I am writing in reference to the criticism that the AAO response to the
announcement of the changes to the United Church Central Archives makes no
reference to the question of staff-cuts.
As chair of the AAO Communications/Advocacy Cttee I drafted a letter for the
President to send expressing our concerns. This was done as soon as the
word came out that there were going to be changes, and before we learned of
the staff-cuts. Obviously the AAO is concerned about any cuts to archival
staff, and to her credit Liz has been quick to respond to any such issues.
It just happens that in this case this response is being more widely
disseminated.
It is unfortunate that the letter did not include any references to the
staff, but we were working with the information we had available at the
time. Frankly, since they had announced that the archives would continue to
exist, I do not think that anyone thought that there would be the sort of
whole-scale layoffs which have now been intimated.
The AAO will continue to monitor the situation and do what we can. It is my
fervent hope that the experience of the new General Secretary of the United
Church with the residential schools issue will help persuade her as to the
necessity of maintaining the archives and the archival staff. In the event
that this is not the case, we shall re-evaluate our options as to further
actions.
Daniel German
Chair
AAO Communications/Advocacy Cttee
-----Original Message-----
From: A forum for discussion for the Archives Assoc. of Ontario
[mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Ellen Scheinberg
Sent: May 31, 2007 10:50 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Advocacy: United Church Archives
Charlotte,
I agree with you completely. These are our colleagues. If your job was
eliminated or in jeopardy, what would you expect of the AAO? Perhaps we are
not the types of people to carry picket signs or feel comfortable boycotting
the United Church (which isn't really an option for me), but we should word
these documents strongly, so that the powers that be understand that these
individuals are an invaluable resource to the United Church of Canada for a
variety of reasons. Sometimes I think we put more effort into saving
heritage buildings -- which are certainly worthy of protection -- than
protecting archival positions and our colleague's livelihoods.
Ellen Scheinberg
Director
Ontario Jewish Archives
Latner Centre for Jewish Knowledge and Heritage UJA Federation of Greater
Toronto 4600 Bathurst St.
Toronto, Ont.
M2R 3V2
416-635-2883 ext. 187
fax: 416-849-1006
www.ontariojewisharchives.org
Remember Israel's captive soldiers - Ehud Goldwasser, Eldad Regev & Gilad
Shalit.
-----Original Message-----
From: A forum for discussion for the Archives Assoc. of Ontario
[mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Charlotte
Sent: Thursday, May 31, 2007 9:36 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Advocacy: United Church Archives
In her letter to the United Church AAO President Liz Mayville wrote, "We are
reassured by the announcement that the archives will continue to exist and
that access to their holdings will be maintained."
I'm not sure where in the carefully crafted spin of the dissolution
announcement the AAO Board finds this reassurance. In my opinion the fact
that the United Church appears to have no plans for a new location for its
archival holdings has serious implications for the ongoing accessibility of
the records. Furthermore, the termination of the professional staff will in
essence eliminate the valuable corporate memory of the archives.
I have personally benefited from the UCCVUA, having used the archives during
my studies at the Faculty of Information Studies. I also have the pleasure
of counting a number of the staff as personal friends. In my opinion, they
deserve better and we as an archival community need to cut through the spin
in order to fully understand the implications of this dissolution.
Best Regards,
Charlotte Chaffey
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