Description of a Government of Ontario Record Series
Archival records created by the government of Ontario are organized into groups called series. A series is a group of records that:
- result from a particular function or activity
- share a particular format
- were kept together as a unit by a government office for some other reason
For more information see How Government of Ontario Records are Organized.
What information is contained in a description of a government record series?
A description of a government record series is divided into three sections:
About these Records
This section of the description answers such questions as:
- What is this material?
- What activity of government led to the creation of this material?
- How much material is in this series and what is the format of this material?
- When was this material created?
- Are there any restrictions on access?
Agency or Agencies that Created these Records
This section of a description for a government record series lists, and provides links to, descriptions of the parts of the government of Ontario that were responsible for creating or accumulating the series over time.
The example above can be read as: from 1955 to 1957, this record series was created by the Division of Sanitary Engineering which formed part of the Department of Health. From 1957 to 1966 it was created by the Environmental Sanitation Branch, which also was part of the Department of Health, and so on.
Follow these links for more information about a particular part of government. This information can help you better understand why a record series was created and help you to find other records that may be related to your search.
How to View these Records
This section of a description provides information about how you can order these records so that you can view them in one of our reading rooms. It may:
- direct you to view an online list of the series so that you can order the particular files or items that you require to one of our reading rooms
- provide you with a link to sub-series descriptions if the series has been organized into sub-series
- direct you to contact a reference archivist for more information about how to access these records
- let you know if these records have been microfilmed and are available for borrowing through the Archives’ Microfilm Interloan Service.
For more information see Requesting and Viewing Archival Records.