The Archives collects two copies of Canadian maps and one copy of non-Canadian material. Most archives do not collect artifacts, or only very selectively, relying on museums to do so. As these museums do not collect material documenting our lesbian and gay communities in all their variety, the Archives endeavours to retain artifacts that document our activities, and which are readily stored and present few conservation problems. Given their publicly visible messages about lesbian and gay events and history, T-shirts form an essential element in documenting evolving lesbian and gay identities. Selecting pre-1985 foreign material that is of documentary importance.
Canadian material is the priority.
The large collection of pre- 1985 foreign buttons will be maintained. The emphasis in collecting is on Canadian material. Only the covers are kept due to the conservation hazard posed by the matches. Due to conservation problems, banners that are not silkscreened or otherwise made of material requiring little conservation are photographed and the banners deaccessioned. The photographs are attached to the appropriate accessions.