Collections Policy

The Simcoe County Archives collections policy is found in By-law # 3535, which was passed 17 Nov 1981 to authorize and establish the mandate and activities of the County of Simcoe Archives. The bylaw reads in part:

“The objects of the County of Simcoe Archives with respect to collection are:

1. to act as records manager of all original documents, manuscripts, papers, records and other matters in the executive, management and administrative departments of the County of Simcoe;
2. to classify, safe keep, index and catalogue all matters transferred to the Archives;
3. to collect and preserve all documents or records having any bearing upon the history of the County of Simcoe;
4. to collect all documents or records having a bearing upon the political or social history of the County of Simcoe and upon its agricultural, industrial, commercial or financial development;
5. to collect and preserve maps, charts, manuscripts, papers, and other matters of general or local interest historically in the County of Simcoe;
6. to collect and preserve documents or records respecting early settlers in Simcoe, including pioneer experience, customs, mode of living, and areas of cultivation, as well as the correspondence of settlers, documents relating to public and social affairs and reports of local events of historic interest.”

The Archives will therefore collect any document, image, or other information medium, which helps to accomplish the mandate described in the above by-law.

Emphasis is on original, primary source material. “Artifacts” are generally collected by the Simcoe County Museum. Secondary source materials are generally collected by libraries. Either one of these types of records, however, may, under certain circumstances, be accepted by the Archives, especially as support material for primary, archival records. An archivist may be given considerable latitude in judgement when deciding what is appropriate for acceptance by the Archives.