Subseries 1 - Archives Committee

The City of Edmonton Archives Committee was created by a resolution of City Council, September 26, 1938. The resolution stated: “That a Committee be set up to have charge of the Archives of the City, consisting of the senior of the Commissioners and two other citizens to be selected by council, same to be a permanent committee on Archives.” It can be construed to be limited to the archival records of the city, but the committee appears to have immediately expanded the mandate to acquire documentation and artifacts about the history of Edmonton (minutes, December 1, 1938).

The committee members, appointed by resolution of City Council, October 24, 1938, consisted originally of Albert Edward Ottewell, Registrar, University of Alberta, as Chairman; John Blue, Secretary, Edmonton Chamber of Commerce (formerly Alberta Provincial Librarian); and R.J. Gibb; City Commissioner; with Alfred Russell, City Clerk serving as Secretary and, initially, Custodian. The membership was expanded by resolution of Council, October 10, 1939, to include Hugh C. Gourlay, City Librarian, who also became City Archivist (minutes, September 11, 1940, p. 1).

The Committee appears to have become moribund sometime after the September 11, 1940 meeting. The only other records of activity relate to actions of Hugh Gourlay to identify space in the City Library for archival storage (December 1944). The committee continued to be listed in official City organization documents until 1944, but disappears from the 1945 lists.