Fonds consists of documents relating to the Zola Research Program and the publication of the 10 volume "Émile Zola Correspondance" series, including project files, inventories, reference materials, photocopies of Émile Zola’s correspondence and other documents related to the project. The project files contained in this fonds document the development and activities of the Zola Research Program. Project files records include inventories of various letters, funding information, budgetary forms, donor agreements, publicity documents and summaries of the project written both by external entities (newspapers) and internal figures (members of the Program staff). Also included are supplementary documents that were collected to create a broader contextual framework. Each letter is be supported with annotations and background information on the correspondents, events or people discussed in the letters as well as the social and political state of France during the 19th century. While the collection of letters by Zola was the primary mandate of the project, along the way the Program collected a vast number of reference materials to broaden the perspective. This fonds contains the off-prints, various documents (both collected by Zola and collected by the Zola Research Program about various 19th century figures) and bibliographies. Books collected by the Program are now the basis of the Émile Zola Collection in the Rare Book Collection of Kelly Library.

The correspondence is composed mostly of photocopies of handwritten letters, post cards, cartes de visites, telegrams and typed transcriptions of letters. The correspondence is a mixture of professional and personal letters that discuss various matters from the publication of Zola’s main works to the birth of his children. It is clear from the various handwritings and documentation styles that multiple figures were involved in the processing of the letters. However, as a Research Associate and long-term member of the team, Dorothy Speirs was the primary figure creating, processing and cross-referencing the letters. This can be seen through the presence of her initials on most of the documents. Additionally, as Project Archivist Hélène Issayevitch organized the letters and maintained the record-keeping practices throughout. It is important to note that after the dissolution of the Zola Research Program in 1995, Speirs continued collecting reference materials and adding them to the collection. As a result, there are a number of documents contained within that extend outside the dates of the Program. The result of this continued research is an additional publication completed in 2008, in association with Owen Morgan.

This collection remains the largest repository of Émile Zola’s letters available in North America. In recent years, the descendants of Zola have divided the estate, including the letters, resulting in a dispersal of the documents. This collection represents the largest single collection of Zola’s letters that is accessible and open to the public. Additionally, this fonds contains a fountain of information on key figures in the Naturalist Movement of the 19th century, as well as other well-known artists, scholars, intellectuals and political and social figures, including J.K. Huysmans, Edmond de Goncourt, Gustave Flaubert, Édouard Manet, Alfred Bruneau, Paul Alexis, Henry Céard, Léon Hennique, and Guy de Maupassant - all of which can be found either through personal discussions in the letters or supplementary documentation. The hidden value in this fonds lies in the plethora of reference resources that are available. The fonds also houses a vast number of off-prints that explore various aspects of Zola’s life as well as the broader Naturalist community of the 19th century. Some other significant pieces include original 19th century illustrated theatrical pamphlets from the Théâtre Libre, various original newspaper clippings and original letters by Émile Zola, Alexandrine Zola, Paul Alexis and Jules Claretie.

Fonds is arranged into 6 series:

1) Project Files series: consists of a variety of records that document the development of the project over the years, including funding information, publicity and marketing documents, donor agreements, budgetary forms and some correspondence amongst various scholars.

2) Letters by Zola series: consists of photocopies of letters written by Zola between 1856 and 1902. This series also contains an original letter by Émile Zola, dated June 22, 1890 (File #107).

3) Letters to Zola series: contains photocopies of letters written to Zola between 1858 and 1902. This series also contains an original letter by Alexandrine Zola to Émile Zola, dated May 27, 1890 (File #248).

4) Letters by Contemporaries series: consists of photocopies of letters sent between Zola’s family and contemporaries. This series contains an original letter from Paul Alexis to Léon Hennique, dated September 19, 1887 (File #420).

5) Collected and Reference Material series: contains photocopies of documents about the project and the various correspondents in the fonds (documents written by or about Émile Zola, documents about his family and correspondents, off-prints of works written about Émile Zola and naturalism, project inventories of letters and bibliographies). Series contains a variety of original documents including newspapers and theatrical pamphlets.

6) Alphabetical Index Forms series: consists of biographical and contextual information on correspondents of Émile Zola, figures mentioned in the letters, or the main journals for which he wrote.

Fonds consists of correspondence and manuscripts of poems, poetry collections, novels, short stories, prose, articles, book reviews, columns, essays and speeches. Also includes journals, notebooks and daytimers; university files including creative writing assignments and teaching-related material; Federation of British Columbia files; Vancouver Industrial Writers Union files including manuscripts for poetry anthology Shop talk edited by Z. Landale; articles, reviews and other material about Z. Landale and her family; material relating to conferences, courses and readings; miscellaneous material; works by others; and published works.

The fonds consists of diary of a "Visit of Undergraduates and Graduates from the Universities of the Dominion of Canada to Great Britain, France and Belgium, summer 1929"; exhibition catalogues; and photographs of herself.

The fonds contains bulletins (1963-2001), annual reports (1964-1999), and directories (1966-1999).

This fonds consists of newspaper clippings, brief congregational histories, bulletins, annual reports, directories, and other reports which pertain to the founding and development of the Mennonite congregation in Langham, Saskatchewan. It documents the leaders and participants in the congregation. There are newspaper clippings (1980-1984), congregational histories (1960, 1970), bulletins (1958-1997), annual reports (1975-1992), directories (1978-1994), and other reports (1984).

The fonds consists of records including baptisms, 1858-1884, of Parsonage Primitive Methodist Church, 1842-1884; records of Parsonage Methodist Church, 1884-1888; records of Zion Presbyterian Church, 1889-1925; records, including baptisms, 1889-1950, of Zion United Church, 1889-1954; and records of Zion-Wexford United Church, 1889-2000.

The Zionist Organization of Canada records span a 70 year period between 1908, with the formation of the Toronto Zionist Council (and its affiliated corporation, the United Zionists of Toronto) and the creation of the Zionist Organization of Canada in 1921, until 1978. The bulk of the records in the fonds were created after 1950. The fonds is organized into two sous-fonds and eight record series. The sous-fonds contain records of the ZOC Central Region and the Toronto Zionist Council, which exercised considerable autonomy in their work under the ZOC umbrella. The record series include records relating to: ZOC's executive bodies, the National Administrative Council and Executive Board, and their predecessor, the Executive Committee of the Federated Zionist Societies of Canada (1919-1976); the National Camps Association, responsible for overseeing the administration of summer camps owned by ZOC (1961-1968); Canadian Young Judaea, the youth wing of ZOC which was also responsible for the operation of ZOC summer camps (1957-1978); the ZOC Department of Education and Culture's cable television programme, Shalom (1971-1977); ZOC national conventions (1946-1975); the Federated Zionist Organization of Canada, of which ZOC became a member organization on its formation in 1967 (1972-1978); and the 28th World Zionist Congress held in 1972. The fonds also includes a series of subject files, the primary recordkeeping system for ZOC's administration, and a series of photographs of prominant persons and events maintained by ZOC for its public relations work.

The fonds consists of administrative records including minute books spanning the Institute’s existence, cash books, and membership rolls. The fonds also contains two volumes of Tweedsmuir histories, and publications by the Federation of Women’s Institutes of Canada.

Fonds consists of records of Wellesley United Church (includes Zion Presbyterian Church, Wellesley), 1909-1966.

Fonds consists of Official Board minutes of Sundridge Methodist Circuit (includes Sundridge, Pevensey, Bloomfield, Lynch Lake, South River), 1886-1911; Session minutes, 1886-1917, 1926-1946, Woman's Missionary Society minutes, 1952-1958, United Church Women minutes, 1962-1977, of Zion United Church, Sundridge (includes Sundridge Presbyterian Church).