The City of Regina's Finance and Administration Committee will consider a report on May 8 that identifies the City of Regina Archives as a "discretionary item that is not a core service for the City of Regina" and recommends:

• the elimination of the City Archivist position
• that access to the collection be by appointment only
• and that the remaining archives assistant be assigned to work on records management projects
  • Report to Finance and Administration Committee (PDF file)
  • Note: Before being posted on the City website, the City Clerk's Office mailed this report to the SCAA and other organizations and individuals who had expressed interest in this issue; the SCAA's copy was received on April 19. The above link is to a scanned version of the copy we received.
    

The SCAA has prepared a detailed response to this report. Several elements of this report are troubling:

• There appear to be some basic misunderstandings and mistaken assumptions about both archival and records management functions
• In particular, there appears to be an assumption that responding to reference enquiries is the sole function of an archives. This couldn't be further from the truth, as detailed in the response. The report also fails to recognize the work (arrangement, description, and preservation) required in order to provide effective reference service
• There seems to be an assumption that other organizations will act to fill the gap left by a less than fully functional City Archives, or indeed that existing collections will meet researchers' needs. This ignores the fact that archival records are unique; and in particular that records created by the City, which are publicly owned, provide evidence of corporate actions over time
• There is an inference that there is a transitory nature to the value of records, and that access to information is easily achieved; and a troubling distinction being made between a "corporate archives" and one providing service to the public
  • SCAA response (PDF file)