Stats

Public open hours: The Archives were open for enquiries and on-site research appointments 17.5 hours/week except the Good Friday holiday and during my holidays in the last week of July and first week of August.

Enquiries: 53, of which 17 in person (16 of those at summer night markets), 4 substantive research visits. Running total for 2025: 94

Photo views on Flickr: (50K+ in June-July-August, total 469, 359 on 25 August, since 3 Mar 2022). There are now more than 8000 publicly viewable images on the Oak Bay Archives account: view here

Facebook: We have a Facebook page! Come give us a like and a follow at https://www.facebook.com/OakBayArchives . More to come over there.

Volunteer hours: May 38, June 36, July 42, Aug 48 .Total: 164 (6 volunteers)

Volunteer projects:

• municipal demolished-property files indexing (ongoing)
• historic building permits indexing (ongoing – currently at 1961)
• file listing in a large collection of personal papers - complete
• 90 min oral history transcript – complete & copy provided to speaker’s family
• Digitization of municipal newsletters full of local history nuggets (1970s) – imaging complete; tagging, linking & mapping ongoing: https://www.flickr.com/photos/oakbayarchives/albums/72177720326333005 . This file has already been shared with Parks & Rec staff preparing for 50^th anniversary displays, and with researchers for former Mayor Brian Smith’s September talk for the Heritage Foundation.
• Survey and file level description of large photographic slide collection - ongoing
• Processing and digitizing a selection of a large accession of Parks & Rec dept historic photos for 50^th anniv exhib – ongoing
• Labelling, digitizing, and describing photographic elements of a personal papers collection

Summer outing – 5 of the 6 volunteers and I gathered for coffee and cake at the Windsor Café on 22 August. Most of them don’t coincide regularly at the Archives and it was good to have an informal social time all together. The shaded rear garden was perfect on a hot day – 10/10, we recommend!

Archivist's work, in addition to input on several of the above:

• PR 114 (2013) Haynes family photos progress:
  • Numbering of physical albums and photos complete.
  • All 479 photos scanned & online (previously 68) with OBA watermarks and captions.
  • All captions transferred from oakbay.ca to Flickr with images; all captions on backs of photos newly transcribed and online. Further descriptions , tagging and mapping underway.
  • Biographical sketch and fonds summary description underway
• Moved all printed city directories to the main reading room shelves, moved 150+ duplicate printed books to shelves in the office.
• Staffed Avenue summer markets – District stand 4-8pm June 11, July 9, Aug 13 (Sept 10 to come), 3-8.30pm. My other job is accommodating about my leaving early on those Wednesdays in order to be here by 3 to set up. Many thanks to Drew Carter, OBEP volunteers, and OB Firefighters for help with setup and takedown!
• Ongoing additions to Oak Bay property reference files – 1500+ since June 2024
• internal and external enquiries research and responses, facilitating researcher visits, volunteer management
• Leaflets outreach: maintaining archives leaflets in Oak Bay library foyer; reformatting leaflet to conform to new District templates

Outreach: We are looking forward to the 4^th and last Oak Bay Avenue night market for the year in early September - come find us opposite the flower shop, 4-8pm on Wednesday the 10th. Preparations are underway for an info table at the Parks & Rec 50^th exhibition in late October, and similar info tables in the library foyer in November and February, in collaboration with the Oak Bay librarians, for BC Archives Awareness Week and BC Heritage Week.

The night markets have gone well again this year – layout is much improved over last year and the repositioned photo banners are very effective at drawing people in and getting them talking. They were made in 2014 and are standing the test of time! There is also a map showing where in the Oak Bay Village "core" several of the buildings pictured still stand, and a complete list of sources for the photos on the banners.

Another community engagement opportunity provides a project for the autumn: we have been invited to participate in the Bay St Armoury’s public Heritage Open House on 5 December. The focus is municipal history in the years of WW1, aimed primarily at high school students – the ground was well prepared by a number of volunteer projects during the centennial commemorations 2014-2018, and there is new material to add. Oak Bay Archives last took part in a similar Open House in April 2017: https://wfapacificcoast.org/vimy100/

My feature interview in the Oak Bay Neighbours magazine in August (many thanks to editor Audrey Wang and photographer Kevin Light) has prompted a number of enquiries and offers of donations! Reproduced here with permission.

- Anna Sander, 29 August 2025