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 _______________________________________________ Join Excite! - http://www.excite.com The most personalized portal on the Web!