Our archival past is important to our future

Do Canada’s archiving here in Hamilton (Letters, Dec. 3)

Letter writer Dez Miklos offers a very interesting proposal. The multi-storey office building (former Canadian Westinghouse head office) could be an ideal facility if it could be adapted. The Hamilton Public Library is already effectively leading the way with talented archivists, historians and technicians. The opportunity to step out to take the challenge could have a major local impact for leadership in preserving Canada’s history. A quote from Library and Archives Canada Mandate: “To preserve the documentary heritage of Canada for the benefit of present and future generations; to be a source of enduring knowledge accessible to all, contributing to the cultural, social and economic advancement of Canada as a free and democratic society.” This mandate is only partially being fulfilled. I have had direct contact with Library and Archives Canada in recent years when I was asked to provide some of Canada’s industrial history, relating to the thousands of industrial photographs that I made throughout Canada in the past 50 years. They were delivered to Library and Archives in Ottawa, and after a couple of years I contacted them to see what progress had taken place as to digitizing and cataloguing. The reply was nothing was being done, nor would likely be. I then asked if I could have these thousands of industrial images returned to me in Burlington. While this was happening, I contacted Local History and Archives at the Hamilton Public Library and arranged for them to accept the balance of my 500,000 images. Something is happening with these files — they are being processed for use by researchers and historians. How else will Canada’s history be remembered? How can we produce a documentary or tribute if there is no historical documentation?

TOM BOCHSLER, PHOTOGRAPHER, BURLINGTON