About the Archives

Mission statement and background

“The mission of the University of British Columbia Archives is to serve as the institution’s corporate memory by identifying, preserving and making available for use the University’s permanently valuable records…”

Mission Statement

The mission of the University of British Columbia Archives is to serve as the institution’s corporate memory by identifying, preserving and making available for use the University’s permanently valuable records.

In the pursuit of this mission, the University Archives acquires the corporate records (regardless of physical form or characteristics) created, received or accumulated by University officers or employees in the course of their duties on behalf of the institution. To augment the information in the University’s corporate records, the Archives acquires the private papers of selected faculty members, administrators and alumni, as well as the records of independent student, alumni and employee organizations. The Archives helps facilitate the efficient management of the institution’s records through its coordination of the University’s records management program. The University Archives serves the institution in a public relations capacity by disseminating information about the development of the institution to interested individuals at the University and beyond and promotes academic research through the provision of reference services and the preparation of finding aids and other specialized research tools.

(Approved by University Archives and Records Management Advisory Committee, January 1996)

Background

The scope of activities and responsibilities assigned to the University Archives have been articulated in policies passed by the Board of Governors on the University Archives and on Records Management.

In addition to serving in a stewardship capacity for the institution’s permanently valuable records, the University Archives also facilitates the effective management of the current corporate records by providing records management services to the University community.