The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
"The Report by the Auditor General of Canada is pointing out a crisis that is beyond the confines of Ottawa" according to Cheryl Avery, Vice-Chair of the Canadian Council of Archives. "The Auditor General clearly defined the very real and imperative needs of the Library and Archives Canada. However, preserving our nation's documentary heritage is shared by a network of archives across the country." Millions of documents, heritage photographs, maps and audio-visual treasures are held in institutions across Canada that are struggling to attract sufficient funding and trained staff to acquire and process the documentary heritage of Canadians. This has created barriers to accessing a wealth of knowledge for teachers, researchers, genealogists and the general public. Over the past twenty years, unprecedented growth has occurred in Canadian archives. Preliminary findings from a recent survey of archival institutions across Canada indicate that on average, archival holdings have increased 157% since 1986. However, almost half of the responding institutions reported that over 49% of these collections remain unprocessed and therefore, largely inaccessible. "Chronic low funding and a shortage of staff have significantly hampered the ability of archives across the country to play their complementary role with our federal partners the Library and Archives Canada and the Department of Canadian Heritage" said Fred Farrell, Chair of the Canadian Council of Archives.
