Archeion is Ontario's Archival Information Network, an online research tool providing access to descriptions of archival records held by members of the Archives Association of Ontario (AAO). The records themselves are preserved and made accessible via the individual archives. Archeion is a member-supported service provided by the AAO.
The AAO represents archives and archivists who are committed to promoting the preservation and use of the documentary heritage of Ontario. It provides educational and outreach programs for archivists across the province and promotes professional standards, procedures and practices in archival repositories.
Archival institutions which are members of the AAO are eligible to have descriptions of their archives included in Archeion.
IMPORTANT SEARCH TIPS
There are three major ways to search Archeion:
- BROWSE
One can browse the different categories in Archeion by using the Browse button at the top left of each page (next to the Archeion logo). The browse categories include:- Archival Descriptions-These are text descriptions of archival materials put into Archeion by AAO Institutional Members who hold these materials.
- People and Organizations-These are creators and very important people, organizations, government departments, entities, etc. that are associated with the archival materials
- Archival Institutions-These are the AAO Institutional Members that hold archival material, and their profiles provide information about them, including contact information.
- Subjects-These are terms associated with archival descriptions in Archeion.
- Places-These are place names associated with archival descriptions in Archeion
- Digital Objects-These are digital objects put into Archeion by AAO Institutional Members, and the most common ones are scans of photographs or letters, videos, etc.
- SEARCH
There is a search box at the top of every page, located next to the Browse button and Archeion logo. Archeion's search mechanism works VERY differently from search engines, such as Google or Bing, in three major ways:- When one enters a term or phrase, it must be spelled correctly to get a result. For example, typing in 'Pierre Burton' will not find the correct spelling of the name, which is 'Pierre Berton'. Please go to a search engine first to determine the correct spelling of the term or phrase to be searched, and then put it into the search box for best results.
- If the correct spelling of the item is known, use quotes around the term or phrase. This will produce the most focused search results. For example, "Pierre Berton" will limit search results to just that term.
- When typing in a term or phrase, don't press enter! This will not give you the best matches for that term or phrase. Instead type in the term or phrase and wait one second for a drop down menu to appear under the search box. These search results will come up in categories when a term or phrase appears in them. The categories may include archival descriptions (paper icon in blue), archival institutions (building with columns icon in blue), people and organizations (head of person icon in blue), places (a map pin icon in blue), etc. For example if "Pierre Berton" is typed in, the category results one should see the Descriptions icon and listings and the People & Organizations icon and listings, but likely no other category listings.
- ADVANCED SEARCH OPTIONS
There is an Advanced Search Options area located at the top on the Archival Descriptions page. Click on it, if it isn't open already, and there are many fields that can help to narrow the search for a particular term or phrase.