Should family historians be concerned about cutbacks in research time at major archival centres in Canada? Is there a trend toward reducing research hours? Or is this simply a temporary situation because of the pandemic?
Last week, John Reid wrote in LAC gradually closing about Library and Archives Canada closing their research room to only three days a week.
In an op-ed piece, The End of History? Why we must reopen the archives, in Wednesday’s Toronto Star, Professor Karen Dubinski at Queen’s University raised the issue about limited access to archival centres.
During the pandemic, public archives across Canada closed their facilities to the public, and that made sense. Now, it’s making less sense.
Prof. Dubkinsky questions why some of Canada’s major archives have been “so slow” to reopen, while schools and libraries have figured out how to do so safely.
To illustrate the problem researchers face, she provides three examples of the current situation in her own province.
- Researchers can work at Library and Archives Canada for a maximum of four three-hour sessions a week.
- Researchers at the City of Toronto Archives can work no longer than three hours per month.
- Ontario Archives just announced they will reopen in November.
Prof. Dubinski writes that limited access is “creating an impossible situation for historical researchers.” Anyone who has spent time in an archival centre knows research requires lots of time.
This is not only a problem for academics.
Prof. Dubinski says, “Archives matter to everyone because they are such a source of knowledge about the past. You literally can’t write history without them.”
Her recommendation is to provide more funding for archives and to make them a priority. Otherwise the country will suffer.
Online access to Toronto Star articles, without a subscription, are limited to a few per month.
