Using the Archives

• Archival documents must be consulted on-site. RMA provides limited access to documents via email and telephone;

• Requests will be answered within 5 working days. Users will be informed of any delay;

• The majority of our holdings are available at all times. Please note, however, that some documents are restricted due to personal, libelous, or defamatory content, or because a donor has requested a restriction for a specified period of time.

• RMA is located on Concordia University's Sir George Williams campus, in the Faubourg Building, 1250 Guy Street (metro Guy-Concordia);

• RMA is open to Concordia faculty, students, and staff, and to external researchers, including the general public;

• RMA Technician, Caroline Sigouin assists users in-person, and all are required to make an appointment prior to visiting. Please email archives@concordia.ca or call Caroline at 514-848-2424 ext. 7970;

• Users are required to come to their research appointment with background information and a clear purpose for their research project;

• Users must familiarize themselves with the Reading Room rules listed below before visiting RMA. 

To ensure the long-term preservation of archival documents, all users of the Reading Room are required to follow the following rules:

1. Leave coats, parcels, briefcases, and related personal belongings at the foyer coat rack. Keep with you only what you need to take notes;
2. Use pencils only; 
3. Electronic devices are permitted;
4. Users are not permitted to connect personal electronic devices, USBs, or external hard drives to any RMA workstation equipment;
5. Mobile phone ringers must be turned off. Please answer incoming calls outside of the unit;
6. Food or beverages are not permitted;
7. No documents are to be removed from the research area;
8. Do not annotate or otherwise mark or soil documents;
9. Use only one box of materials at a time;
10. Maintain order; do not mix or reclassify documents;
11. Immediately report any accident with or damage to a document to the staff.

Handling of documents

• Handle the enclosure or the container rather than the documents;
• Do not lean on documents or archival boxes;
• Do not place note pads or electronic equipment on top of documents;
• Replace documents you are not using into file folders and boxes;
• Realign all papers in a folder manually before returning a folder to a box;
• Do not use a wet finger to advance from one page to the next.

Copy services provided by RMA include photcopying and digital scanning of documents and reproduction of AV materials.

Digital files will be transferred by RMA to users via email or WeTransfer. Users are not permitted to connect personal electronic devices (including USBs and external hard drives) to RMA workstation equipment. 

• Users must receive permission from RMA staff before making a copy of any RMA document. In most cases, a user agreement must be signed;
• Materials deemed fragile by RMA may not be copied;
• RMA staff will make all copies for users and RMA reserves the right to limit the number of copies;
• Before ordering a copy, please consult the Price list, below; 
• All copies must be made within the limitations of the Canadian Copyright Act (please consult the Concordia Library Copyright Guide for assistance with the Act). Users are responsible for securing copyright clearance where required;
• Photography is permitted for scholarly or personal use only. Permission to photograph is dependent on copyright, the condition of the item, and donor agreements. Photography must fall within the guidelines outlined by the University Secretariat (related to the Act respecting Access to documents held by public bodies and the Protection of personal information). Please consult the guidelines for more information;
• Flash photography is not permitted;
• Tripods, lighting, and other equipment may not be used.

PLEASE NOTE: As stated above, all copies must be made within the limitations of the Canadian Copyright Act. Records Management and Archives disclaims any liability for any act or omission on the part of the user. 

Prices are not negotiable.

RMA reserves the right to limit the number of copies. 

Digital files will be transferred to users via email or WeTransfer. 

Prices mentioned above are per image or per document page.

An image user agreement must be signed.

An image user agreement must be signed.