Private manuscript collections donated to the Archives become the property of Dalhousie University and the Archives is responsible for maintaining and processing the material and making these materials available to researchers. Certain confidential or sensitive material may be temporarily closed at the donor's request. For further information on the donation process, issues of copyright and access, and monetary appraisals/tax receipts for gifts-in-kind, please contact the University Archivist directly.

University Records
Many of the University's administrative records have been transferred to the Archives. These include the Board of Governors, President's Office, Registrar, Business Office, Senate, Faculty of Arts and Science, Graduate Studies, Health Professions, Law, Medicine, Maritime School of Social Work, Institute of Public Affairs/Henson College, and others. With the merger of the Technical University of Nova Scotia with Dalhousie, the University has acquired many of the official TUNS records as well.

The Archives is also responsible for maintaining a collection of University publications, reports, and printed material. These include copies of the Dalhousie Gazette, the Dal News, and Pharos, the student yearbooks.

For a complete listing of the collections in this section of the Archives click here.

Top

Private Manuscripts
This section contains a large collection of manuscripts with a special emphasis on papers of former Dalhousie faculty and students, as well as significant collections of papers of creative writers of Nova Scotia. In addition, the Archives has a small but important collection of papers of master mariners.

Included in the Manuscript Collection are the papers of Archibald MacMechan, Carleton Stanley, Elisabeth Mann Borgese, Kenneth Leslie, Robert M. Dawson, Charles Bruce, Thomas Raddall, Andrew Merkel, H.L. Stewart, Donald C. MacKay, Will R. Bird, Frank Parker Day, James DeMille, W.R. Mackenzie, Guy Henson, Alan Bevan, Harry Bruce, John Godfrey, George Nicholls, Robert MacKay, Budge Wilson, and Lesley Choyce.

For a complete listing of the collections in this section of the Archives click here.

Top

Visual and Dramatic Arts Archives
The Theatre Archive was initially founded with a formal agreement between Neptune Theatre and Dalhousie University making the University Archives the official repository of their archival holdings, which are deposited at regular intervals throughout the year. A similar agreement was reached in 1981 with the Theatre Arts Guild. In addition, the Archives holds the records of a number of other professional and amateur theatre companies and of individuals who work in that profession. These include the Dominion Drama Festival, Pier One, the Nova Scotia Drama League, the Gargoyle Puppet Theatre, Robert Doyle, and David Renton.

The 2004 donation of Eye Level Gallery's administrative records, including artist files and gallery publications, and the 2005 donation of IMX Communications' administrative records and extensive production archive, prompted the renaming of the Theatre Archives to the more encompassing "Visual and Dramatic Arts Archives."

For a complete listing of the collections in this section of the Archives click here.

Top

Business Archives
The Business Archives was established in 1970 and now holds the records of more than 240 companies ranging in extent from a few papers to several hundred feet of material.

Among the major acquisitions included in this section of the Archives are:
Halifax - William Stairs, Son and Morrow, A.M. Smith & Co., Roy O'Brien, Thompson and Sutherland, W. & C.H. Mitchell, Wm.Robertson & Son, Pickford and Black, Maritime Tel. & Tel., Kelly's Ltd., J.E. Morse Co., Clark Photographic, and Oland & Son.
Lunenburg - Adams & Knickle, A. Dauphinee & Son, Zwicker & Co., and the Lunenburg Outfitting Co.
Yarmouth - Parker Eakins, Yarmouth Royal Store, and the Grand Hotel

Other major collections include: G.D. Campbell & Co. of Weymouth; Scott Paper Co. of Sheet Harbour; Frieze and Roy of Maitland; the Dickie Family of Stewiake; Fraser, Mason, &Fraser and Standard Clay Products of New Glasgow; Windsor Furniture Co. of Windsor; The Dominion Chair Co. of Bass River; Wagstaff & Hatfield of Port Greville; Fraser Supplies of Berwick; Robb Engineering of Amherst; Hawker Siddeley (Trenton Works Division) of Trenton; Acadia Gas Engines of Bridgewater; George Chase of Port Williams; and Himmelman Supply Co. of Lahave

For a complete listing of the collections in this section of the Archives click here.

Top

Nova Scotia Labour Archives
In the fall of 1976, Dalhousie University Library, in conjunction with the Nova Scotia Federation of Labour (NSFL), inaugurated a Nova Scotia Labour Archives devoted to the collection of local union papers and other related material. Since that time the Archives and the NSFL have encouraged labour unions throughout the province to deposit their records at Dalhousie. Material pertaining to numerous individuals active in the labour movement has also been acquired.

Just some of the unions in our collection in addition to the NSFL are the Halifax-Dartmouth & District Labour Council, The N.S. Labour Relations Board, The Marine Workers' Federation, the Halifax Labour Temple Association, the Provincial Workmens' Association, and the Nova Scotia Government Employees Association.

For a complete listing of the group and individual collections in this section of the Archives click here.

Top

Medical Archives
In addition to the records of the Faculty of Medicine, the Archives has a small but important collection of papers of medical doctors and former deans and staff of the medical school. These include the papers of Dr. Robert O. Jones, who was for many years a member and later head of the Department of Psychiatry; and the papers of Dr. Chester Stewart.

For a complete listing of the collections in this section of the Archives click here.

Top

Music Archives
A small collection of music manuscripts and papers of musicians and musical groups can be found in this collection, including the papers of J.D.Logan, Ellen Ballon, The Nova Scotia Opera Association, and The Atlantic Symphony Orchestra.

For a complete listing of the collections in this section of the Archives click here.

Top

Top