City Government

About the City of Edmonton Archives (CEA)

What is the purpose of the CEA?
What does an archivist do?
What are archival records?
What does the word 'fonds' mean?
Who uses records from the CEA?
How do I get a job there?

1. What is the purpose of the CEA?: Archival institutions are organizations that have a mandate to preserve archival material. The mandate of the CEA is to acquire, organize, catalogue, preserve, display and make available to the public, for research purposes, historically significant public records and manuscripts relating to the City of Edmonton.
2. What does an archivist do?: An archivist acquires records, reviews them to determine what material to keep and what to discard (also known as appraisal), sorts and arranges the material, produces a description of the material, and helps researchers use the material. Archivists also play an important role in preserving the material in their care by keeping archival records in the appropriate storage environment.
3. What are archival records?: Archival records are unique, one of a kind documents that have been created by people or organizations as they go about their usual activities. These records are preserved for historical, legal, financial, research, and reference purposes.
4. What does the word 'fonds' mean?: Fonds is a term used by Canadian archivists. It means "all the records, in all formats, created by a person, family or organization that have been preserved in an archival institution."
5. Who uses records from the CEA?: Our patrons include artists, civic and provincial government employees, educators, engineers, environmentalists, genealogists, historians, media, students, and writers.
6. How do I get a job there?: Watch for job postings on the City of Edmonton website www.edmonton.ca/careers.