B.C. GROUP CONCERNED ABOUT PROVINCIAL ARCHIVES

from an e-mail message from Jane Turner

The newly formed BC Archives Action Group is composed of people concerned about archives in British Columbia. Our primary goal is to act as a pressure group on government to ensure that archival repositories have the funding to acquire and preserve records, and make them available to the public. As a first step, we have asked for a meeting with the Minister of Finance, responsible for the BC Information Management Services (BCIMS), to express our continuing concerns about the reorganization of the BC provincial archives.

We are asking BC archivists to write to the Minister to support two of our major concerns. Both of these concerns suggest to us that the role of the Archives is being downgraded in BCIMS's ongoing business planning:

1. The role of the Provincial Archivist:
At present the Provincial Archivist has been removed from regular management responsibilities to prepare a special report. The Provincial Archivist has a vital role in protecting archival interests regarding the destruction of government records, and in the acquisition of non-government records. We are concerned that the removal of the Provincial Archivist from his primary responsibilities threatens the documentary heritage of BC.

2. Integrated provincial archives:
We believe that a properly funded integrated provincial archives, responsible for government and non-government records and support for community archives throughout the province, is a public responsibility of equal importance to the work of a provincial museum. We continue to be concerned that the Archives must give high priority to the acquisition and preservation of non-government records, and indicate this by a clear statement to the public.

(The note is signed by Jane Turner and 7 other archivists, historians, and journalists. For more information, contact Jane Turner at 604-721-8252 or jturner@uvic.ca)