Karen Dubinsky, who teaches in the departments of Global Development Studies and History at Queen’s University, has penned an opinion article in the Toronto Star.
Why she asks, when schools and libraries are figuring out how to open safely and have been open for well over a month, are some of Canada’s major archives so slow to reopen? She cites the situations at Libraries and Archives Canada, the City of Toronto Archives and the Ontario Archives.
Read the full editorial at The End of History? Why we must reopen the archives.
While I agree on the need for more funding that’s not the only issue.
Not only are time slots limited at LAC, so are the number of items you can order to use in each one. I was there to consult directories – I don’t need 3 hours to consult 10 directory volumes. That’s not very efficient – another researcher could have used my remaining 2 hours.