City of Edmonton Archives Research FAQ
- What materials do you house at the City of Edmonton Archives?
- Where do you get your material?
- Why can't I bring a pen or food into the reference room?
- Can I sign out material from the CEA?
- Will the reference archivist find out some information for me and just fax or email it to me?
- How do I research my house?
- How do I designate my house as a heritage site?
- Can you help me with my genealogical research?
- Where do I find death, birth, and marriage certificates?
- Do you have hospital records?
- Can you give me information on historic military service, uniforms, medals, and military awards?
- How do I find images on your online image catalogue?
- I have an old document. How can I find out what it's worth?
- How do I preserve my personal papers and photographs?
- 1. What materials do you house at the City of Edmonton Archives?
We house government records, oral history tapes, photographs, film, video recordings, computer records, correspondence, diaries, and personal histories. Our web pages, www.edmonton.ca/archives list our resources, and the Archives Network of Alberta online database, Archives Alberta, describes a portion of our holdings.
- 2. Where do you get your material?
The CEA acquires material from all municipal departments through a records retention process. Private individuals, corporations, and organizations also donate material to the CEA.
- 3. Why can't I bring a pen or food into the reference room?
As part of our preservation efforts, we try to prevent harmful elements such as ink or organic material from damaging the records.
- 4. Can I sign out material from the CEA?
No. All material in the CEA must be used in the reference room only. However, you may be able to request a reproduction of what you are interested in.
- 5. Will the reference archivist find out some information for me and just fax or email it to me?
No. We encourage you to come into the archives in order to conduct your research. For researchers not based in Edmonton you can request to pay flat research fee for specific services from the reference archivist. Please refer to our or contact our reference archivist (780-496-8711).
- 6. How do I research my house?
From our webpages, www.edmonton.ca/archives, click on the link entitled Researching Your House FAQ.
The CEA also offers workshops in the spring and autumn on how to research the history of your house.
- 7. How do I designate my house as a heritage site?
Contact the Principal Heritage Planner at the Edmonton's Planning and Development Department (780-496‑6123).
- 8. Can you help me with my genealogical research?
While the CEA does have documents which may support your research, the Alberta Genealogical Society (780-424-4429) is one of the best resources for genealogical research.
- 9. Where do I find death, birth, and marriage certificates?
The Alberta Department of Vital Statistics (780-427-7013) has the records for birth, marriage, death and stillbirth registrations that were registered and occurred in Alberta. Records may also be found through churches; the Provincial Archives of Alberta (780-427-1750); the Alberta Genealogical Society (780-424-4429); libraries, including the Legislative Library (780-427-2473); and local history books.
- 10. Do you have hospital records?
We have some hospital administrative records; however, each hospital in the Edmonton area has their own records department that may be able to better assist you in your research.
- 11. Can you give me information on historic military service, uniforms, medals, and military awards?
Try contacting the Library and Archives of Canada (1-866-578-7777), the Loyal Edmonton Regiment Museum (780-421-9943) or other military museums. You also may want to check out the University of Alberta's Clothing and Textiles collection (780-492-3824).
- 12. How do I find images on your online image catalogue?
From our website www.edmonton.ca/archives, click on the City of Edmonton Archives Photographs link under "Online Research Tools". Click on the box under "Search the archives" on the main page of the photo website and type in a search term or an image reference number; or, you can click on a category to browse the collection.
- 13. I have an old document. How can I find out what it's worth?
The CEA does not provide monetary appraisals of individual documents. An antiquarian book dealer may be able to advise you on the financial value of a document.
- 14. How do I preserve my personal papers and photographs?
The CEA offers workshops in the spring and autumn on preserving personal papers and on preserving photographs.
You may also be interested in the Canadian Heritage website which is dedicated to helping you preserve your important documents, images, works of art, and other heirlooms.
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