Special Collections & Archives
Since its founding in 1976, Special Collections & Archives (SCA) has preserved and shared unique collections, supported research and teaching, and advanced archival practice in Canada. From its roots in women’s studies to its leadership in equity, reconciliation and digital stewardship, SCA has continually evolved to meet the needs of students, faculty and researchers.
As we mark this milestone, we celebrate SCA’s lasting impact and look ahead to its future. I invite you to explore this site and discover the people, collections and stories that have shaped SCA over the past 50 years.
Beth Namachchivaya
University Librarian
Archival leadership
LGBTQ+ collection feature
Global impact
Black news collection feature
Stewardship in action
Local history collection feature
Storytelling in action
Behind the archives
Research in action
From class visits to one-on-one consultations with researchers, SCA staff are collaborative partners for those looking to use primary materials in their research. As the information landscape has changed, their expertise is critical to navigating archival materials.
Fifty years of research, stewardship and storytelling
SCA is the recipient of the 2026 Archives Association of Ontario Institutional Award for their contribution to the advancement of the archival field.
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By supporting MFA student Paige Smith’s use of archival materials in a multidisciplinary installation, SCA demonstrates its impact on creative research by enabling artists to critically reinterpret complex local histories and bring them into contemporary dialogue.
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Through meaningful policy changes, collaborative practices, and a commitment to reconciliation, SCA is advancing a more equitable and responsible approach to archives.
SCA preserves LGBTQ+ histories by safeguarding materials that document lives, creativity and community across generations—from lesbian pulp fiction and contemporary zines to the personal papers of playwright John Herbert. By proactively collecting and contextualizing these voices, SCA ensures that stories often excluded from mainstream narratives are represented with care and authenticity, providing invaluable resources for research, teaching, and a deeper understanding of diverse human experiences.
Collections feature
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Throughout its 50-year history, Waterloo’s SCA has been a leader in archival practice, keeping one eye on the future as they work to ensure the preservation of the past.
Archival leadership
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SCA re-envisioned collection strengths to support emerging areas of inquiry, exemplifying forward-thinking archival leadership that drives teaching, research and innovation.
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Through hands-on support of PhD student Ryan Jacobs, SCA demonstrated its research impact by enabling original, in-depth scholarship that would not be possible without expert archival guidance.
In Professor Katy Fulfer’s Introduction to Gender Studies course, students analyze archival materials, from issues of Aché to the poetry of Rienzi Cruz, encountering newspapers, photographs, drafts of speeches, records, letters and more.
Global impact of SCA’s support of researchers
SCA’s local history collections document the people, businesses and organizations that shaped the Region of Waterloo, preserving primary sources that cannot be found anywhere else, such as the records of Dare Foods Limited, the Kitchener-Waterloo Record, and the Breithaupt Hewtson Clark families.
Collections feature
SCA preserves the University of Waterloo’s institutional history to safeguard the stories, records and achievements that shape the community’s identity, such as Robert Judd's engineering jacket from the 1950s, offering a glimpse into the student experience.
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Effective archival stewardship ensures that unique and irreplaceable records are preserved, accessible and meaningfully interpreted for future generations. SCA is deeply committed to caring for collections to sustain their integrity, broaden their reach, and deepen their impact on research, teaching and community understanding.
Stewardship in action
Through the painstaking conservation of the 1862 Tremaine Map of Upper Canada, SCA demonstrates the vital role of preservation in restoring fragile primary resources and ensuring they remain accessible for future research, teaching and discovery.
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Through a digitization partnership, SCA was able to support expanded access to rare Ghanaian newspapers in the Libraries' microfilm collection. Researchers around the world are now able to use the papers to uncover and share stories that might otherwise remain hidden from view.
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By strategically acquiring materials such as Black News and the Amiri Baraka papers, SCA strengthens emerging areas of study ensuring researchers have access to diverse primary sources that support new scholarship and perspectives.
Collections feature
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Join us in celebrating SCA’s 50th anniversary by giving a gift today.
This year, we celebrate 50 years of Special Collections & Archives at the University of Waterloo Libraries
For 50 years, the people of SCA have shaped the department’s growth, collections and impact. Explore these staff profiles to learn about the work they do and what they value most about being part of Special Collections & Archives.
Danielle Robichaud, Digital Archivist
I’m constantly learning something about people and places in ways that expand how I understand and move through the world. I’m currently working to improve access to the legacy of architectural historian William Dendy, who documented thousands of buildings in and outside of Canada (some of which no longer exist) through his photographs and research. As someone without formal architectural training, it’s inspiring to see the value of our built environments through his eyes, especially as Kitchener-Waterloo undergoes rapid change.
Sue Lout, Research & Information Access Coordinator
I enjoy helping the Waterloo campus community and researchers from around the world connect with and access our collections. I find it especially rewarding to support a diverse range of research, from campus history and class papers to thesis projects and family history inquiries. My favourite things are learning about the development of computer science on campus and exploring the KW Record photography collection.
Jessica Blackwell, Librarian
The thing I have always loved most about my work is showing others the wonders of materiality! When you have the chance to physically engage with a 500-year-old book, you can’t help but be awed by its history. It is always a pleasure for me to watch as visitors work through the idea that an object has a lived history, and that they are now part of it–one of the possibly thousands of hands that have added their touch.
Martha Lauzon, Library Associate
I love the excitement students bring—whether it’s their first time in an archive, and they’re discovering how many neat things we have, or they think they can’t read cursive, and then, minutes later, they’re putting it together for themselves. Every day is different; you never know what question will come your way: like the time someone brought in a rubber shoe sole they found on a beach and wanted to know more (still my benchmark for ‘Very Weird While Still Relevant’). One of my favourite items are the Expo 67 plans, especially because of a personal connection—my partner attended as a child and still talks about the impact it had on him.
Nicole Marcogliese, Archivist
What I love most about working in the archives is being a trusted partner in teaching, learning and research across campus. It’s incredibly rewarding. I’m always learning something new, and I enjoy helping students and faculty access and use records in meaningful ways, as well as creating connections through the archives. Whether it’s sharing stories with students, engaging alumni at reunions, or bringing people together through a shared love of history, there’s something special about making those moments happen.
Kathryn Gamboa, Srivastava Endowment Intern
I love discovering local stories and seeing how they connect to broader historical contexts. While interning with SCA, I’ve discovered the Jim Keron fonds, which includes music posters and other student ephemera from his time at Waterloo. These materials give you a sense of how broader cultural and political movements shaped life on campus and the Waterloo region. I’ve also really valued learning from SCA staff and gaining insight into the behind-the-scenes work that makes these records accessible to students, faculty and the broader public.
Empowering learning and research
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SCA supported the research of Waterloo alum Betty Ann Keller into the Kitchener-Waterloo music screen from the 1960s and 70s, culminating in the documentary film Rock This Town.
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SCA contributed to bringing Anne Innis Dagg’s groundbreaking scholarship to wider audiences through the award-winning documentary The Woman Who Loves Giraffes.
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Archival materials bring the past to life, preserving the voices, experiences and moments that shape our collective history. SCA supports the transformation of historical records into meaningful narratives that deepen understanding, spark connection and inspire new perspectives.
Storytelling in action
Behind the archives
“As part of the team that develops exhibits at the Region of Waterloo Museums and Archives, there hasn’t been an exhibit in recent memory that did not utilize the collections held by SCA. We access SCA to source images as well as for a variety of research purposes. In short, our jobs would be much more difficult without the existence of SCA.”
- Stacey McLennan, Supervisor, Collections & Exhibits, Region of Waterloo Museums and Archives
Argentina
Australia
Cameroon
U.S.A.
Canada
China
Philippines
England
Ireland
France
Sweden
Netherlands
Germany
“Introducing students to archival research in a 100-level course ignites curiosity, builds confidence and encourages students to return to the archives as they develop their research skills. The partnership with SCA is critical to bringing this opportunity to students.”
- Katy Fulfer, Professor, University of Waterloo, Faculty of Arts
For local historian and Waterloo alum rych mills, SCA has been integral to telling stories about Kitchener-Waterloo. From his tenure at the Waterloo Historical Society to his book Kitchener (Berlin): 1880–1960 to his Flash from the Past series in The Record, mills has had a decades long partnership with SCA.
“A lot of research starts with talking to the staff of the archives. Their knowledge of the collection surfaces stories I didn’t even know to look for. They have never let me down!”
- rych mills, Waterloo Historical Social and freelance contributor to The Record
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Explore rych's work
“A lot of research starts with talking to the staff of the archives. Their knowledge of the collection surfaces stories I didn’t even know to look for. They have never let me down!”
- rych mills, Waterloo Historical Social and freelance contributor to The Record
“As part of the team that develops exhibits at the Region of Waterloo Museums and Archives, there hasn’t been an exhibit in recent memory that did not utilize the collections held by SCA. We access SCA to source images as well as for a variety of research purposes. In short, our jobs would be much more difficult without the existence of SCA.”
- Stacey McLennan, Supervisor, Collections & Exhibits, Region of Waterloo Museums and Archives
“Introducing students to archival research in a 100-level course ignites curiosity, builds confidence and encourages students to return to the archives as they develop their research skills. The partnership with SCA is critical to bringing this opportunity to students.”
- Katy Fulfer, Professor, University of Waterloo, Faculty of Arts
Research in action
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