Extract of a Report From The Provincial Archivist to the Archives Association of British Columbia

It has been an exciting fall for the heritage communities in British Columbia with the announcement on November 22, 2002 that a "cultural precinct" and new Crown Trust were to be established. The Cultural Precinct will be a showcase area for displaying, exhibiting and advancing the culture(s) and history of our province. The new Crown Trust will see the merger of the BC Archives and Royal BC Museum. As one of the major information sources for BC's human history, the BC Archives is a vital element to the success of the cultural precinct concept.

Opportunities exist for the BC Archives in this new Crown Trust as revenues earned from copying charges and permission fees will be retained. The Crown Trust will have stable funding for five years while it gets its programs and services, including fund-raising aligned. The Archives, allied with the historians and scientists from the museum, can improve access through the museum's Living Landscapes program, outreach programs, and the existing archives web site.

Over the past twenty years, the Archives has moved strongly into its role as the "government archives" while down-sizing its acquisition of manuscript collections to a passive program. I think a re-alignment of these two roles will occur within the Crown Trust. The Archives will continue to support the repatriation of archival holdings back to creating agencies. I firmly believe that our communities are best served by having their archives close at hand and we will continue to return archival materials back to creator institutions. [With the Crown Trust announcement, several "repat" projects have been put on hold.]

There is a strong feeling that both the museum and archives collections are not representative of society. Often our professional literature speaks of archives being too mainstream [or conservative] in its acquisition policies. I think the Crown Trust will break new ground in the collection and accessibility to records of currently under represented groups.

As with any change, there are disappointments. Government will be keeping its records management component within its direct control thus ending 15 years of an integrated records and archives program. The Crown Trust and the government ministries will be working out memoranda to ensure that government's archival records are protected and transferred to the government archives. To support the smooth and continued transfer of archival records, the archival appraisal of government records will continue to exist within the re-created records management branch.

Although the official names may change, be assured the important work of the Archives will continue, as will I as director of the Archives within the Crown Trust.

Legislation is being drafted to create the Crown Trust and its mandate to preserve, maintain and make accessible the museum and archives collections of the province. As many of you know, there is no archival legislation within British Columbia.

As one might imagine the combining of two old institutions and cultures will take time and effort. Working groups are being assembled to effect the transition of the museum and archives into the new Crown Trust. As each group begins its work of review and studying processes and programs, changes may occur. If and when such change occurs, information will be available through the website and our professional and heritage newsletters.

At this point, I want to assure you that the Archives, with its dedicated and professional staff, continues to exist as the "provincial archives"; and that the Crown Trust offers the Archives stability and new opportunities to expand our message and services to a greater audience.

Gary A. Mitchell, Provincial Archivist