The Archives Document Delivery Service is a new pilot initiative designed to increase access to the University Archives' archival collections. The new service will allow Dalhousie students, faculty, and staff to request free digital copies of files and items found in the Archives Catalogue.
Consortia members and external researchers should continue to refer to the reproduction services and fee schedule document on the Archives website.
Digitization requests can be submitted online using a new "Archives Request" form available when you log into the Document Delivery Request Form:
Users should consult the Archives Catalogue to find files and items of interest.
When a request is received, Archives staff will work with Document Delivery staff to:
The service is very similar to the electronic delivery of journal articles requested through Document Delivery. But it is limited to archival material held by the Dalhousie Libraries. Please note that the actual archival materials will not circulate. The service will provide digital copies.
The request form is customized to "match" the descriptive fields in the Archives Catalogue and Online Collections. Some elements are required to submit the request, but we encourage users to fill out as many fields as possible. This will help us to understand the nature of each request.
Form Element | Description |
Fonds or Collection Title | Almost every archival file or item belongs to a fonds or collection |
Title Proper | Every archival file or item in the Archives Catalogue has a title |
Reference Code | Every archival file or item has a unique "reference code," which is just like the call numbers used to locate books in the library stacks |
Delivery Method | Should be automatically set to "Email" |
Messaging Method | Should be automatically set to "Email" |
Delivery Address | Should be automatically filled out with your email address |
Messaging Address | Should be automatically filled out with your email address |
Fair Dealing checkbox |
Check the checkbox for the Fair dealing notice |
Element | Description |
Name of creator | Can be found in the "Archival Description Area" |
Series title | Large fonds and collections have "series" of files and items |
Physical description | Can usually be found in the "Physical Description Area" |
Date of creation | Can usually be found in the "Dates of Creation Area" |
Citation source | You can copy and paste the URL for the file or item you are requesting |
Further notes about request | Add any additional information you think will help us understand the nature of your request. |
Need by date | This information will help us communicate with you about time-sensitive requests. We cannot fulfill archives requests as fast as scanned journal articles, so your "need by date" helps us determine if it will be feasible to complete the request. See the section on "How Long Does it Take to Receive a Request?" for more information. |
Staff in the University Archives can provide assistance searching the Archives Catalogue and completing the "Archives Request" form.
You can visit the Archives and Special Collections Reading Room on the 5th Floor of the Killam Memorial Library between 11:00 and 5:00, Monday-Friday.
You can also call the Reading Room at 902-494-3615 or email us at duasc@dal.ca.
We have detailed instructions on searching and browsing the Archives Catalogue. The Guide to Archival Research has more information.
Eligible Materials
Ineligible Materials
There are a number of reasons why Libraries staff might have to cancel your digitization request:
In some cases, Libraries staff may contact you to discuss the possibility of scanning a portion of the material or to clarify the nature of your request.
The Archives Document Delivery Service will use the existing document delivery time guidelines to measure the Libraries' ability to fulfill free archives digitization requests in a timely manner. Members of the Dalhousie community may be accustomed to receiving scanned journal articles within a day or two even though delivery can take 2-3 weeks. The digitization process we will be testing is more complicated and time consuming and we anticipate requests taking 1-2 weeks.
If you have a deadline for your material please either use the “Not Useful After” calendar available on the web request form or add a note in the Notes field. You can also email the staff at docdel@dal.ca and they can check where the item is coming from and give you an estimated time of arrival.
Urgent surcharge and same day service are not available.
Yes, please! This is a pilot initiative to assess the Libraries' capacity to digitize archival material as a free service for Dalhousie students, faculty, and staff. Digitizing archival material can be time-consuming and complex, so we anticipate a few bumps as we launch this new service. Please provide feedback on your experience using this service by emailing duasc@dal.ca.