Sponsored by Society Circle
Speakers:Culture/History Wars in Canada: a Museum Library Perspective - Jonathan Franklin, Chief: Library, Archives and Research Fellowships Program, National Gallery of Canada
The Campaign to Save Canada's Documentary Heritage - Mary Kandiuk, Visual Arts Librarian,
Scott Library, York University
Moderator:Jennifer Garland, Assistant Librarian, McGill University
What are the priorities for national collection building by government institutions in the face of dwindling resources? What strategies can be used by stakeholders to ensure that artistic, historical and cultural heritage is preserved? The national institution, Library and Archives Canada, has embarked on controversial directions and undergone abrupt changes of leadership. Stark reductions in funding have affected it and many smaller federal libraries as well. At the same time, Canadian history has loomed large in political discourse. A political campaign is being waged by librarians, archivists, academics, curators, artists, and a myriad of other citizens across the country in response to what is perceived as the dismantling of Canada’s documentary heritage.
Mary Kandiuk from York University will provide a chronology of the events leading up to the current crisis, a deconstruction of a political rhetoric that threatens the fabric of cultural institutions everywhere, and an overview of the collaborative efforts that are being used to influence government policy making. It will also highlight the successful multimedia strategies that are being used in a highly visible campaign resulting in hopeful signs that the tide may be turning.
Jonathan Franklin from the National Gallery of Canada will investigate whether there are particular lessons to be learned for art museum libraries as their role in general seems increasingly under threat. Is this an opportunity to be seized, or a trap to be avoided? Should the library ramp up its collecting and programming in related areas or maintain a steady course with no deviation?
