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President's Report
Garth Clarke
The ASA continues to build upon its previous successes. The Archival Resources in the Classroom Project has now been completed. It includes an Archival Tour component that has already attracted interest from several archival institutions across the country. The ASA has received funding for its Populist Project: A Window on a Nation Building Experience. The project is now underway, in partnership with the Saskatchewan Council for Archives and Archivists, the Saskatchewan Archives Board, the Archives of Manitoba, the University of Saskatchewan Archives, the University of Manitoba Archives, the Alberta Online Consortium and Chinook Multimedia. It will result in a content rich set of educational tools for exploring the history of populism in Western Canada.
Many members of the ASA have been concerned about the renewal of federal funding for the Canadian Council of Archives. I have sent letters on behalf of the ASA supporting continued, increased and stable funding for the CCA. The Executive Director and I attended a CCA Round Table in Ottawa in October where various aspects of funding and strategic planning for the CCA were discussed. I also attended the CCA General Assembly (again in Ottawa) this November. The CCA awaits government approval of a Library and Archives Canada sponsored grants and contributions program. No decision has yet been made; and, as a result, there is no guarantee of any 2005-2006 CCA grants programs. The ASA, however, will still have a small grant run for next year.
Library and Archives Canada met in Calgary with a group of ASA members as part of its cross-country consultation process concerning its new mandate and future direction. Discussion was frank and revealed a high level of support for the continuance of the CCA and its various grant programs.
A Special Projects Committee has been established, and a Strategic Planning Committee is in the works. Both committees are the result of the perceived need to re-examine all aspects of the ASA's operations, to develop new partnerships and look for new funding streams in order to maintain and, perhaps, expand mandated services to the Albertan archival community. As an initial step towards forging new partnerships, the ASA Board met with its counterparts from Museums Alberta in August. Another meeting is to take place sometime in 2005.
Finally, the staff of the ASA is to be commended for the outstanding service they continue to provide us all.
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