Marcia Mordfield

The Ottawa Jewish Archives
1780 Kerr Avenue, Ottawa, Ontario, K2A 1R9, Canada
e-mail:archives@jccottawa.com

The Ottawa Jewish Archives

The Ottawa Jewish Archives collects, preserves, and makes available for public use photographs, documents and other archival material depicting the history and development of the Jewish community of Ottawa.
The archives' origins began gradually. Initially, without proper storage space, it was an imperative to not only collect appropriate Ottawa material but to find a suitable space for both storage and consultation. As an interim measure, several boxes of documents were deposited with the National Archives of Canada in 1972. Only recently, these documents have been returned to the Ottawa Jewish Archives and their excellent, environmentally controlled vault.

From a very small space, important documents were saved, early photographs copied and oral histories recorded on tape. From 1984 onwards when the archives received enlarged space on Chapel Street, the archives began full operation and later a storage vault was built. The strengths of the collections are its photographs and records of Jewish organizations and synagogues with the majority of records following between 1910 and 1985. Another strength came from the work and dedication of the first archivist, Shirley Berman who arrived in 1972, and organized collections, implemented important polices, and focused on preservation issues. She continued actively until her retirement in the fall of 1998.

With the interest and participation of the Ottawa Jewish community and the Ontario Association of Archivists through special funding, the archives has been able to expand, publicize its activities, and gradually organize the holdings according to archival standards.

Only last autumn, the Ottawa Jewish Archives moved to its current location in the west end of Ottawa. Archival facilities are modern with convenient shelving in a new vault. The archives is supported by both the Ottawa Jewish Historical Society and the Jewish Community Council of Ottawa.

Our archival holdings include 400 feet of arranged collections with finding aids, marriage registers, l898 - l950, 2500 photographs and 1000 negatives, biographical files, posters and architectural plans, cassettes and video tapes, Ottawa Jewish Bulletin, l937 - l999, and some artifacts.

We receive various degrees of requests for service, including as far away as California. Requests are varied, individuals needing information for a University essay or journalists putting together a historical pictorial are examples.

The growth of the archives is achieved through the support of the Ottawa Jewish community. Gifts and endowments to the Ottawa Jewish Historical Society and the Jewish Community Foundation are tax deductible. Currently the archives has ear marked the areas of business and women and their activities as particular areas for collecting.