Alberta's Estonian Collection at the Provincial Archives of Alberta

The Provincial Archives of Alberta (PAA) now has a substantial collection of materials relating to Alberta's Estonian community. Items about Alberta's Estonians previously stored at the National Library and Archives of Canada Canada and at the Tartu Institute and Estonian Historical Commission Archives in Toronto have been transferred to the PAA, located at 8555 Roper Road in Edmonton, Alberta. Also, the materials collected by the Alberta Estonian Heritage Society have been donated to the PAA. Items in the collection include historical records, accounts of Estonian pioneer families, maps and rare books.

The PAA's mission is "to acquire, preserve and make available records of enduring value that represent the history and culture of our province." The PAA makes these records available to the public once the archives staff have appraised, processed and described them. The records are housed in acid-free enclosures and preserved in climate-controlled and secure vaults. File lists make it relatively easy for researchers to access the records, either on site or through the PAA website.

Everyone is welcome to visit the PAA, and tours for larger groups can be arranged. As well, individuals who wish to donate family, personal, business records are encouraged to discuss the possibilities with the PAA. (Contact Tom Anderson, Team Lead, Private Records, 780-415-0700, tom.anderson@gov.ab.ca.) The PAA accepts papers, letters, photographs, home movies, audio tapes, maps and plans.

Part of collection is now available on site (at the Provincial Archives of Alberta) and online, http://hermis.alberta.ca/paa/. Cataloguing of all materials is expected to be completed by the middle of 2012.