival world, and got rave reviews from major archives associations around the world."

While special care is still taken to provide resources for small repositories in the BC archives community, the Archivist's Toolkit now also provides links to sophisticated on-line resources on more advanced topics. Importantly, the Toolkit is broadly accessible and archives-related sites across Canada and internationally continue to link to this valuable resource.
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