Archives Association of British Columbia

What Archives Association of British Columbia does

The Archives Association of British Columbia (AABC) is a non-profit membership organization, founded in 1990 and headquartered in Port Coquitlam, British Columbia, that serves as the primary professional association for archives, archivists, and records professionals across the province. The organization maintains a membership model spanning institutional members (archives, museums, cultural heritage institutions), affiliate members, and individual professionals, and acknowledges financial assistance from the Province of British Columbia. AABC's product surface is built around a platform-plus-services architecture delivered via the Wild Apricot membership platform (with Google, Microsoft, and Apple social login), anchored by two core digital assets: MemoryBC, a provincial database for cataloging and accessing archival records and documentary heritage in BC, and the Archivist Toolkit, a comprehensive guidance resource covering establishing archives, Indigenous record keeping, arrangement, description, preservation, digitization, and access policies.

AABC's product portfolio spans educational services (seven distance education courses, workshops such as "Archives 101: Archival Practice with Indigenous Organizations," webinars, and roundtables), community platforms (the Archives-BC Listserv and a Job Board), professional services (Advisory Services and Disaster Response Kits housed in six BC regions), a digital collection (BC Historical Photographs Online), a grant program (the AABC Anti-Racism Bursary), and recurring events (Annual Conference and Archives Awareness Week). The organization participates in the GLAM Sector Partnership (Galleries, Libraries, Archives, and Museums) and co-hosts joint conferences with the Young Archivists (YCA). AABC has no disclosed APIs, no proprietary AI capabilities, and no mobile applications.

Revenue is generated through four streams: membership fees (institutional, affiliate, individual), education and workshop fees, provincial government funding from the Province of British Columbia, and donations supporting programs and student bursaries. No public pricing tiers or specific revenue figures are disclosed. The Wild Apricot platform serves as the primary distribution channel, supporting member login, event registration, course enrollment, and resource access. The organization's geographic scope is regional, limited to British Columbia, Canada.

Name

Archives Association of British Columbia

Legal name

Archives Association of British Columbia

Website

https://aabc.ca

Company type

Private

Founded year

2006

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The Archives Association of British Columbia (AABC) is a non-profit membership organization supporting archives, archivists, and records professionals across British Columbia through education, advisory services, the MemoryBC database, disaster response infrastructure, and community programming.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Archival and records-management professional services

NAICS

Professional Organizations (81392), Business Associations (813910)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYTHAHACAA

Association & Society Conference Management (Nonprofit, Professional Bodies)

Travel & Hospitality/MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences & Exhibitions)/Professional Conference Organizers (PCOs) & Meeting Planners

Keywords

• Archival records management
• Professional association services
• Distance education courses
• Disaster response services
• Documentary heritage preservation

Headquarters

HQ city

Port Coquitlam

HQ country

Canada

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Membership Fees: AABC operates as a non-profit membership organization with various membership categories. Revenue is generated through annual membership dues from institutional members, affiliate members, and individual members.
2. Education and Workshop Fees: Revenue from distance education courses and workshops offered to members and the broader archival community. Includes courses such as Introduction to Archival Practice, Managing Archives, and specialized workshops.
3. Provincial Government Funding: AABC acknowledges financial assistance from the Province of British Columbia, indicating grant funding as a significant revenue source supporting operations and programs.
4. Donations: The organization accepts donations which help maintain AABC programs and directly support student bursaries. Tax receipts are available for donors.

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

AABC is a non-profit professional membership association that serves archives, archivists, and records professionals across British Columbia. It provides distance education courses, workshops, webinars, and roundtables for archival professional development; advisory services for institutions establishing or managing archives; the MemoryBC provincial database for archival records; disaster response kits housed in six BC regions; and community programs including an annual conference and Archives Awareness Week.

Product overview

The Archives Association of British Columbia (AABC) is a non-profit membership organization that operates as a platform-plus-services model. Its core digital infrastructure includes MemoryBC (a provincial archival database) and the Archivist Toolkit (comprehensive guidance resources), supplemented by educational programs (Distance Education courses, Workshops, Webinars, Roundtables), community platforms (AABC Listserv, Job Board), professional services (Advisory Services, Disaster Response Kits), grant programs (Anti-Racism Bursary), and events (Annual Conference, Archives Awareness Week). The organization also maintains BC Historical Photographs Online as a digital collection resource.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• MemoryBC: Provincial database maintained by the Archives Association of British Columbia for archival records

Products and services

• Membership Program Annual membership program with institutional, affiliate, and individual categories providing access to the MemoryBC database, Archivist Toolkit, member directory, newsletter, job board, and member rates on education and events for archives, museums, and cultural-heritage professionals in British Columbia.
• Distance Education Courses Online self-paced and scheduled courses covering Managing Archives, Intro to Archival Practice, Intro to Archival Preservation, Managing Archival Photographs, Managing Plans & Drawings, Oral History: Theory to Practice, and Moving Image and Sound Records. Designed for archivists and records professionals seeking foundational and specialized training.
• Workshops In-person and online professional workshops such as Archives 101: Archival Practice with Indigenous Organizations and Introduction to Archival Repatriation. Targeted at archivists, records professionals, and Indigenous organizations seeking hands-on training.
• Advisory Services Expert consultation helping organizations establish and manage archives, develop archival policies, and apply archival best practices. Aimed at BC institutions seeking professional guidance on archival program setup and ongoing management.
• Annual Conference Annual gathering for archival professionals featuring presentations and networking, including a joint conference format with Young Archivists (YCA). Provides education and community-building for BC archivists, records professionals, and institutional members.
• MemoryBC Provincial database maintained by AABC for cataloguing and accessing archival records and documentary heritage across British Columbia. Serves as a central online resource for the BC archives community, institutions, and the public.

Quantifiable outcome

• Disaster Response Kits distributed across 6 regions of BC (Vancouver Island South/Central-North, Vancouver, Kelowna, Nakusp, Prince George)

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration3 records

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• GLAM Sector PartnershipcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAABC participates in the GLAM (Galleries, Libraries, Archives, and Museums) Sector Partnership, a collaborative initiative uniting cultural heritage institutions in British Columbia to address shared challenges and advance collective interests.
• Young Archivists (YCA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAABC co-hosts an annual joint conference with YCA (Young Archivists), combining resources and audiences to deliver professional development and networking events for the archival community.
• Regional Disaster Response Kit HostsminorOthersAABC maintains Disaster Response Kits housed in 6 regions across British Columbia: Vancouver Island (South and Central/North), Vancouver, Kelowna, Nakusp, and Prince George. Local organizations host these kits for emergency use by archival institutions.

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Manitoba Association of Archivists: Manitoba's provincial professional association for archivists. Provides comparable member services, professional development, and advocacy aligned with AABC's offerings.
• Archives Society of Alberta: Provincial professional archive association serving Alberta. Closely comparable to AABC in mandate (professional development, advocacy, networking) and member base (archivists and archival institutions), differing only in geographic focus.
• Archives Society of Saskatchewan: Saskatchewan's provincial archive professional association. Mirrors AABC's mandate of supporting archivists and archives through education, advocacy, and community building within a single province.
• Council of Archives New Brunswick: Provincial archive association for New Brunswick supporting archival institutions and archivists. Directly comparable to AABC as a small-province membership association providing training, advocacy, and resources.
• Association des archivistes du Québec: Quebec's provincial professional archive association offering member services, continuing education, and advocacy. Functionally analogous to AABC as a francophone counterpart serving a single Canadian province.

Broad incumbents

• Association of Canadian Archivists: The national professional association for archivists in Canada. Directly comparable as a membership-based professional body providing education, conferences, advocacy, and standards for the archival community, but operating at a national rather than provincial scale.
• Society of American Archivists: The largest professional association for archivists in North America. While US-focused, it serves as a comparable professional body providing education, certification, advocacy, and standards that overlap with AABC's offerings.
• American Association of State and Local History: US-based association supporting history organizations including archives. Comparable as a professional association offering education, advocacy, and resources to heritage professionals at a state/local level, though broader in scope than AABC.

Others

• International Council on Archives: Global professional body for archives and archivists. Provides comparable standards, education, and advocacy functions but at an international rather than provincial level.
• Library and Archives Canada: Canada's federal library and archive institution, which provides funding to AABC. Comparable as an archive-sector stakeholder with overlapping interests in preservation standards and professional development, though it operates as a federal institution rather than a membership association.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/wildapricot
• Facebookfacebook.com/ArchivesAssociationBC
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/archives-association-of-british-columbia

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Archives Association of British Columbia