Privately Donated Records contain a wide range of information about people, places and events important to the history of the region.

These include substantial holdings on

• agriculture
• performing and visual arts
• coal mining
• community clubs and societies
• regional planning
• and many others

• early tax rolls
• City Council minutes
• Fire and Police Department records
• cemetery records
• early records of the City Manager

The early records of the Town of Magrath, and of the Oldman River Regional Planning Commission are also maintained here.

The City of Lethbridge maintains a records centre under the direction of a Records Manager. Inquiries regarding municipal records can be directed there:

403.320-7383 | kwolansky@lethbridge.ca

Collections of note include

• The Lethbridge Herald
• de Jourdan Studio
• Terry Bland Photography
• a portion of the work of A.E. Cross Studio

Audio Recordings approximately 400 audio recordings centre on the lives of residents of the region, and contain a wealth of historical information based on personal experiences [interviews]. The Archives also have small holdings of broadcast and popular music recordings.

• topographical sheets
• architectural drawings of commercial and public buildings
• fire insurance maps for Lethbridge
• land ownership maps
• technical drawings dealing with aspects of urban and rural planning and delivery of services

Library contains 1000+ books and other publications including primary sources:

• school textbooks
• technical manuals
• medical texts
• reports by early explorers and travelers such as Palliser, G.M. Dawson and John Macoun

and secondary sources:

• community histories
• topical histories [i.e. irrigation, Native people, the Mounted Police and coal mining]
• numerous other secondary sources

Newspapers and Clippings Files include hard copies of all of the special editions of The Lethbridge Herald and microfilm of the following newspapers

• The Lethbridge News (1885-1906)
• The Lethbridge Herald (1905-28)
• Lethbridge Telegram (1914-18)
• Fort Benton Record (1875-84)
• Raymond newspapers (collectively 1907-56)

• manuscripts
• photographs
• maps and drawings
• books
• graphic and print items
• films
• recordings
• [computer-generated] information in digital format

The process is summarized as follows:

1. The prospective donation is received by the Archivist, and a preliminary inventory is completed on an 'Accession Form'. The donor's name, address and telephone number is recorded. Also recorded is any information that the donor has about the donation: who created and used it, what it was used for, when, where and why it was created. The "five Ws" provide further information about the creation and use of the prospective donation that complements the information contained in the donation.
2. The Archivist makes the final decision about whether the prospective donation will be accepted. If the donation is to be accepted, two copies of a 'Certificate of Gift' are prepared for the donor's signature. The 'Certificate of Gift' is a legal document that transfers ownership of the donation from the donor to the Archives, and spells out any special conditions surrounding the donation. The donor reads and signs both copies of the 'Certificate of Gift', returns a copy to the Archives, and the donation process is complete.
3. If the donation is not accepted, it is returned to the donor with our thanks for considering the Galt Archives. If the donation might be of value to other archives, the donor will be advised.