Rebecka Sheffield

Rebecka Sheffield
Born1976 (age 49–50)
OccupationsArchivist, scholar, records manager
Academic background
Education
ThesisThe Emergence, Development and Survival of Four Lesbian and Gay Archives (2015)
Patrick Keilty
Academic work
InstitutionsArchives of Ontario, Simmons University, University of British Columbia, University of Toronto, University of Waterloo

Rebecka Sheffield is an archivist, scholar, and policy advisor. She was a Senior Policy Advisor of the Archives of Ontario and teaches information science in American and Canadian universities.

Biography

Rebecka Sheffield has a bachelor's degree in women and gender studies from the University of Saskatchewan, a master's degree in archival studies from the University of Toronto, and a PhD from the University of Toronto in collaboration with the Mark S. Bonham Center for Sexual Diversity Studies.

She is a previous director of The ArQuives and previous vice-president of the Association of Canadian Archivists.

Sheffield is a scholar in archival science. She is the author of Documenting Rebellions: A Study of Four Lesbian and Gay Archives in Queer Times, which discusses the relationship between archives and social movements within the LGBTQ2+ community. She has also worked as a public advocate for the preservation of queer cultural history in Toronto.

Sheffield's archival contributions focus on community archives and historical and cultural heritage movements in LGBTQ2+ communities.

Sheffield is the lead of an archival and artistic project The Bedside Table Archives, which documents objects found on the bedside tables of lesbian and queer women. The project focuses on the home as a space for identity construction while questioning the heteronormativity of such spaces.

She has also published Documenting Rebellions: A Study of Four Lesbian and Gay Archives in Queer Times, which focuses on four institutions that preserve the records of queer people.

She is the managing editor of the journal Archivaria. Since 2024, she has been the head of Special Collections & Archives at the University of Waterloo.

Publications

Books

Book chapters and articles

References

  1. ↑ "Rebecka Sheffield (0000-0003-0762-2550)". ORCID. Retrieved 2021-02-01.
  2. ↑ "The ArQuives welcomes new Executive Director/Archives Manager". The ArQuives. 2015-05-22. Retrieved 2021-02-01.
  3. ↑ "Rebecka Sheffield Steps Down". The ArQuives. 2016-05-18. Retrieved 2021-02-01.
  4. ↑ "Past Boards of Directors". Association of Canadian Archivists. Retrieved 2026-09-22.
  5. 1 2 Rawson, K.J. (2021). "Documenting Rebellions: A Study of Four Lesbian and Gay Archives in Queer Times". The American Archivist. 84 (1): 191–193. doi:10.17723/0360-9081-84.1.191. ISSN 0360-9081.
  6. 1 2 Micallef, Shawn (2015-07-02). "Archivist takes pride in preserving artifacts, art, memories from Toronto's queer culture". The Toronto Star. ISSN 0319-0781. Retrieved 2026-09-22.
  7. ↑ Leong, Melissa (19 Feb 2011). "Queer & far; As many in the community move elsewhere, the Gay Village works to develop a new identity". The National Post.
  8. ↑ Sheffield, Rebecka Taves (2014-10-01). "The Bedside Table Archives". Radical History Review (120): 108–120. doi:10.1215/01636545-2703751. ISSN 0163-6545.
  9. ↑ "The Library welcomes new head of Special Collections & Archives". University of Waterloo. April 8, 2024. Retrieved 2026-09-23.