The Question of Archives
by Elizabeth CampbellAnother of the issues raised at the Annual Reunion/AGM this year was what the Association should do with its accumulated historical artifacts and documents, etc., specifically, a time capsule placed in the care of the City of Winnipeg Archives after it was removed from the plinth placed in 1912 at Portage and Main and intended for a memorial statue of Lord Selkirk, and several carousels of photographic diapositive slides and related notes that were used in school lectures given by Anne Henderson in the 1960s.
This issue pressed one of my buttons (oh dear!). I didn’t say anything at the meeting because I didn’t really think it was the time or place. There are perhaps those who think this isn’t either. But <swallow> here it is…
One opinion seems to be that these items should be placed immediately in the hands of the Manitoba Archives. Supposing, that is, that institution would like to have them. That was the opinion expressed at the AGM.
For me, the key word here is ‘immediately’. ‘Immediately’ is the word I take issue with, particularly in the case of the slides and related notes. But the issue has wider implications when we start applying our decision to other records we both obtain and create as an Association. And here’s why:
We have two very active Executive members, the Archivist (you can see where this is going already, can’t you?) and the Genealogist, who require a quality, working archive in order to do their work properly and efficiently. Both of us (even clearer?) require ready access to these materials. Due to the nature of TLSARL as an Association of dispersed descendants, we both live at some remove from the Manitoba Archives (I’m in Ontario, and the Archivist is in BC.).
I recognise the importance of preserving these items in Archives that have a controlled environment and personel with the expertise to care for these treasures, and also of the importance of making certain of these items available to researchers. I am a wholehearted supporter of Museums and Archives! I also believe that our original documents and artifacts belong in these institutions, particularly if they have special significance.
Here’s the ‘however’…. This is our history, and we are the historical orginisation that is actively and continuously working with this history. We should have COPIES of the material that is relevant to our work and research in our possession and at our disposal. We should be busy collecting more photographs and stories about our ancestors. We should also have an inventory of that material we do have in our own archive. As we do not have a building or office space of our own, storage of this material can present problems. Currently, however, we have that problem well in hand (because so much of our collected material has been deposited in the Manitoba Archives without our retaining copies, our working archive is VERY small).
Having these copies in our possession also serves another purpose. Should disaster ever occur and the Manitoba Archives flood or burn or blow up or whatever, all of our collected history is not lost, and we can help them rebuild their collection (Think of St. Mary’s Isle and the loss through fire of the Douglas (Lord Selkirk) family archive, the main primary source of inrofmation concerning our ancestors. At least 20,000 odd pages were saved because the National Archives of Canada had sent people over to make some copies.). I recognise that the likelihood is that it will be our collection that gets hurt first. And I’m not comparing us to the NAC. We do have a responsibility to ensure the preservation of our history – it is our mandate, in fact as TLSARL. And having a solid working archive of our own is a big part of that.
Tags: Annual General Meeting, Annual Reunion, Archives, collecting our history, planning, Planning Ahead, preserving our history, TLSARL Archivist, TLSARL Genealogist
