labradore

"We can't allow things that are inaccurate to stand." — The Word of Our Dan, February 19, 2008.

Thursday, March 11, 2010

Protection racket

The Minister of Government Services is pleased to announce:
In keeping with the goal of document protection, policies are now in place similar to those at other archival facilities. They include no ink in any form and no food or drink in the research and vault areas.
So far, so good. Food, drink, and ink absolutely do not belong in any archival facility, outside a designated lunch room, if any.

But then the Minister finishes that conservatorial-minded thought:
As well, photography of any kind of the material is not permitted.
That's funny.

"Other archival facilities" include Library and Archives Canada, the National Archives in the United Kingdom, and the National Archives and Records Administration in the United States. You really can't get much more archival than those three, the leading archival institutions in the anglo-archival universe. Yet all three allow, within certain reasonable limits, self-service digital photography of their holdings.

Is CADO protecting documents with its blanket photography ban?

Or is it protecting a revenue stream?

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