ANNUAL CONFERENCE OF THE ASSOCIATION OF CANADIAN ARCHIVISTS

MEASURE FOR MEASURE, OR WHY TAKE THAT SURVEY IN YOUR INBOX

STATISTICAL PORTRAIT OF QUEBEC’S ARCHIVAL CENTERS AND SERVICES

Natasha ZWARICH, Université du Québec à Montréal Dominique MAUREL, Université de Montréal Theresa ROWAT, Archives des Jésuites au Canada Pascal LEMELIN, Consultant, statistical expert Diane BAILLARGEON, Université de Montréal François DAVID, Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec

OT TAWA , J UN E 9T H , 2017

Presentation plan Statistical portrait project Origins Objectives

Phases of the project Preliminary survey (2015-2016) Complete statistical survey (2016-2017)

Preliminary results

Dissemination of the results and conclusion

Origins of the statistical portrait project 2006-2010: Publication of an Inventory of heritage, museums and archives by the

Observatoire de la culture et des communications du Québec (OCCQ) 2008: Statistical portrait of heritage institutions, museums, and archives

August 2012: Consultation conducted by Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec (BAnQ) with the Association des archivistes du Québec (AAQ) and the Réseau des services d’archives du Québec (RAQ) on the relevance and feasibility of relaunching a statistical survey

April 2013: Working group set up, a joint initiative of BAnQ, AAQ and RAQ

September 2013: Meetings with representatives of the archival community to confirm their interest of a statistical survey and to identify the types of data to be collected

Objectives of the statistical portrait project Provide the archival community with quantitative and regularly updated data

enabling them to: Have a history of the management of archival centers and services in Quebec Compare to similar archival centers and services in terms of industry and size Identify strengths and weaknesses Build arguments for new resources Create new programs and services

In the long term, a recurring survey will make it possible to: Re-establish a tradition of recurrent statistical inquiry for the archival community Raise the awareness of archival centers and services of the importance of keeping

statistics Serve research on the management of archival centers and services

Phases of the project 1. Preliminary survey (2015-2016)

Grant received under the LAC Documentary Heritage Communities Program (DHCP) Objectives: Confirm the needs of the archival community (types of data to be collected and for

what purposes) and prepare a preliminary survey Tasks performed:

1. Determine the topics to be addressed and the types of data to be collected 2. Draft an operational definition of "archival centers and services" 3. Identify the target population (list of archival centers and services) and start listing them 4. Draft the preliminary survey questionnaire (235 questions) 5. Administer the questionnaire to a sample of archives centers and services (12 respondents) 6. Analyze the results to improve the quality of the questionnaire and the relevance of the

questions according to the answers received

Phases of the project 2. Complete statistical survey (2016-2017)

Grant received under the LAC Documentary Heritage Communities Program (DHCP) Objective: Conduct the statistical survey in order to obtain quantitative descriptive data on the

management, resources and programs of Quebec’s archival centers and services Tasks performed:

1. Holding of two focus groups (Montreal and Quebec City) with the preliminary survey respondents

2. Completion of the target population (list of archival centers and archives) 3304 potential respondents representing 2794 organizations

3. Changes to the questionnaire 154 questions (130 questions for archival centers and services + 24 questions for

professional associations) Revision of topics and sub-topics to cover

Phases of the project 2. Complete statistical survey (2016-2017)

Phases of the project 2. Complete statistical survey (2016-2017)

Phases of the project 2. Complete statistical survey (2016-2017)

4. Writing a Respondent's Guide Addressing each topic: description of topics and sub-topics, information needed to

complete the questionnaire, definitions, clarifications on questions and answers to be provided

5. Administration of questionnaire Questionnaire administered online February 16th to March 17th, 2017

6. Results analysis

Preliminary results Human Resources – Provincial government agencies

The number of employees in full-time equivalent (FTE) equals the sum of hours worked by employees of the archival center or service during the reported period, divided by the average number of hours worked during the same period for full-time employees. Full-time employment refers to a person who usually works 30 or more hours per week.

Preliminary results Human Resources – Municipal administration

Preliminary results Human Resources – Religious congregations

Preliminary results Financial Resources – University

Preliminary results Dissemination and promotion

Preliminary results Dissemination and promotion – Social networks

Preliminary results Records management – Tools

Preliminary results Records management – Electronic records management systems

Preliminary results Records management – Processing – Elimination

Preliminary results Records management – Processing – Transfer to inactive

Preliminary results Historical Archives – Processing – Textual records

Preliminary results Historical Archives – Processing – Digital records

Preliminary results Historical Archives – Crowdsourcing

Dissemination of the results Publication of a research report containing the results of the statistical portrait in

fall 2017 (initially in French) To follow our activities:

https://portraitstatistiquearchivesquebec.wordpress.com/ https://archivisteraq.com/enquete/

Special thank you The Réseau des services d’archives du Québec and its partners:

Library and Archives Canada for its financial support under the Documentary Heritage Communities Program (DHCP)

The Association des archivistes du Québec who supported and promoted this project among its members and appointed one of its members to the working group

Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec who believed in this project, gave it logistical support and participated in the working group

The archival centers and services who responded to the survey and provided the working group with valuable comments

Project team Working group: Theresa Rowat, Archives des Jésuites au Canada – RAQ representative Natasha Zwarich, Département d’histoire, Université du Québec à Montréal – AAQ representative François David, Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec Diane Baillargeon, Division de la gestion de documents et des archives, Université de Montréal – representative of the archival community Dominique Maurel, École de bibliothéconomie et des sciences de l’information, Université de

Montréal

Consultant: Pascal Lemelin, statistical expert