How to Order Original Records and Library Materials to the Reading Room

All original records, such as paper files, bound volumes as well as library materials must be ordered and consulted in the Reading Room of the Archives of Ontario.

Please Note:

The stack areas of the Archives are not open to the public. Records are retrieved by archival staff for consultation in the Reading Room. Under no circumstances are records to be removed from the Reading Room.

A large percentage of our holdings are stored off-site in government records centres. To order these records you will need assistance from a reference archivist. Records stored off-site require up to five business days to retrieve.

Requests slips are available on all consultation tables, the card catalogue and the finding aid cabinets in the Reading Room.

Leave your completed request slips in the "Leave Requests Here" tray located at the Circulation Desk.

Retrievals are made on the half-hour beginning at 9:30 a.m. with the last retrieval at 3:30 p.m. Records will be placed on the counter at the Circulation Desk or on a cart near the desk for you to pick up, usually no later than twenty minutes past the hour. Although there is no limit to the number of items you can order, only six will be brought to you at one time. All archival material must be returned to the Circulation and Retrieval Desk by 4:30pm.

Many archival records are restricted due to donor restrictions or legislative restrictions such as the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act. This may cause a delay in retrieval time. Please see Customer Service Guide 109 Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy for a general description of this Act.

Filling Out a Records and Papers Request Slip

Once you have identified the records that you require you must fill out a Records and Papers Request Slip for each container, file or library item.

Your Records and Papers Request Slip must include:

Your Name
Registration Number
Appropriate reference code
A brief description of the material
Locker number, if applicable

Ordering Archival Material:

Our government and private inventories have been created over the last thirty years and do not necessarily include standardized reference codes for each unit of material. Where possible a reference code should include:

The 'F' , 'RG', or 'C' number (found on the spine or cover of an inventory).
The series number where applicable. Records within an inventory are usually broken down into smaller units known as series and sub-series.
The unit number and/or container number. For many older private records, please cite the 'MU' number.

In newer inventories, look for the "How to Order Records" section of a series description for the appropriate reference code.

Ordering Library Materials:

Fill out a request slip for each library item requested. In the reference code area, please put the appropriate call number. These are found on the top left hand corner of the card in the card catalogue. For library materials catalogued since 1990, the call number will be found with the entry for the item found in the Browser Binders located on the top of the card catalogue.

Click on the thumbnail images below for examples of completed request slips: