From Paper Archives to People Archives: Public Programming in the Management of Archives

Abstract

In 1881, Douglas Brymner, the first Dominion Archivist, began to articulate a "noble dream" of Canadian archives.Stressing the importance of documenting all aspects of Canadian society, Brymner envisioned the Public Archives of Canada as a storehouse of national history, containing documents (and copies of documents located in foreign repositories) from both the private and public spheres.Under his stewardship and that of his successor, Sir Arthur Doughty, the main mission of the Archives was that of acquiring and organizing archival records of national historical significance.In these early years, activities now known as outreach or public programming were limited to the preparation of research guides and assistance to historians as they performed their research.'This view dominated the management of archives for most of the twentieth century.Since Doughty's time, and perhaps to some degree as a result of his perspective, an intimate relationship between archivists and the records entrusted to their care has developed.This relationship is reflected in archival scholarship and theory, the bulk of which has attempted to establish objective, and even scientific, principles and methods of dealing with documents.In the preoccupation with the assumed objectivity of the record, few archivists have been prepared to regard the seemingly subjective realm of the user as an important area of archival inquiry.It was not until the 1980s that archivists began seriously to reconsider public service and examine their obligation to make holdings and related services accessible to the public.Recently, the role of public programmes in archives and archivists' commitment to public service have been the object of intense debate.2Nevertheless, the archival profession has remained somewhat reluctant to accept the place of public programming in the day-to-day operations of archival institutions and in the body of archival theory.Although a certain amount of this activity now is judged to be necessary, public programming in general continues to be viewed primarily as a luxury.This article challenges the traditional view.It argues for a more inclusive definition of public programming, commonly perceived as only reference and outreach, and for an understanding of the necessity of larger, more broadly based public programmes in the realization of archives' mission and function in society.To rescue the notion of public programming from the periphery of the archival tradition, we propose the integration of @ All rights reserved: Archivaria 31 (Winter 1990-91)

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