Saskatchewan Archives Board
SUBMISSION TO THE ROYAL SOCIETY EXPERT PANEL ON THE
STATUS AND FUTURE OF CANADA’S LIBRAIRIES AND ARCHIVES
November 29, 2013
Regina, Saskatchewan
The Saskatchewan Archives Board is a third party agency serving the
Government of Saskatchewan and the people of the province through an
eight-member Board of Directors and a professional staff of 41 managers,
archivists and support personnel. The Archives operates six office and
records storage sites in Regina and Saskatoon and receives an annual
operating grant from the Province, which in 2013/14 stands at $4.4 million.
The Archives Act, 2004 defines the mandate of the Province’s archive:
• To acquire and preserve public and private records of significance to
Saskatchewan and to facilitate access to those records
• To be the permanent repository of public and court records
• To facilitate the management of public and court records
• To encourage and support archival activities and the archival
community
The Archives Act, 2004

The mission of Saskatchewan Archives is to:
• To acquire, manage, preserve and make accessible records of
significance that reflect the rights and activities of Saskatchewan’s
people - those of public and private organizations and those of
individuals
• To foster government accountability and transparency by advancing
and facilitating responsible records management in the public sector
• To promote and assist the many uses of the documentary records of
Saskatchewan
• To engage the people of Saskatchewan with their documentary
heritage and to foster an understanding of our collective identity
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• To provide leadership and support for the on-going development of
archival work
Services
The services provided by the Saskatchewan Archives include
• Research services to government clients, academics, teachers,
family historians, media clients, the legal profession and the general
public (in-person, web, correspondence)
• Record donation services to the public
• Collection and processing of official records of enduring historical
value
• Records management services (advisory, records scheduling and
disposition) to government ministries, boards, agencies and Crown
corporations
• Records management advisory services to Provincial Courts and to
the Legislative Assembly
• Records management services to Members of the Legislative
Assembly, Ministers of the Crown and to the Premier
• Advice on access and privacy issues to government and to the
broader community
• Outreach and advisory services through participation in province-wide
archival community activities, public tours, school presentations,
exhibits (virtual and traditional) and open house events
Fundamental to service delivery is our evaluation of available resources,
critical institutional priorities and the factors impacting the delivery and
sustainability of our core mandate. The challenge exists in the complex
task of balancing the management of the ongoing preservation, access to
and description of our analogue holdings with the establishment of a
framework for the acquisition of digital archives, the launching of a digital
preservation program and the prioritization of our Permanent Collection to
allow for the digitization of those archival collections most at risk. Service
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delivery must continue while the evaluation of program effectiveness takes
place.
The emphasis for many archives in terms of web-delivery has been placed
on describing services, explaining policy and building archival description
catalogues, while contributing to provincial and national catalogues, and
launching exhibits to promote awareness of holdings. As time and
resources permit, there is increasing web-presentation of digitized archival
materials, yet this continues to occur primarily through special projects,
year-end allocation of resources or in response to anniversary events. The
result is a smattering of often thematic presentations, rarely complete fonds
and frequently limited context to the archival record, its creator or its
custodial history. In the rush to make our holdings available to users, we
are eroding the framework essential to archival research.
Canadians interested in archival material want to see records on-line. They
want to piece together the varied materials that tell the story of their family,
particular events, individuals, organizations, and historical timelines. They
rarely stop to think where the record comes from, why it exists in the first
place, or why it is important that this documentary evidence continues to
exist into the future. “Just digitize” is seen as an easy solution without
consideration of the infrastructure, resources, labour-intensity, associated
costs and immense challenge in getting records onto platforms for
discovery. Personal use of digital technology in the creation of records has
clouded public understanding of archival preservation.
Funders want confirmation and the assurance that when archival services
are required, they will be delivered.
Public access to material is
fundamental and yet the relationship is not necessarily drawn to resources
for longer reference hours or for services delivered through social media /
online. Government clients want to know that ‘their records’ exist when
required, for FOI requests, for program development, for policy research.
Most however, see their provincial archive as a ‘records storage’ facility –
not as a centre for historical preservation, custodial management on behalf
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of the Crown, public research, education, artistic creation or for the
discovery of our province’s history.
Community Outreach and Awareness
The majority of Canadians has limited awareness of the role of archives in
their community, in news headlines they watch and hear, in legal activity
reported through Courts, in commemorations of anniversary events, in
traditions that are marked annually, in statistical analysis and reports
delivered by experts in their fields. There exists a detachment from the
delivery of information and the evidence of the documentary record itself.
There is also a conceptual disconnect between the ‘dusty’ records image of
archives and the on-line viewing of archival records.
Canadians researching their family histories increasingly know of archives
through Ancestry.ca, FamilySearch or similar ‘gathering places’ where
pieces of stories are brought together and personalized. How aware
Canadians are of the particular archives holding the pieces, or the diversity
of archival institutions that contain the pieces, or the incompleteness of the
pieces themselves to fonds or to total holdings are issues that should focus
our attention. There is a danger in the value of archives being equated by
how many records are available on-line. Canadians need to know that the
historical record is at risk and ‘being digitized’ does not guarantee a
continued future existence.
We measure the impact of our services through user comments, through
inquiry lines, through participation in special events and through on-line
hits. Refinement and definition of emphasis on service delivery occurs
through annual work plans and strategic planning sessions. Limited
operating budgets and resources continue to limit delivery and strip-down
services to the very core of our mandates. We are asked to limit our FTE
footprint while records become unplayable and indiscernible. The physical
loss of these records results in the permanent loss of evidence and
memory. They leave no footprint at all.
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Archives build community by providing the documentary evidence to the
past; the essential knowledge of paths taken provides the foundation for
future social, political and historical understanding and accountability.
Public memory consists of stories; archives substantiate, recreate and
identify new avenues for thought. The very uniqueness of the archival
record and how each researcher approaches the record confirms the
possibility of new stories and new engagements with memory.
New Directions
Digitization
The major challenges related to born-digital material for the Saskatchewan
Archives centre on securing the necessary funding to build a sustainable
framework for a Trusted Digital Repository. Similar to the annual requests
for additional physical storage for analogue records, is the request for
storage and preservation capacity to receive the increasing born-digital
archival material offered to us by donors or created within government for
transfer to our custody through the records scheduling system. As
Government explores records management options for electronic records,
the Archives needs to be an active partner in ensuring safe transfer and ongoing preservation of digital material.
The digitization of analogue material requires an annually-funded
digitization program that systematically addresses archival records at risk in
our repositories. Recent activity and discussion has highlighted film, video
and audio records which are disappearing through poor environmental
storage conditions, the lack of playback equipment and the lack of
expertise to manage the ongoing needs of the varied and record-specific
formats. Risk grows as well for fragile, faded or mouldy paper records and
photographs. Risk assessments identify the greatest risk factors and
assess costs, yet the results serve more to present the overwhelming
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challenge facing archival preservation management than to provide a
concrete plan for action that attracts and holds the attention of funders.
A paperless future? This remains largely unimaginable for most archives.
Even if the dollars flow for a digitization program, there will never be, nor
should there be, the total digitization of archival holdings. Directed and
prioritized preservation will exist well into the future. While the born-digital
record is quickly overtaking the acquisition of traditional analogue archival
records, our repositories will not ‘empty’ of analogue collections at any
great rate. There is increasing discussion, as there needs to be,
surrounding the de-accessioning of ‘original’ records following digitization.
Does the record exist for informational value only or does there continue to
be an intrinsic archival (as distinguished from artefactual) value to the
record in its original form. Not every record holds a continued historical
value, but this assessment needs to be made over time and each outcome
documented as part of the custodial history accompanying the record
(whether in original or digital form). The brick-and-mortar archive will
continue, dependent on the rate of digitization and the success of digital
preservation. But essential to this scenario is also the user. Will the
‘emerging’ researcher armed with countless search tools still value context,
sifting through records to piece together the evidence of new thought? Will
exploring the records of past creators hold value or will the information itself
suffice?
Education
The education of future archivists shows promise in the shift to knowledge
of the fundamentals of born-digital records and in the growing emphasis on
preservation management. Ideally, an archive like the Saskatchewan
Archives continues to hire staff from a diversity of disciplines to effectively
build an expertise base that reflects social, political, scientific, educational
and historical thought, while still grounded in the fundamentals of research.
Conversations around professional competency requirements are important
if we are to achieve a recognized standard outside of our own limited
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archival communities. The practicality of a work environment focused on
achieving much with limited resources still faces the new archivist
regardless of his/her skill set and remains a key challenge to job
satisfaction, employee retention and career performance.
Resources
To begin to realize the aspirations of our users, the Saskatchewan Archives
would require funding for staffing resources to reinstate full reference
hours, Monday through Friday service (estimated at $198K); to establish a
digitization program for the Archives (estimated at a start-up cost of $5.3
million with annual costs of $2.73 million); and to establish the capacity to
acquire born-digital records through the development of a TDR (estimated
at an initial $630K). The total increase to the Archives’ annual grant would
be at the rate of 139% for this initial change to the status quo, with a
maintained annual rate of a 73% increase in our budget (by $3.32 million to
$7.63 million annually) to offer these services long-term. Faced with the
management of six locations in two cities, the provision of services by the
Archives is also substantially impeded by rising accommodation costs at
market values.
With adequate funding, the Saskatchewan Archives could begin to act
upon the findings of its July 2013 CCI Risk Management Report, provide
full in-person services to the research public, increase web access to
holdings, and deliver services for the acquisition of born-digital records
from the public and the secure and effective transfer of records from the
Government of Saskatchewan. Additionally, to address community
awareness among the general population, we would benefit greatly from
the services of a Communications Officer position.
Conclusion
The challenges are daunting, but as custodian of the province’s historical
memory the Archives examines the possible, investigates the most efficient
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means of providing Canadians access to their records, and explores ways
to generate awareness of the role and value of archives. The preservation
of the collective memory of Canadians depends on us; future generations
will not know what is lost.

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