Archival Collections

The University Archives holds extensive primary source material to support research and teaching at Dalhousie and beyond. We acquire three major categories of records:

University records

The official records of Dalhousie University, including those created by the Board of Governors and Senate, university committees, faculties, departments, and administrative offices.

These records form the corporate memory of Dalhousie University and are valuable in understanding the university's essential activities, legal obligations, and responsibilities. They also document how the university has developed and grown over time.

The University Archives selects and preserves university records in accordance with the Records Management Policy and related protocols, procedures, and guidelines.

Campus community records

Records not created by the university, but that document the wider university community.

Such records include those donated to us by campus community organizations that are closely affiliated with Dalhousie but are separately organized bodies. Examples include the Dalhousie Faculty Association, the Dalhousie Women's Centre, CKDU Radio, and the Dalhousie Student Union.

We also acquire, through donation, the private papers of individual faculty and alumni. The acquisition of records created by campus community organizations and individuals enriches our understanding of the broader university community, supplementing Dalhousie’s corporate historical record.

Private records

Records that support research interests at the university in a wide variety of academic fields, including science, engineering, agriculture, architecture and planning, history, philosophy, visual and performing arts, English literature, gender, sexuality and women's studies, geography, sociology and anthropology, and communications.

These records are donated to us by organizations, private individuals, and families and include the archives of writers, artists, architects, politicians, activists, and private citizens as well as collectives, non-profit societies, professional associations, labour unions, and other organizations.

See our Donor Guidelines for more information about donating archival material to Dalhousie University.