Abstract
This report is a summary of the project to process the Sports Archives for the University of Windsor. The Archives contains largely the records of several Canadian intercollegiate sports organizations, as well as those of provincial and local level high-school sports from 1906 to the 1980s. The records of the Faculty of Human Kinetics are also included. The practical process consisted of archival appraisal, arrangement and description. Records were sorted, evaluated, retained or disposed of. Those kept were properly stored in labelled folders and boxes. Twelve descriptive guides were prepared. The establishment of the Sports Archives is indicative of the expansion of archival science and heritage industry. The records held in the archives will serve as valuable first-hand primary resources for the writing of histories of Canadian sports and physical education. They may also provide information for research in Canadian social and cultural history as well as for the examination of international sports exchanges between Canada and the United States. The diversity of the contents and the forms is the major feature of the records whjch were collected and donated by various sports organizations and individuals. The challenge was further increased by the incompleteness and the lack of order in some collections. To deal with the problems, considerable effort was made to analyze the records, collect background information, and explore the approaches that might best suit the requirements of the Archives. This report is based on the practical process described above. It discusses the related archival principles and techniques applied in the processing work and includes possible solutions to the problems encountered. The emphasis of the discussion is on the understanding of these principles and the adjusted application of them in accordance with the features of the records. The discussion consists of three parts with an introduction which presents a sketch of the project, the features of the records, the emphasis of the principle of provenance and the analysis of interconnectivity. These aspects are further developed in the successive chapters of appraisal, arrangement and description. The appraisal part focuses on the evaluation and retention of the records, which also serves as a provenance and the basis, together with the principle analysis of interconnectivity, for of the arrangement of organizing the Archives into meaningful record groups. The last part embodies all the previous considerations in written form and provides intellectual control to both the archival reference staff and archival patrons.
Primary Advisor
Kenneth Pryke
Co-Advisor
Jacqueline Murray
Program Reader
Jerry Malone
Additional committee member(s)
Richard Moriarty
Degree Name
Master of Arts
Department
History
Document Type
Major Research Paper
Convocation Year
1991