Archives Info

List of 6 items.

• Hours of Operation & Contact Information

  The Archives is closed and not accepting in person appointments. 
  
  For research requests or general information, please contact Christina Barwinsky '86, Director of Advancement:

  • Phone: 204.477.2497
  • Email: cbarwinsky@sjr.mb.ca

  Please remember, research takes time. An initial interview will be scheduled but generally, two to three weeks are required to complete research inquiries.

• History of the Martin H. Ainley Archives Centre

  The Martin H. Ainley Archives Centre was established on May 25, 2004, and operates under the auspices of the St. John’s-Ravenscourt School, Board of Governors (BOG), Head of School and the Advancement Department (previously the SJR Alumni Association Board of Directors, Archives Committee).

• Mission, Mandate & Function of the Archives

  The Martin H. Ainley Archives Centre is classified as an in-house Archives. The Archives' mission is to document the functions, development, history and contributions of the “School.” The term “School” is utilized in the broadest context and includes the SJR Board of Governors, SJR Foundation, SJR Alumni Association, SJR Parents’ Association [Guild], administrative divisions, faculty (retired & present), staff (retired & present), students, and other organizations and individuals, public or private, that contribute(d) to the life of the St. John’s-Ravenscourt School.

  The Martin H. Ainley Archives Centre serves as the steward for the collective memory of St. John’s-Ravenscourt School. In the role of steward, it is the mandate of the Archives to appraise, acquire, control, preserve, and provide access to records of enduring value be they corporate, non-corporate, historical and regardless of their physical form or characteristics.
  
  

  The Archives is to function as a natural asset for the SJR community by the following:
  
  

  a. To serve as the School’s corporate memory by preserving and protecting records which possess enduring administrative, financial, and legal values.
  
  

  b. To augment the corporate memory by acquiring non-corporate records including the personal papers of faculty, staff, alumni, and, organizations and individuals associated with the School. These records may provide a different or vital perspective on important administrative developments.
  
  

  c. To provide the information necessary to establish continuity for future decision-making and to permit the School to meet its institutional accountability requirements.
  
  

  d. To encourage and facilitate academic research by members of the SJR community and interested parties in the wider public sphere.
  
  

  e. To disseminate information through providing public programming initiatives to increase the awareness and appreciation for the School’s history and development.
  
  

  f. To facilitate the effectiveness of the records management programme (Policy #A6) by ensuring that records of enduring value, no longer required in the office of origin (inactive records), are transferred, according to schedule, to the custody and protection of the Archives.
  
  

  g. To comply with the following legislation, Personal Information Protection and Electronics Act (PIPEDA), adhere to all caveats set forward in The St. John’s-Ravenscourt School Records Management Policy (#A6). In this regard, individuals, officers, or “bodies” (etc.) shall not disclose personal information nor alienate, relinquish control over, destroy or dispose of records of the organization without proper authorization. Procedures regarding the transfer of records of enduring value to the Archives are to be followed.

• Acquisition Policy

  The Martin H. Ainley Archives Centre is entrusted to document the functions, development, history, and contributions of the “School”. Policy and inclusion are as follows:

   

  1. The Archives shall assume custody of all transfers and donations.
  
  2. The Archives is dedicated to acquire (and preserve):

  • Corporate records of enduring value providing for their transfer to the Archives when they become inactive.
  • Transfers of old records of enduring value (i.e. not scheduled).
  • Donations of non-corporate records of enduring value.
  • Inactive records/textiles/artefacts donated by bodies affiliated with the school (refer to above).
  • Transfers and donations (from the community) of records/textiles/artifacts that document or relate to aspects of the history of the school. Only two copies of a school publication are accepted.
  • Estrays. Such records/artifacts will be actively pursued and incorporated into their rightful/legitimate place.
  • Reference materials (non-archival).

  3. The Archives will accept the following material(s): textual, graphic, cartographic, architectural & technical drawings, moving images, sound recordings, electronic media, textiles, and artefacts.
  
  4. Methods of acquisition include: gifts, transfers, bequests, loans or purchases.
  
  5. The Archives does not accept oversized materials or documents from other private schools unless there is a direct linkage of events (etc.). The acceptance of books and other printed materials is at the discretion of the Archivist.
  
  6. The decision to acquire shall rest with the Archivist and determined by the resources available (i.e. staff availability, time, funds, space, supplies, equipment), adherence to appraisal criteria, documented provenance, legal transfer of custody, physical condition, extent and terms of any proposed access restrictions, relationship to the strengths/weaknesses of existing holdings, and, constraints regarding intellectual property rights (i.e. copyright).
  
  7. Donations may be tax deductible. The Archives cannot appraise donations for tax purposes. Donors must seek appraisals by a disinterested third party before legal title to the material is conveyed to the Archives.
  
  8. Corporate records no longer required in the office of origin will be transferred to the Archive. Records are not to be moved without preparations have been made for their acquisition. Compliance with transfer procedures and completion of forms is required.
  
  9. The Archive reserves the right to re-evaluate and reappraise material in the holdings and to deaccession when designated as non-archival (i.e. lack of relevance, deteriorated condition, represents a redundancy).
  
  10. Methods of deaccessioning include: destruction, transfer, sale or return to donor.

• Access Policy

  Where the policy states personal access to the Archives, please disregard. The Archives is closed and not accepting in-person visits.  For research requests, please contact Christina Barwinsky '86, Director of Advancement by phone: 204.477.2497 or by email:  cbarwinsky@sjr.mb.ca.
   
  1. The Archives provides access to records/textiles/artefacts that document the history and development of the School.

  
  2. The Archivist or representative will administer access to the Archives and its collection in accordance with sound archival principles, available resources (staff availability, time, funds, space, supplies, equipment), and legal and ethical obligations.
  
  3. Access conditions are determined by provincial legislation and the school’s internal policies and regulations. These include: compliance with Canada’s Personal Information Protection and Electronics Act (PIPEDA), including the privacy principles incorporated into the Act set out in The Canadian Standards Association’s Model Code for the Protection of Personal Information, St. John’s-Ravenscourt School Records Management Policy, and The Canadian Copyright Act.
  
  4. Access is provided to approved employees, persons under contract with the school, students, alumni, and members of the general public. Reference service are conducted without favour or prejudice and does not grant privileged or exclusive use of material unless required to do so by law, depositor, or purchase conditions.
  
  5. The function of the Archivist is to provide guidance and refer the patron to the appropriate material(s). It is the responsibility of the patron to conduct the research and interpret the findings. All citations must properly identify the records and acknowledge the Archives.
  
  6. To ensure the integrity and survival of unique and irreplaceable information under the custody of the Archives, all patrons must register and follow all procedures, rules, and conditions for admittance to the Archives and in the utilization of archival material(s). The Archivist reserves the right to deny access to any person who fails to comply with the procedures, rules, or conditions or conducts themselves in a disruptive manner.
  
  7. The Archives reserves the right to limit access to the storage/research area and to the amount of material provided at one time. Restrictions also are to apply to records when:
  

  • unprocessed
  • in fragile or damaged condition
  • they contain defamatory and/or personal/confidential information about a person/the organization
  • in legal agreement with depositor

  8. Functioning as a in-house Archive, access to corporate/confidential records shall be provided to authorized/designated employees who require them to fulfill their responsibilities when consistent with applicable legislation and appropriate policies of the school. Examinations of this nature are to occur in the Archives storage/research room to ensure that the records are handled correctly. All other persons requesting access to restricted/confidential material(s) must receive written authorization from the appropriate office/department.
  
  9. Archives, unlike libraries, are not to be viewed as self-service. Patrons are not permitted to browse the shelves and select material(s). Rather, they must inform the Archivist of their research topic upon which the item(s) will be retrieved for them. All research must be conducted in the Archives under the direct control and supervision of the Archivist and/or representative. Archival material should not leave the Archives unless written authorization of such movement is made.
  
  10. The Archivist must be informed immediately in the event that any record/textile/artefact is compromised, damaged, or threatened.
  
  11. Copyright does not pass with ownership or custody of material. Therefore, it is the patron’s responsibility, not the Archives to obtain copyright clearance to publish or otherwise reproduce to distribute archival material. The patron assumes all responsibility for copyright infringement.
  
  12. Patrons must comply with conditions pertaining to reprography. The Archive retains the right to charge for said service and to refuse such requests if the physical integrity of the record is compromised. Time constraints may necessitate such requests to be held over.
  
  13. Volunteers, prior to assumption of assigned duties are required to sign and adhere to the conditions outlined in the Code of Confidentiality form.
  
  14. To provide the Archivist with data to plan effectively, to allocate resources, and to report accurately to the Director of Advancement all reference service is documented.
  
  15. The Archivist is available to patrons Mondays - Fridays (8:30 a.m.- 4:30 p.m.) during the school year. Time and staffing constraints require that all visits to the Archive be by appointment only and scheduled via telephone and/or e-mail. The Archivist must be notified as to person and topic should a volunteer arrange such a visit. All procedures, rules, and conditions are to apply when the Archivist is not on-site.

• Takedown Policy

  The Martin H. Ainley Archives Centre acts in good faith in presenting archival images online. However, we recognize that despite these safeguards we may be in breach of Copyright Laws. Further, we recognize that each alumni may have a different sense of his/her right to privacy (i.e. digital dissemination of his/her image in a photo or mention in a textual document). If a member of the public is concerned about an image(s) on the SJR website, the Archive should be contacted for its removal.