Advocacy Alert - City of Regina

Letter to Editor - Sent to Regina Leader-Post, 17 April 2007

City Clerk Randy Markewich is mistaken when he suggests "only fairly small numbers of people ... wish to access the archives."

Have we become so accustomed to archival material being available that we can now neglect the very processes that enable us to preserve and access these resources? It is remarkable that in a week just devoted to the compelling history of Vimy Ridge, we might assume there are reasonable constraints on either our shared memory or its impact. Sharon Pollock's Walsh; Guy Vanderhaeghe's The Last Crossing; CBC documentaries Canada: A People's History; Prairie Giant; or SCN's Black Tuesday - all are evidence that archival resources have an expanding impact well beyond the numbers Mr. Markewich suggests.

The history of Regina is as compelling. Increasingly, archivists across Canada have been working to make our holdings more accessible on-line, and Saskatchewan has led the nation in this regard. The City of Regina Archives' on-line exhibit Regina: The Early Years (http://scaa.usask.ca/gallery/regina/) has received over 1 million "hits" since June 2004 - surely evidence that there is, in fact, a remarkable level of interest in the historical resources of the city.

Underpinning such easy access, however, is considerable work. Professional archivists ensure the permanently valuable records are not destroyed; they appraise records from a variety of sources to ensure authentic, reliable evidence of our past is preserved; they ensure these resources are properly conserved and they make these records available to a variety of researchers, for a myriad of purposes.

To discontinue these functions and assume the City Archives can maintain an appropriate level of public service is simply misguided. The suggestions made by Mr. Markewich would create a closed, static collection and a storefront archives - and would certainly lessen the ability of the public to have an appropriate level of service to the records documenting their municipal government.

Archival resources are a sound investment. They will not depreciate; and they can be used any number of times for any number of purposes. Archives are highly cost effective. The amount of money that the City of Regina will actually save in this cost-cutting exercise is minimal. But the service it provides in this area will effectively end. We ask the City of Regina Council to reflect in their budget the critical role played by the archives in documenting and supporting research, education, and capacity building, in protecting citizens' legal rights, and in supporting economic innovation and cultural diversity.

The citizens of Regina deserve no less.

Nicole Kruppi
Vice-President, Saskatchewan Council for Archives and Archivists