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The results are impressive . . .
Don Bourdon, Editor
Over the past eighteen years, the Canadian archival community has earned an enviable reputation for combining the initiative of archivists and the resources of institutions with grant assistance from federal and provincial sources to complete a variety of collections management projects. Alberta has a particularly impressive record of accomplishment in this area.
This fact was brought home to me years ago when I sat in on a Canadian Council of Archives General Assembly. As provincial representative, I was relieved to find that no Alberta institutions had broken their promises to do good things with other people's money that year. Each year I have been pleased to see great progress in the areas of access and preservation all thanks to grant funds and matching resources.
This issue of the ASA Newsletter features reports on a variety of CCA, ASA and CAIN projects completed over the past grant year. Many thanks to those of you who reported on your experiences and on the outcomes of your projects. We can all learn from this sample. After all the sharp-pencil scratching (and resultant erasure-crumb piles) necessary to calculate time, costs, applicants' contributions and then pulling these projects off -- sometimes under threat of electronic or emotional collapse -- the results are impressive.
Over the years, dark clouds of financial uncertainty and sudden changes in the prevailing winds of funding programs have threatened what can only be seen as a great national success story. Again, an unstable low-pressure system is developing to the east. Publicizing these grant programs through reports and press coverage will help ensure their continuance. You can be assured of a reply if you contact your MLA or MP about the use of funds in their constituencies.
We as a community need to recognize that institutions require some flexibility in performing these projects. The most qualified need to perform this most important work. We also need to share the outcomes of our projects with colleagues, users, resource allocators and the public. The ASA Newsletter is a good place to start with that communication.
Congratulations to all who have completed grant projects. Now get back to work on the next batch!
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