News and Events at the Provincial Archives

In-Person Reference Services

The Provincial Archives of Saskatchewan is open for in-person reference services at our Public Reading Room at 2440 Broad Street in Regina. Our public hours are Monday to Friday from 10:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and 1:30 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. The Public Reading Room is closed from 12:30 p.m. until 1:30 p.m. An appointment system is no longer in place.

While public health protocols related to the prevention of COVID-19 have been lifted, we are committed to keeping you safe during your visit. Enhanced cleaning protocols remain in place in our public spaces, and masks and gloves are available upon request. We continue to ask all researchers to wash their hands not only for the health and safety of others but to prevent potential damage to our records. Please speak to staff if you have any concerns during your visit.

Researchers are also welcome to use our online contact form or enquire with us by phone at 306-787-4068.

Clients wishing to explore the many resources in our Permanent Collection may browse or search our online catalogue at https://search.saskarchives.com//.

Please continue to visit our News and Events webpage for updates to services.

What's New at the Provincial Archives of Saskatchewan?

Visit the Archives Gallery at 2440 Broad Street in Regina, featuring a summer-themed exhibit: "Saskatchewan in Bloom: Horticulture on the Prairies." You can also view a small exhibit marking the 50th anniversary of the 1971 Saskatchewan Homecoming tourism initiative, in the Galleria. If you can't visit in person, please enjoy these and other exhibits virtually via our virtual exhibit gallery.

Visit our YouTube Channel to

take a virtual tour of our facility at 2440 Broad Street in Regina;
view digitized archival films;
watch interviews from Heritage Saskatchewan’s “COVID-19 Culture” Living Heritage video project.

The year 2020 has marked significant milestones and has presented notable challenges in the history of the Provincial Archives of Saskatchewan (PAS). The 75^th anniversary of the Archives, in the context of the COVID-19 global pandemic, has compelled us to find new ways to work and to serve our diverse clientele. The autumn of 2020 saw the fruition of a two-year consolidation project in which our institution brought its people, its Permanent Collection and its services together under one roof – replete with an open and bright reading room, an archival standard suppression system, temperature and humidity controlled storage, and an Archives Gallery – in beautiful Wascana Park in Regina.

Over the course of its 75 years, innovation has been key to the successful delivery of the Archives’ mandate to acquire, preserve and make available the documentary heritage of Saskatchewan. Within the first year of its existence in 1945, the institution invested in microfilm technology to capture and share Saskatchewan’s historic newspapers.

Early generations of archive employees created finding aids using paper and pencil or manual typewriters with carbon paper before graduating to electric typewriters and then to computers with hard drives holding a smaller storage capacity than a single photo you might have on your smart phone today. In 2020, networked computers, email, scanning technology, online databases, and a digital preservation system to manage and share archival resources are the norm.

As we settle into our new facility, we renew our commitment to digitization projects and partnership opportunities. A continuing priority sees the digitization of archival records for preservation of our Permanent Collection, making high-quality digital resources more widely available throughout Saskatchewan and beyond. In a recent 10-year partnership with FamilySearch, the digitization of over 5 million pages of documents relating to the homesteading experience created over 90TB of digital material that the Archives continues to process and post online.

Over the past several years, the PAS has partnered with the University of Saskatchewan to create, manage, and augment Saskatchewan Historical Newspapers Online (SHNO), which has seen the Archives digitize over 1 million pages of microfilmed newsprint covering 45 years of the province’s history. It is estimated that approximately 10 million pages of newsprint will be digitized by the project’s end. In addition, with the welcome assistance of volunteers from the Friends of the Provincial Archives of Saskatchewan, the PAS continues its long-term project to digitize and expand the search-ability of our extensive Historical Photographs collection.

When the Digital Records Program was created at the Archives in 2008, there was approximately one-half of a terabyte (TB) of archival holdings in digital form (both digitized and born digital.) At that time, records of government ministries were primarily analogue, with records managers stating that a significant portion of their official record was paper-based. Over the past 12 years this situation has completely reversed: the vast majority of public records is created in digital format, and exists within sophisticated digital systems. Today, the PAS ingests approximately 10 TB of digital records per year. This figure is projected to double every two years and will only increase as both the public and private spheres move increasingly towards creating digital records, without a physical copy.

The Provincial Archives of Saskatchewan has approximately 4,800 metres of physical shelf space for future acquisitions of archival material. As digital records become increasingly prevalent and the Archives becomes as much a digital repository as a physical one, our Permanent Collection will exist in forms reflecting both the past and future, brought together in how to best service and make accessible the historical record today. Ours is an ever-changing story of innovation and preservation in our role as custodian of the documentary heritage of Saskatchewan.

Archives Classroom for Young Historians

Looking for some educational activities to keep your school-aged children occupied?

Check out the many resources available on the Provincial Archives of Saskatchewan’s website in our Archives Classroom for Young Historians, where you'll be directed to:

Historical learning packages on Saskatchewan themes;
Virtual exhibits on a variety of topics; and
The online catalogue for our Permanent Collection, which includes thousands of images.

Normal School student practice teaching at Brownell School in Saskatoon, 1952.
PAS Photo R-B2404