Course:ARST575K/LIBR539H/Squamish History Archives

'Squamish History Archives'
Type	Community Archives
Location	37907 Second Avenue, Squamish, British Columbia,Canada
Parent Institution	Squamish Public Library
Website	https://squamishlibrary.digitalcollections.ca/
Contact	Email: libraryhistory@squamish.ca Phone: 604-892-3110

Squamish History Archives

Introduction

Ha7lh en skwalwn Kwis tl'iknumut tl'a Skwxwuu7mesh Uxwumixw.

The Squamish History Archives is a community archive located at the Squamish Public Library at 37907 Second Avenue in Squamish, British Columbia, Canada, and within the Squamish Nation traditional territory.

As an internal entity of the Squamish Public Library, the Squamish History Archives shares its institutional mission, “To connect our community to the world of learning, discovery and creativity,” and mandate.

The Squamish Public Library provides its services to the residents of Squamish, Britannia Beach, and Furry Creek. It also provides services to non-residents that are interested in its resources.

Archival Holdings

Types of Materials

The Squamish History Archives serves the public as an online resource with a digital collection of hundreds of historical photographs, newspapers (1948-2001), and audio recordings.

The Squamish Public Library also houses the Squamish Digital History - Special Collections archive, which contains featured items relating to important community institutions, the community’s political history, and activities that illustrate and strengthen community culture. They also have an oral history resource page that references library and archival material, titled “Squamish Nation Legends and Stories.” The resource offers "first and second-hand accounts of legends and stories of the Squamish Nation, including the Creation Story of the Squamish People, the meanings of many Squamish place-names, the stories and importance behind traditional foods, and conversations and stories from Squamish Chiefs and other community members."

Accessing the Archives

To access the Squamish History Archives, users can browse or search the online digital collections or visit the Squamish Public Library and ask for help at the Information Desk. High resolution photographs are available on CDs and can be borrowed from the library. Newspapers can be viewed on microfilm and PDF. Audio recordings and transcripts of interviews with Squamish pioneers are also available.

Arrangement and Description of Materials

Available material on the Squamish History Archives Online Digital Collection have five (5) available search options:

• Collection
• Names
• Subjects
• Places
• Formats

Collections appear to be created and arranged based on the creator of the material, often featuring prominent community members such as:

• Bob Armstrong Photograph Collection, community member with ties to the Squamish hop industry and school board.
• Dorothy Farquharson Photograph Collection, daughter of Henry Judd, a Squamish Pioneer.
• Mary Goad Photograph Collection, daughter of Henry Munro, founder of the Squamish Fire Department and Fire Chief, amongst other endeavours.

Descriptions of photographs on the website are extremely limited and appear to use the original titles provided by the creators as indicated by quotation marks. Titles with dated or inaccurate language have not been updated to reflect current standards, ex: “Indians in parade,”and  “Several Squamish Indians included in group.”

Similarly, biographical descriptions of authority records appear to be gendered, with more detailed biographical details available for records relating to males (often heads of families), with more limited accounts on those of their female relatives.

There is one (1) large collection titled the Historical Newspaper Archive, which contains materials collected from the city's several local newspapers (most of which are now non-active):

• the Squamish Review (1948-1949)
• the Squamish Advance (1950-1956)
• the Squamish Times (1957 -1995)
• and the Squamish Chief (1991 - present)

Some of the Squamish History Archive's collections have been arranged on the institution’s website as virtual exhibits:

• Howe Sound Drama Club, a travelling drama group which hosted plays in surrounding communities like Woodfibre.
• Squamish Chamber of Commerce Records, which features Board of Trade files from 1926 to 1994
• Mountaineering Registers, such as the 1945 summit ledger book from Mt. Sedgwick.

Arrangement and description of the archives physical holdings is unknown. Guidelines for acquisitions and donations of materials are also currently unavailable.

Community Outreach

The Squamish History Archives was created in partnership with federal programming such as Young Canada Works and Service Canada as well as Squamish community contributions.

Working With Communities

While the Squamish History Archive and the Squamish Historical Society remain separate entities, the institutions collaborate in community engagement and share some archival holdings.

In past years, efforts have been made to promote archival holdings through various community events, such as:

• The biennial Squamish Culture and Heritage Festivals (2012-2016), which included student projects focusing on local heritage
• The BC Heritage Fair
• Speaker series at the Brackendale Art Gallery
• Movie nights at the Squamish Adventure Centre
• Booths at the annual Brackendale Fall Fair

The Squamish History Archives have several collections from Squamish Nation contributors. The Squamish Nation have been important collaborators in the creation of documentaries on local topics hosted on the Squamish Historical Society website and have taken part in heritage festivals.

In addition to responding to in-person and online requests for archival materials, both the Squamish History Archive and the Squamish Historical Society play an important role in linking the community to its history by providing Squamish’s rapidly expanding community with weekly history photos in the newspaper and being active on social media.

In recent years, there has been an expressed desire for a museum in Squamish, similar to the Squamish Lil Wat Cultural Centre in the neighbouring community of Whistler, BC to showcase the Squamish Nation's unique history.

The Squamish Historical Society

Founded in 2006, the Squamish Historical Society is a separate institution from the Squamish Public Library and History Archives. However, the institutions maintain a relationship through shared materials and community engagement.

The Squamish History Archives has many photos belonging to the Squamish Historical Society within their digital repositories, however, donations made to the Squamish Historical Society remain separate and apart from the Squamish Public Library.

In recent years, the Squamish Historical Society has been collaborating with other local groups of heritage stakeholders to propose a heritage bylaw to the District of Squamish council to enable further development in archival and historical initiatives. As of February 2021, there is still no such bylaw.

Funding

The Squamish Historical Society relies strongly on volunteers, donations, sponsorships and grants as well as collaboration with external heritage entities such as the Squamish Public Library to make their holdings accessible to the public. Major events in its history like the creation of the Squamish Museum (2014-2019) in the railway shed of the West Coast Railway Heritage Park were possible because of community involvement and fundraising.

Due to changes of management and financial pressures, the Squamish Historical Society was forced to relocate its holdings in 2019 into two (2) 10x20 storage rooms funded by Woodfibre LNG.

Funding

The Squamish History Archives is kept active as part of the Squamish Public Library’s budget. Their budget is primarily supplemented through the District of Squamish taxation system, and supplemented by provincial funding, donations and grants from the federal government.

Each annual budget is presented, reviewed and approved by the Library Board, followed by the District of Squamish. If the annual budget submission is rejected by the District, the Library Board makes decisions on what programming may be affected.

COVID-19 Response

In-Person

The Squamish Public Library closed its doors due to the COVID-19 pandemic, making in-house browsing of archival materials impossible. Users were directed to browse online content via the Squamish Public Library website, and the use of contactless book pick-up and drop off was encouraged.

As of August 2020, the library has opened its doors to "express browsing" and slowly expanded their operating hours to accommodate community needs.

Online

Many of their program offerings, such as story-times, transitioned to online, and e-resources gained a boost in popularity.

Conclusion

The Squamish History Archives and its affiliated institutions are making significant efforts to share their valuable resources with their community and invite others to broaden their knowledge of Squamish’s diverse history. The role of the archive within a community is to act as a living memory of the past, to allow older generations to remember the community they once knew, and to share the community’s rich history with future generations. As a rapidly expanding and evolving community with no current heritage legislation in place, there is a clear desire from residents, both old and new, to reconnect with the community’s heritage.

Nurturing relationships between community members and the institution allows the community “to make collective decisions about what is of enduring value to them, shape collective memory of their own pasts, and control the means through which stories about their past are constructed.” By encouraging direct input from the community into the archives' management and practices allows its members to actively see themselves reflected within the archive’s holdings and, therefore, within the history of Squamish. The Squamish History Archives unique position as a community archive has the potential allow the institution to continue to grow and develop with the community it serves.