Canada: “Cuts to Archives Threaten Our Ability to Preserve Our Precious Heritage”

From an Op/Ed by Nancy Marrelli Appearing in The Montreal Gazette:

On April 30, Library and Archives Canada eliminated the $1.71-million National Archival Development Program and made drastic cuts to its own staffing.

These cuts are devastating to the Canadian archival network and to Canadian documentary heritage.

For the past 26 years, the Canadian Council of Archives has administered the NADP (and its predecessors) to support archival initiatives in every corner of this country:

Small historical societies struggling to maintain and bring local history to their communities.

Archives that preserve and make accessible Canada’s proud history of innovation and development.

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The cuts to Library and Archives Canada ($10 million over three years) will lead to the loss of archivists who acquire and preserve the electronic records, early video, wax cylinders, paper documents and complex records of Canada’s creators. These specialized professionals process the records and care for them so they can be made available in person or digitally to researchers in Canada and around the world. It takes more than simple scanning to keep these important documentary resources available to researchers in perpetuity.