Co-operatives are a permanent fixture in our society. The adaptability of the co-operative model allows co-operatives to function successfully in almost every aspect of society, from credit unions to co-operative stores, to health co-ops, cooperative radio, theatre, and co-operative housing, to name only a few.For anyone wishing to examine this extensive movement in its historic context research is, of course, a must. However, the scope of the movement provides the researcher with a mixed blessing. On the one hand, because of its grand scale, there exists a wealth of information on co-operative organisations and co-operative activity – for example, the British Columbia Co-operative Union Originals (1920s-1970s) measures 3.9 meters in length – a huge source of historical information. On the other hand, such information does not always translate into usable resources. The sheer size of the movement has created a sea of paper, micro-film, and electronic citations which, because of its diversity, has formed a body of information that is just as likely to frustrate as to inform the researcher. In my quest to study the co-operative movement on Vancouver Island (see article on page 4), sifting through this horde of information has been a serious challenge.

One method to begin a co-operative research endeavour is to find the larger provincial or federal co-operative organisations. In this province, one could use Credit Union Central of B.C.(CUCBC), the BC Co-operative Union, the B.C. Co-operative Association (BCCA), or Federated Co-operatives Ltd (which has operations throughout western Canada). These institutions have useful reports either online, (see BCCA), or in hard copy, (see B.C. Co-operative Union). Depending on its size, purpose and influence, these organisations cannot often provide detailed information on a specific co-op. Nevertheless, their repositories can hold sources of immense value to researchers. For example, they usually have lists of the member co-operatives which state the dates of incorporation and provide summaries on the general activities of the co-op, as well as an address, phone number and contact name (providing you are looking at present day co-ops). Even simple facts such as these can give a general shape to the movement by organising the co-ops by date, sector, and region and then cross referencing the data. In addition, these are good places to search for any regional or pan-regional conferences, annual meetings, financial reports, development assessments, or records of governmental/ co-operative interaction.

A number of the larger organisational reports, such as those of the CUCBC, are housed in the provincial archives. For anyone not familiar with archival research please note; you should be prepared to spend at least twice the amount of time you think you will need to spend there, especially if photocopies are required. Unlike University libraries, an archivist copies the material and depending on the backlog of orders it can often take up to two weeks for you to receive your orders (depending on the archive).

Getting in touch with the individual co-ops, if posssible, is also a very good way of researching the movement. If using a mailing (or emailing) list, take extra time to make this process as easy as possible for the co-ops. Because of the wide variety of co-operative ventures, one should always try to make the questions and any written letters short, to the point, and as personal as possible. Co-operators are, more often than not, very busy people and may not have time to answer a four page questionnaire. Phone interviews seem to work fairly well as they take up less time on behalf of the interviewee and are more personal than written correspondence.

There are also online sources for research information either through the individual co-ops web sites, or though institutions, such as BCICS, which study the co-operative movement. The BCICS website information and its Galleria website (http://bcics.uvic.ca/galleria) was a valuable research tool for my purposes. Although these sources are for the most part in their infancy, fortunately, they continue to expand their collections. In fact, I will be adding more stories on co-ops to the Galleria from my findings once they are finalised.

The accessibility of sources on co-operatives and co-operative history is one of the most important factors for anyone writing about the co-operative movement. Being in Victoria, it is fairly easy to jump on your bike or the bus and go down to the Provincial Archives. Unfortunately for people outside Victoria, this poses a major problem for research. Researchers and students of the co-operative movement pine for a comprehensive online database of co-op information. There are some out there but they need to be expanded. Perhaps The Cooperative Learning Centre, being developed by BCICS, the International Co-operative Alliance (ICA) and International Labour Organisation (ILO), will help fill this void. This will help not only the researcher who wishes to view the historical development of the movement, but also aid the co-operator who seeks to expand the role of co-operatives in the future.

Eryk Martin