COQUITLAM, B.C., Sept. 15, 2022 – Coquitlam’s City Archives is carefully preserving the stories of the people who have lived and worked in the community over time. The Archives latest online exhibit, Community Records, available for viewing at www.coquitlam.ca/communityrecords, highlights recent donations to the City Archives.
Records from Coquitlam families, individuals, organizations and businesses are collected, catalogued and stored with the same attention to detail as civic bylaws, meeting minutes and other government documents. Photographs, letters, maps and other records donated to the City Archives help paint a complete picture of Coquitlam’s history and its people.
An Inclusive Approach
Community records began to find a home in Canada’s civic archives in the 1980s, when the country’s archival community adopted the Total Archives approach in order to document all aspects of society.
This inclusive approach is unique to Canada and ensures archives not only include the decisions and activities of governments and officials, but also reflect the lives, perspectives and contributions of working class people, members of marginalized populations and other individuals and groups who didn’t traditionally hold positions of power.
Donations to the City Archives over the last year shed light on:
- What it was like growing up in Coquitlam in the 1980s through the eyes of archivist, writer, editor and musician Shyla Seller;
- The life and activities of long-time Coquitlam resident, firefighter and Fire Prevention Inspector Tim Kernighan from the 1970s to 1990s; and
- Family life in the French Canadian community in Maillardville in the 1970s based on the experiences of the Champagne family.
Help Build the Archives
The City of Coquitlam Archives welcomes donations from residents, organizations and businesses of paper records, photographs, maps, plans and other documents. Donations may range from several boxes to a few papers or photographs.
For information or to make a donation, contact archives@coquitlam.ca or 604-924-3900. The Archives’ existing collections can be found on its Quest search portal, accessible through www.coquitlam.ca/cityarchives.
Explore Online Exhibits
The City of Coquitlam Archives online exhibit webpage at www.coquitlam.ca/onlineexhibit features 19 online exhibits on a variety of topics. Archives staff produce a new exhibit each quarter, mining the Archives for insightful and sometimes quirky stories about Coquitlam’s past. Some exhibits also share information about new acquisitions and highlight upcoming events.
Each online exhibit marries engaging text with scans of documents, maps and photos to bring the subjects to life. Online visitors can time learning about the local business that was Canada’s first plywood producer, Coquitlam’s First World War soldiers, early scrapbooking efforts, Colony Farm’s Holstein herd, the Westwood racing circuit, psychiatric nursing at Essondale, the 1981 B.C. Summer Games and more.
About the City of Coquitlam Archives
The City of Coquitlam Archives serves a dual purpose: to preserve and to make accessible. Since the inception of the archives program, the Archives has been raising its profile to encourage people to use its services and discover the trove of records in the collection. Other outreach includes #TBT posts on the City’s social media platforms and a small collection of historic photos at www.historypin.org.
For more information about the City of Coquitlam Archives and to view its collection of online exhibits on various topics, visit www.coquitlam.ca/cityarchives.
Media contact:
Jamie Sanford
City Archivist
604-927-3900
jsanford@coquitlam.ca