Stratford-Perth Archives offers virtual research appointments

By: Emily Stewart

You can conduct research about Perth County virtually from home or anywhere else in the world.

The Stratford-Perth Archives launched the Archives from Home virtual research program on Nov. 1. The virtual research appointments allow for researchers to conduct research anywhere and connect with archive staff if they cannot make it to a research appointment in-person. The service enhancement will be available until March 31, 2027.

"This just seems like a great opportunity for us and also the people that are using our services and records,” said Megan Lockhart, assistant archivist.

So far, no virtual appointments have been booked yet. However, the Stratford-Perth Archives are receiving lots of messages indicating awareness of the service enhancement. There have also been research requests from those outside of Canada, including those residing in the United Kingdom and the United States of America.

"We have been seeing an increase in research requests from Americans over the past year or so with changes to the Citizenship Act,” Lockhart said. “People are trying to find that line of descent for Canadian ancestors to potentially apply for citizenship, so we imagine we'll get some more Americans reaching out to book these appointments in the future."

Lockhart would also like to see more residents of Stratford and area reach out.

"We're hoping that not just international researchers take advantage of the service enhancement, but some local people too who maybe during the winter months just can't make it out to us or it’s more convenient for them to do it in the comfort of their home,” she said.

After reaching out to book a virtual appointment, Stratford-Perth Archives will do a preliminary interview to learn more about research topics and what materials the researcher would like to see. Each researcher will then get a free half-hour research appointment before further research. Appointments run from Tuesday to Friday between 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. and 2 p.m. to 4 p.m.

Appointments can either be booked by sending an email to archives@perthcounty.ca or by calling 519-271-0531 ext. 259.