The Unitarian Church of Montreal Archives Policy
Mandate
The Unitarian Church of Montreal Archives (UCM Archives, the Archives) exists to:
- Collect and preserve archival materials which illustrate the growth and development of the Unitarian Church of Montreal (UCM, the Church). This includes both the Church itself and the community that has grown around it and which it exists to serve.
- Arrange and describe these materials according to archival principles and make them accessible to the general public insofar as possible, unless access is restricted by legal requirements or written agreements with a donor.
- Provide adequate and appropriate conditions according to available resources for the storage, protection, and preservation of archival material.
- Provide regular reference services to individuals, organizations or other groups interested in the activities and holdings of the Archives.
- Do all of the above in accordance with the Church’s mission to be a “radically inclusive community of faith.” Acknowledging the power dynamics inherent in archives and the potential to reinforce past and ongoing injustices, it is a core responsibility of the Archives to collect and administer records in a way that is committed to archival social justice.
Acquisitions
An addition to the holdings of the UCM Archives is called an acquisition. The most common mode of acquisition is transfer, in which internal documents are moved into the Archives. However, materials can also be made in the following ways:
- Bequest – Transfer of custody and title to documents by last will and testament.
- Deposit – The mode of acquisition by which an individual or corporate body temporarily places records in the custody of the Archives without transfer of ownership rights and titles.
- Gift – The mode of acquisition by which an individual or corporate body transfers, freely and without charge, the full ownership of records to the Archives.
Material acquired by bequest or gift shall become the permanent property of the Archives and therefore the Church, except for in the following cases:
- The possession of the material contravenes the principles of article 5 of the main policy statement.
- The Archivist deems it irrelevant to the Archives, either because it is outside the scope of the Archives' mandate or because said material is a duplicate of material already found in the Archives.
In any of the above cases, the material may be deaccessioned. All information pertaining to the deaccessioning and disposition of material will be retained in the Archives' records.
Unless otherwise specified in a donor agreement, the Archives retains the right to reproduce materials by mechanical, electronic or photographic means for security, conservation, or research purposes.
The Archives will accept material of any medium, including: textual records; photographs and other visual records; maps, plans, and architectural records; and sound recordings and oral history tapes according to capacity. The Archives will only accept books, printed material, artifacts and electronically stored data at the discretion of the Archivist.
The Archives strives to identify materials that do not belong in our collection proactively. However, if you believe that material in the possession of the Archives is in contravention of Article 5 of our mandate, please send an email to archives@ucmtl.ca with the relevant reference number, your connection to the material and reasoning. Note that a record of this correspondence will be kept.
Borrowing of Material and Access
Materials from the Archives may be loaned to other institutions or organizations only under the following circumstances:
- Authorization is obtained from the relevant Church governance bodies.
- The Archivist provides written permission for the loan.
- The borrower ensures adequate care and handling of the material on loan.
If at any time the Archives determines that the material on loan is not being cared for adequately, the Archivist may cancel the loan and request the immediate return of the material.
No person shall be prevented from using archival material unless it is determined that the materials will be physically abused or used in a manner that is libellous, illegal, contrary to the Church’s principles or would violate individual privacy. For requests to access materials, please send an email to archives@ucmtl.ca with the relevant reference numbers and details of your request. Please note that the details of your request will be retained in the Archives records.