Contact Staff: Home

General Inquiries

E-mail: archives@umanitoba.ca

Phone: 204-474-9986

Fax: 204-474-7913

Mailing Address:

330 Elizabeth Dafoe Library

25 Chancellors Circle, University of Manitoba

Winnipeg, MB  R3T 2N2

Professional Staff

• Heather Bidzinski, BMus(Man), MA (Man), MA (Man)
  • University Archivist, Head of Archives & Special Collections
  • Responsible for all departmental activities with emphasis on policy and administration, outreach, grantsmanship and fundraising. Also responsible for all aspects of the Rare Book Collection.
  • E-mail: Heather.Bidzinski@umanitoba.ca 
  • Phone: (204) 474-6350
    Fax: (204) 474-7914
• Brian Hubner, BA, MA (Sask.), MA (Archival Studies, Man.), PhD (U of Amsterdam)
  • Acquisition and Access Archivist
  • Responsible for the acquisition and processing of private fonds, special collections and University archives, coordinating all reference and outreach activities, and assisting with overall planning for the unit, grant and fund-raising, special projects, and participating in meeting the goals and objectives of the Libraries as a whole.
  • E-mail: Brian.Hubner@umanitoba.ca
    Phone: (204) 474-7967
    Fax: (204) 474-7913 
• James Kominowski, BSc, MA (Man.), MLIS (UWO)
  • Archivist and Slavic Librarian
  • Responsible for the acquisition and processing of Slavic archival collections. Coordinates the development, maintenance and enhancement of the Archives of the Ukrainian Canadian Experience. Provides reference and orientation assistance to faculty, students and researchers. Bibliographer for Slavic Studies and German.
  • E-mail: James.Kominowski@umanitoba.ca
    Phone: (204) 474-9681
    Fax: (204) 474-7913
• Nicole Aminian, BA, MA (Man.) (On  Leave)
  • Reference & Discovery Archivist 
  • Provides reference and orientation assistance to faculty, students, and researchers. Responsible for the College of Medicine Archives 
  • E-mail: Nicole.Aminian@umanitoba.ca
    Phone (204) 474-7868
  • Fax: (204) 474-7913
• Shelley Sweeney, BA, MAS (UBC), PhD (UT Austin)
  • Archivist Emerita

Support Staff

• Linda Eddy
  • Library Assistant 3
  • Receives the public and performs basic public service, as well as clerical and administrative services for the department. Assists with acquisition activities.
  • E-mail: Linda.Eddy@umanitoba.ca
    Phone: (204) 474-9986 
    Fax: (204) 474-7913
• Wendy Prystenski
  • Library Assistant 4
  • Receives and accessions incoming archival material, moves records, and performs basic public service, as well as clerical and administrative services for the department.
  • E-mail: Wendy.Prystenski@umanitoba.ca
  • Phone: (204) 474-7895
  • Fax: (204) 474-7913

Other Staff

The Archives regularly employs interns from the University's Archival Studies Program.

The Access and Privacy Office is a division of the Office of Fair Practices and Legal Affairs.  Contact them for information regarding FIPPA and PHIA.

The College of Medicine Archives is your source for records pertaining to the Faculty of Medicine and the history of medical education, medical research and the provision of health care in Manitoba.

The National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation is your source for records pertaining to Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada and related Indigenous collections.

Volunteers 

Ian Kay 

Ian Kay is our longest standing volunteer at the Archives. He began volunteering at the Archives in 2009, and except for a short hiatus when he moved to Victoria, has worked here ever since. Ian Kay has Bachelor of Arts (1967) and Masters of Arts (1969) degrees from the University of Manitoba, and a PhD from the University of Western Ontario (1978). His master’s thesis was on Joseph Conrad and his doctoral thesis was on DH Lawrence. His 1967 research assistantship saw Ian working for Dr. Joseph Gold, head of the English Department at the University of Manitoba, on Gold’s Charles Dickens bibliography. Ian worked with his father and grandfather in the family business, Kay Containers Limited, which was started in 1917 and sold in 2008. Ian has worked on the extensive Reginald Buller library and the records of the Manitoba Cattle Producers Association, but his particular specialty is puzzling out and transcribing 19th and early 20th century cursive handwriting. This is something that is going to become increasingly important; as fewer and fewer people are able to read cursive, they will have to rely on transcriptions such as Ian's of these early manuscripts.