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Executive Director/Archives Advisor's Report
Submitted by Michael Gourlie, Executive Director/Archives Advisor
The role of the Archives Advisor is to provide advice about archival procedures and practices to ASA members as well as organizations and businesses embarking upon an archival program. While the advisory services program formed a significant part of this year's work, other ASA initiatives contributed to a busy and challenging year.
Advisory Services
The individuals and organizations that accessed the ASA's Advisory Services Program in 2003-2004 asked a variety of questions that reflected concerns over education, preservation, grants, and arrangement and description. A statistical analysis of the types of inquiries follows this report.
A major component of the advisory services program is the on-site visit. This year, there were six site visits to the following institutions: United Farmers of Alberta, Wild Rose United Church, Royal Glenora Club, PetroCanada, Edson Public Library and Archives, and the Didsbury and District Museum. In addition to these more format site visits, there were numerous visits to ASA institutional members throughout the year.
Additional Initiatives
While the overall numbers of inquiries and site visits in the advisory services program decreased compared to the previous year, there were many additional activities undertaken during the past year. These initiatives included:
- undertaking a variety of education, grants and ANA-related projects
- presenting ASA's Archives Education Institute
- attending ASA Board meetings
- liaising with allied heritage organizations
- producing a quarterly column for the ASA newsletter
- representing the ASA at public awareness activities, including an interview with CBC radio, a demonstration of the ANA databases during the "Archives in Your Attic" event at the Provincial Archives of Alberta, and a speech to the Nose Creek Historical Society
The major project for this year has been the "Archival Resources in the Classroom" initiative. I provided assistance with selecting sources to digitize, met with teachers and project experts, liaised with the designer of the project, and wrote some content. Combined with the online Archives Tour, these two projects provide the opportunity for increased awareness about the work of archivists and archival institutions, which can only benefit the archival community.
The coming year will bring new projects, additional site visits, and public awareness initiatives to assist in the development of Alberta's archival community. I look forward to your calls and emails. Thanks to the Board members, Committee chairs, the ASA's contractors, and all the ASA members who have been so helpful this past year.
Archives Advisory Services: Statistical Analysis
April 1, 2003-March 31, 2004
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