Exploring the archives at Victoria College

Textbooks and Wikipedia articles give easy-to-access and quick overviews about a person or an institution. However, such articles often miss the intimate, and at times inaccurate, details found in diaries, letters, and drawings. Archives, which are collections of primary resources such as photographs or manuscripts, provide the evidence used to interpret the information that goes into textbooks and obituaries.  

Victoria University has two archival collections available to students. The Victoria University Archives holds the University’s records of permanent historical value, and the E.J. Pratt Special Collections holds primary documents from notable alumni such as Augusta Stowe-Gullen and Northrop Frye. The archivists and researchers at Victoria University do wonderful work and make insightful discoveries. For example, a previous archivist at Vic discovered an uncatalogued box of letters (dating from 1820 to 1869) written by William Egley, a British painter who made portraits of prominent families such as the Churchills.  

Browsing the complete selection of the holdings that are available at Vic can be done easily online. The Discover Archives Portal contains holdings of all 11 of U of T’s archives. Descriptions of photographs contained in the archives can be searched on the Photograph Database and scans of certain photographs can be viewed in Digital Collections. A short biography as well as the type of documents within specific collections in the E.J. Pratt Special Collections can be found on http://library.vicu.utoronto.ca/collections/special_collections. Ephemeral material detailing the history of Victoria University such as programs, tickets, brochures, and pamphlets, or descriptions of such material can be found on http://library.vicu.utoronto.ca/archives/ephemera.  

Records from the special collections can be viewed at Emmanuel College Library and E.J. Pratt Library by appointment only. Those interested in conducting research are also required to complete an application form and must contact the archives at Vic through their email at  [email protected] or call them at 416-585-4562. Access to these collections is available to all members of the public regardless of occupation or level of study; however, due to the fragility of many of the materials within the archives, certain collections are likely to be prioritized for individuals with legitimate research requests.   

If research in the archives interests you, careers that work within libraries, museums, and galleries, known as GLAM, may be a great fit. Victoria University’s Records Manager and Archivist, Jessica Todd, received an Honours BA in History and a Master of Information degree focusing on archives and records management. She suggests that while the specific undergraduate degree isn’t of utmost importance, it is beneficial to prioritize attention to detail and to develop strong skills in reading, writing, research, critical thinking, communication, organization, and computer-literacy. While Victoria University is not currently taking any volunteers, there are many GLAM organizations outside of the University with opportunities that can be found by researching online.  

There are also several courses, such as VIC184, that provide students with the opportunity to research within archives. Anne Urbancic, professor of VIC184,  teaches courses that involve working with archives because she believes that archival research gives students the confidence to look at sources beyond those printed, and to recognize that while primary sources may not be as valid, they’re still important, stating: “I would like my students to recognize that the story is just as valuable as the official history.”  

Alana Eliasmith, a former VIC184 student, said that “doing research in the special collections gave [her] a glimpse into little history that often gets left out of textbooks. It was a fascinating opportunity to look through the minutiae of life in another time and find connections between that world and ours today.”  

Jessica Todd echoes similar thoughts about the value of archival research in terms of the unique, unfiltered, first-person accounts that add a personal addition to our understanding of history. The vastness of history means that there are always new discoveries to be made and discussions to be had through interaction with primary sources. While primary sources may not always be entirely truthful or objective, they are necessary to better understand the events of the past. She also advises that patience is key in archival work as many of the documents are fragmented or lack context. Exploring primary resources to find patterns that build a narrative takes time and effort, as well as an understanding of possible bias. Thus, in addition to patience, prior consultation of secondary resources and working alongside a librarian are necessary additional steps.  

Doing archival research through the resources available at Victoria University offers many opportunities to discover a wealth of knowledge that goes beyond traditional textbooks. A quick browse through the scans available on the Digital Collections provides an interesting look into a unique part of history.