To celebrate its 25th anniversary in 2018, the Archives Association of Ontario published an organizational history book entitled In Pursuit of the Archival Endeavour: The Story of the Archives Association of Ontario. It is written by John Smart, Brian P.N. Beaven, Anne Hepplewhite, Ellen Millar, and Marissa Paron, and edited by Paul J. Henry, Brian P.N. Beaven, and Karen Teeple.
Tracing the history of the Archives Association of Ontario (AAO) from its origins in the 1970s as the Toronto Area Archivists Group and the Eastern Ontario Archivists Association, In Pursuit of the Archival Endeavour documents the evolution of archival associations in Ontario. By the time of the merger in 1993 of the Ontario Association of Archivists and the Ontario Council of Archives, the AAO had become the voice of archivists and archives in the province. Over the course of its first 25 years, the AAO has faced crises both financial and political while addressing the needs of the profession and its institutions. In a testament to the strength of the AAO’s grassroots origins, the roster of archivists who have served as board members, as staff, and as committee volunteers reads like a who’s who of today’s archival landscape. And on the occasion of its 25th anniversary, the Association looks forward to the next stage in its evolution.