Concerned that the one federal institution responsible for preserving Canada’s culture and history is under threat, CAUT has a launched a nationwide campaign to protect Library and Archives Canada.

“Badly conceived restructuring, a narrowing of its mandate and funding cuts are undermining the ability of Library and Archives Canada to acquire, preserve and make publicly available the nation’s documentary heritage,” CAUT executive director James Turk said during a news conference to unveil the campaign on Parliament Hill Nov. 2.

He noted that funding for Library and Archives Canada is expected to fall by nearly 20 per cent by 2014, and that the current “modernization” process has already led to a dramatic reduction in the amount of materials being collected.

“Modernization is really being used as a code word for the narrowing of the institution’s mandate and an excuse for cutting services,” Turk said. “All Canadians who rely on Library and Archives collections are being affected, including academic staff and students, researchers, authors, documentarians, historians, families tracking their genealogies, librarians and aboriginal communities.”

Changes underway at Library and Archives Canada, including reduced public access to collections, the elimination of a number of specialist archivist positions and cuts to ma­terials acquisition, have drawn widespread criticism.

Liam McGahern, president of the Antiquarian Booksellers Association of Canada, also spoke during the press conference echoing Turk’s sentiments and noting that changes in Library and Archive acquisitions policy is creating holes in the institution’s collection that will be difficult to backfill.
     
While Library and Archives Canada has historically focused on maintaining a comprehensive collection, under the modernization program it is adopting a “representative acquisitions model” where only Canada’s “essential documentary heritage” will be maintained.
     
In May 2009, Library and Ar­chives announced a 10-month moratorium on all purchased acquisitions. While the moratorium was officially lifted last year, Turk said it’s not clear purchases have resumed.

“Important historical material is being lost,” he added.
     
CAUT’s “Save Library and Ar­chives Canada” campaign is calling on the government and officials at Library and Archive to take action to protect the quality and integrity of Canada’s only national public library and archives.

“We’re asking our members and all Canadians to get involved because our nation’s artistic, historical and cultural heritage is at stake,” Turk said.

The campaign is also calling on Ottawa to amend the Library and Archives Canada Act to clearly define the institution’s obligation to maintain a comprehensive collection of Canada’s documentary heritage, along with providing sufficient funding to fulfill this mandate.

In addition, Turk said, Library and Archives must restore services to the public, including “access to archivists and librarians, access to the general reference collection, and reestablishment of specialist archivist positions.”