Provincial archives in Saskatoon to close
Entire collection is being consolidated into single facility located in Regina
The Provincial Archives of Saskatchewan will close its Saskatoon office next month and move its entire collection, long housed on the University of Saskatchewan campus, to Regina.
The Saskatoon office will be closed to the public on Dec. 21. The records and other items it contains will not be available again until August 2019. The change is part of the provincial organization’s plan to consolidate its entire collection, which is currently housed at five sites — Saskatoon, Regina and offsite locations — into one central location.
Provincial archivist Linda Mcintyre said no jobs will be lost; the four existing positions in Saskatoon will be transferred to Regina.
The records won’t be moved right away after the office closes to the public. They’ll remain in place until they’re moved in the period between late December and August. Mcintyre said that during this time, reference services through the Regina location will be available. Access to records from Saskatoon will be limited until they are permanently transferred, she said.
“A single location, a full consolidation, it presents an opportunity to provide better protection to legacy records and to restore the capacity. We’re full at all sites right now,” Mcintyre said.
The consolidation will reduce leasing costs by about $570,000 by 2021, it address problems of water, pest and rodent “infiltration” as well as any issues with environmental and security controls and fire protection for the collection, she said.
All of the current sites have security protection, but it’s better in some locations than others, she added. Site assessments are underway in Regina and more information will be released when a final location has been selected.
The creation of provincial archives divided primarily between Saskatoon and Regina came through provincial legislation enacted in 1945, setting out joint involvement between the U of S and the provincial government for the management of inactive public records.
History department head and librarian Arthur Morton, who had been curating public records on the U of S campus, was instrumental to the development of the archives.
When the Murray Library was built in the 1950s, it included a space for the archives.
In an emailed statement, Melissa Just, dean of the university library, noted the U of S campus has long been the home of the Saskatoon archives office.
“We are obviously disappointed that the office will be closing, but we were pleased to learn that the Archives’ plan for consolidated space and services will mean an improved storage environment and expanded public service hours,” she wrote.
The process of determining the implications for the campus community is underway, and the university library and archives officials have been discussing the future of the university-related collections, Just added.
A notice about the change has been posted on the archives website, and Mcintyre said letters have been sent to key stakeholders. Notices have also been posted in the reference rooms.
The Starphoenix has contributed its entire pre-digital photo collection to the archives in Saskatoon. The future location of that collection has not been determined.
Peggy Sarjeant, president of the Saskatoon Heritage Society, got a letter from the director of archival services recently about the closure of the Saskatoon location. She would like additional details about what will happen to the material, which also includes collections related to the Temperance Colony settlement, she said.
Sarjeant has used the archives for her own research. The move will mean she and others will most likely have to do their work online or travel to Regina to see the records in person.
Historian and author Merle Massie said she will miss having the archive in Saskatoon, but the archive board has been starved for funding for years and has been gradually cutting back.
Researchers like herself have noticed that some records in the collection aren’t processed in a particularly timely way and are housed at one of the off-site facilities, she said.