Western Archives Mandate

Under the terms of the University Records and Archives Policy, approved by the Board of Governors in November 2001, the mandate of Western Archives with respect to University records is twofold:

• To provide comprehensive records management services to the Board of Governors and Senate, Faculty councils, academic and administrative units, and committees of the University.
• To identify, acquire, arrange, describe, preserve, promote the use of, and make available those University records and related archival materials from other sources that are of enduring historical, legal, fiscal and administrative value.

In addition, Western Archives incorporates two important research collections, each of which has its own particular mandate:

• The J. J. Talman Regional Collection acquires materials (organizational records and personal papers) and selected publications pertaining to the history of the City of London and the County of Middlesex and, secondarily, surrounding counties that once formed the area known as the "London District" and that do not currently have their own county archives.
• The James Alexander and Ellen Rea Benson Special Collections acquires rare books and related material on a number of themes and from a number of noted authors, including works on Canadiana, Black Studies, The Enlightenment, The G. William Stuart, Jr. Collection of Milton and Miltoniana, The Richard Maurice Bucke Collection, The History of Science and Medicine, and pre-1939 Canadian literature imprints. Also included are individual items of unusual value, rarity and/or uniqueness.

Finally, Western Archives is responsible for operating the Archives and Research Collections Centre (ARCC) that, in addition to preserving and making available the aforementioned collections, supports the following services:

• A book depository designed to provide cost-effective preservation and retrieval of low and medium use library materials transferred from the other six of Western's Libraries.
• A records centre designed to provide cost-effective storage and retrieval of semi-active University records to support efficient administration.

Click on the box to read a history of Western Archives