'It's like cutting the oxygen off,' former curator says
by: Patrick Dare
OTTAWA - A moratorium on buying new materials at Library and Archives Canada has some people wondering whether important cultural and historical documents could be lost to the country.
On May 19, an e-mail went out from Library and Archives informing its suppliers of an immediate halt to paid acquisitions as part of a review of policies by the new senior managers. It was a move that has shocked some librarians and archivists.
“It’s just not done. It’s just silly. It’s like cutting the oxygen off,” said Michel Brisebois, former curator of rare books at Library and Archives. “That’s not acceptable for a national library.”
Brisebois, who worked at the national library in Ottawa for 10 years until 2004, said Library and Archives has “a great collection.” But it needs to be in the marketplace for books and documents to ensure the country’s cultural memory is complete.
He said sending out a communication to suppliers that you are no longer buying will take Library and Archives off the radar of people such as rare booksellers. He said this is risky because there will be occasions when treasured cultural materials of national significance come on the market.
Sometimes the federal government decides to step in and set a onetime acquisition budget to get a special collection. But to get these national treasures, you have to be in tune with the market, says Brisebois.
“I think it’s very dangerous in the long run,” said Brisebois. “It’s a shock.”
Library and Archives Canada receives copies of books published in Canada and has material donated. But it relies on acquisitions for things such as books written about Canada abroad.
David Ewens, of the Antiquarian Booksellers’ Association of Canada, said dealers such as himself have sold all kinds of Canadiana to Library and Archives over the years, including early Canadian election posters and advertising posters, photographs and maps.
Ewens noted the expenditures over the years have generally been small, though the government occasionally goes big with an acquisition such as the Peter Winkworth collection; 5,200 artworks, artifacts and historical documents acquired in 2008 to much acclaim at a cost of $6 million.
Ewens is concerned about the implications of Library and Archives no longer buying, including the possibility of rare booksellers going out of business.
“You just can’t stop preserving history,” said Ewens.
Liam McGahern, of Patrick McGahern Books in Ottawa, said important pieces of Canadian social history — even as simple as parish histories — find their way into booksellers’ stores. But he said there are other collectors in the world who will snap up interesting Canadian artifacts and books if Canada does not.
“Cultural items will be lost to the Canadiana collection,” said McGahern. “The cultural world doesn’t wait for Library and Archives Canada.”
Library and Archives declined to comment Friday.
Library and Archives Canada used to be two organizations; the National Library and the National Archives. The two — headed by national librarian and author Roch Carrier and national archivist Ian Wilson — were merged under Wilson’s leadership in May 2004.
Wilson retired last April and was succeeded by Daniel Caron, a 27-year public servant who most recently was a senior assistant deputy minister at Library and Archives.
Marianne Scott, Canada’s former national librarian — who is now president of the Friends of Library and Archives Canada — said the organization has limited funds and a lot of issues to sort out such as what to do about the burgeoning quantity of self-published materials.
But she said communication on the acquisition issue was “poor” and the lack of consultation took people by surprise.
“There has been a lack of communication about what and why,” said Scott, who met with Caron about a week ago. “There’s a great concern. There may be items that are going to be missed.”
She said that in the past, the National Library sometimes delayed purchases due to budget squeezes but never had a blanket policy against purchases. Scott said that in areas such as the rare-book market, collectors often have to move quickly or the buying opportunity is lost.
From: The Ottawa Citizen
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