Library and Archives Canada (LAC) celebrated yesterday the opening of its new state-of-the-art Preservation Storage Facility in Gatineau, Quebec.
A plaque was unveiled and guests toured the site at the event, which was attended by, among others, the Honourable Pablo Rodriguez, Minister of Canadian Heritage; the Honourable Mona Fortier, President of the Treasury Board of Canada; the Honourable Steven MacKinnon, Chief Government Whip and Member of Parliament for Gatineau; LAC and Plenary Properties Gatineau executives; and representatives from Kitigan Zibi Anishinabeg Nation.
Completed earlier this year, the new facility enhances LAC’s storage capacity and provides optimum environmental conditions for the long-term preservation and safekeeping of Canada’s documentary heritage.
For example, the overall design of the building provides the storage conditions required to preserve the documents for 500 years. In other words, a new piece of paper stored under these conditions in 2022 should still be readable in 2522.
Leslie Weir, Librarian and Archivist of Canada, said, “Twenty-five years ago, LAC was opening its Preservation Centre. Today, we are proud to continue our tradition of excellence by adding this state-of-the-art, environmentally friendly building that meets the highest international standards and norms for preservation. The new Preservation Storage Facility will help LAC to effectively preserve Canada’s significant documents for current and future generations.”
This facility is the first net-zero carbon archival preservation facility in the Americas, the first special purpose federal facility built to meet the requirements of Canada’s Greening Government Strategy, and the largest automated archival facility in the world. Each of the six vaults is equipped with an automated storage and retrieval system.
It is located beside and linked to LAC’s Preservation Centre. Together, the two buildings now form the LAC Preservation Campus.
Visitors and passersby can learn more about the two buildings and the work being done inside, through interpretative signage installed along the highly used pathway in the surrounding greenspace.
