For some years North American archivists have argued that public archival repositories are unable to bear the burden of preserving the records of modern business corporations and have suggested that firms should shoulder this burden themselves by establishing corporate archives. This suggestion, however, fails to address the issue of preserving the records of small businesses, and the records of defunct firms, that are unable to support a corporate archives. Before one can predict the effect the advocates of corporate archives will have on the preservation of business records, one needs to know what degree of responsibility repositories have accepted for preserving business records. Unfortunately, little information has been published concerning the business records holdings of Canadian archival institutions. A questionnaire asking for information on acquisitions policies and strategies, and on the characteristics of business records collections, was therefore sent to federal, provincial, municipal, and university archives. The business records holdings of the Public Archives of Canada, the Provincial Archives of British Columbia, the City of Vancouver Archives, and the Special Collections Division of the University of British Columbia Library were examined in detail to augment the information obtained from questionnaire returns. The value of the business records collections held by Canadian repositories was further examined by means of a reference analysis of journal articles and monographs, published by economic and business historians, which measured the use made of business records collections by these historians. Although some substantial collections of business records have been preserved, it appears that over three quarters of the business records collections preserved by Canadian repositores are so small and fragmentary in nature that they are of dubious value to researchers. This impression is borne out by the sparse use of business records as sources by business and economic historians. The experiences of European and American archival institutions indicate that Canadian repositories will have to accumulate a significant body of business records collections before they will see increased use of their business records holdings. Repositories cannot reasonably be expected to devote their limited resources to collecting the records of large integrated corporations. Nonetheless, archival institutions have a responsibility to ensure the preservation of records documenting the Canadian economy. Archival institutions, and the archivists they employ, should continue their efforts to persuade companies to set up corporate archives. Many firms, however, are unwilling or unable to take such a step. Canadian repositories must therefore continue to acquire business records if they wish to fulfil their mandates of preserving comprehensive collections documenting the various aspects of the history of their respective regions. This must be done in an active and systematic manner, using such strategies as public relations programs and the provision to firms of assistance in scheduling records. By persuading larger corporations to set up corporate archives whilst systematically collecting the records of smaller firms, archival institutions can improve both the quantity and quality of business records preserved. / Arts, Faculty of / Library, Archival and Information Studies (SLAIS), School of / Graduate

This thesis explores why the Public Archives of Canada, which was established in 1872, did not have the full authority or capability to collect the government records of Canada until 1966. The Archives started as an institution focused on collecting historical records, and for decades was largely indifferent to protecting government records. Royal Commissions, particularly those that reported in 1914 and 1962 played a central role in identifying the problems of records management within the growing Canadian civil service. Changing notions of archival theory were also important, as was the influence of professional academics, particularly those historians mandated to write official wartime histories of various federal departments. This thesis argues that the Second World War and the Cold War finally motivated politicians and bureaucrats to address records concerns that senior government officials had first identified during the time of Sir Wilfrid Laurier.

This thesis explores why the Public Archives of Canada, which was established in 1872, did not have the full authority or capability to collect the government records of Canada until 1966. The Archives started as an institution focused on collecting historical records, and for decades was largely indifferent to protecting government records. Royal Commissions, particularly those that reported in 1914 and 1962 played a central role in identifying the problems of records management within the growing Canadian civil service. Changing notions of archival theory were also important, as was the influence of professional academics, particularly those historians mandated to write official wartime histories of various federal departments. This thesis argues that the Second World War and the Cold War finally motivated politicians and bureaucrats to address records concerns that senior government officials had first identified during the time of Sir Wilfrid Laurier.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the practices of Canadian repositories in making their archival holdings available on the Internet to see whether they are more or less restrictive than copyright law requires. The Internet provides an opportunity to make archival material more widely accessible; however, repositories’ copyright practices in making their holdings available online may affect the extent to which wider access to archival material is actually achieved. The study employed four different sources of evidence, i.e., the website content of 154 Canadian repositories whose websites feature archival material from the repository’s holdings; copyright policy and procedure documents of those repositories; 106 responses to a questionnaire sent to the staff of those repositories; and 22 interviews with repository staff members. In terms of selection for online access, the study found that the repositories studied prefer to select items that are perceived to incur little risk of copyright infringement (because the copyright has expired or because the repository owns the copyright), or items that require few or no resources to investigate copyright status or obtain copyright authorizations. Thus, with regard to selection, repositories were more restrictive than the law required, largely due to lack of resources. Although repositories have no legal or professional obligation to enforce others’ copyright interests, they nonetheless attempt to control further uses of their online holdings through the use of technical measures (e.g., low resolution images, watermarks, etc.) or non-technical measures (e.g., conditions placed on further uses), for reasons not necessarily related to copyright. Overall, the study found that repositories’ practices in making their holding available online were more restrictive than copyright law envisages. While this may be due to factors other than copyright, access to online documentary heritage may be limited as a result.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the practices of Canadian repositories in making their archival holdings available on the Internet to see whether they are more or less restrictive than copyright law requires. The Internet provides an opportunity to make archival material more widely accessible; however, repositories’ copyright practices in making their holdings available online may affect the extent to which wider access to archival material is actually achieved. The study employed four different sources of evidence, i.e., the website content of 154 Canadian repositories whose websites feature archival material from the repository’s holdings; copyright policy and procedure documents of those repositories; 106 responses to a questionnaire sent to the staff of those repositories; and 22 interviews with repository staff members. In terms of selection for online access, the study found that the repositories studied prefer to select items that are perceived to incur little risk of copyright infringement (because the copyright has expired or because the repository owns the copyright), or items that require few or no resources to investigate copyright status or obtain copyright authorizations. Thus, with regard to selection, repositories were more restrictive than the law required, largely due to lack of resources. Although repositories have no legal or professional obligation to enforce others’ copyright interests, they nonetheless attempt to control further uses of their online holdings through the use of technical measures (e.g., low resolution images, watermarks, etc.) or non-technical measures (e.g., conditions placed on further uses), for reasons not necessarily related to copyright. Overall, the study found that repositories’ practices in making their holding available online were more restrictive than copyright law envisages. While this may be due to factors other than copyright, access to online documentary heritage may be limited as a result.

Le développement de l'Internet et des techniques de numérisation ont offert aux institutions patrimoniales un nouvel outil pour diffuser leurs collections. Médium visuel bien connu et apprécié du public, la photographie semble particulièrement adaptée à la présentation sur le Web. Nous proposons dans cette thèse une analyse des formes et des stratégies de médiation en ligne des fonds photographiques de la Médiathèque de l'architecture et du patrimoine et de Bibliothèque et Archives Canada. L'enquête que nous avons menée visait à répondre à la question suivante: l'arrivée du Web se traduit-elle par de nouveaux modes de valorisation des fonds photographiques patrimoniaux ? Nous avons dégagé deux axes d'analyse: l'un diachronique, identifiant les principales étapes de création du dispositif en ligne, et l'autre transversal, interrogeant d'une part la construction d'un cadre de représentation, de circulation et d'interprétation du patrimoine et examinant d'autre part l'inscription des objets patrimoniaux et des acteurs dans un jeu de relations sociales. Les résultats de l'analyse montrent que: (1) la matérialité numérique, la circulation hypertextuelle et l'agrégation des données introduisent de nouvelles conditions de transmission patrimoniale; (2) mais du point de vue de l'interaction entre institutions, publics et objets, le Web (et en particulier le Web 2.0) tend à prolonger des évolutions déjà à l'oeuvre dans le champ patrimonial et culturel (participation des publics, démarche citoyenne d'appropriation, réduction de la frontière entre producteurs et utilisateurs). En définitive, il apparaît que l'évolution des pratiques de médiation est moins liée à la nouveauté technique de l'outil communication qu'à la manière de concevoir le projet de communication (représentations du patrimoine, du médium photographique, du public et du geste de médiation lui-même). ______________________________________________________________________________ MOTS-CLÉS DE L’AUTEUR : Internet, Photographie, Patrimoine, Médiation, Medium, Media.

This thesis attempts to identify the reasons why business archives have not been widely developed in North America and to suggest the changes which are necessary to correct the situation. Although this study addresses itself specifically to the experience of business archives, many of the issues it discusses can easily be related to other forms of corporate archives such as those, for example, of a municipality, university, labour union, or hospital. All corporate archives confront the common problem that the practical value of an archival programme must be clearly demonstrated. This usually involves justification based primarily on administrative rather than cultural criteria. Therefore, this study aims overall to place business archives within a broader discussion of the purposes which archives ought to serve in our community. The underlying theme of this thesis is the need to formulate a more comprehensive view of the role of archives than has been evident in the past, one which is sufficiently flexible to respond to the changing and diverse requirements of modern society. This requires that the archivist accept a broader role than he accepted in the past, when he often served as a passive custodian patiently awaiting the arrival of "retired" documents. An analysis of the development of business archives illustrates that a strictly historical criterion for maintaining records has met with only limited success in the corporate community. Rather than attempting to convince businessmen as to the cultural benefits (important as they are) to be derived from the establishment of an archival programme, it might be more prudent to emphasize new potential services which could be rendered to the sponsoring agencies. In exploring this proposition the thesis first considers the elements influencing the historical growth of business archives and then suggests potential new areas into which corporate archivists might move. The study also discusses the ramifications of these changes for issues such as appraisal and access and, finally, identifies those factors which will be particularly important in determining the future success of business archives. In assuming such a broad approach to the study of corporate archives, the thesis raises some fundamental questions about the orientation of the archival profession and, as such, may contribute to the formulation of archival theory. / Arts, Faculty of / Library, Archival and Information Studies (SLAIS), School of / Graduate

This thesis surveys the efforts made by Canadian and American records administrators, both records managers and archivists, to ensure that records are created, received, stored, used, preserved, and disposed of in a manner which is both efficient and effective. Beginning with the French Revolution and continuing to modern times, it investigates how approaches in North American archival thinking, government records programs, and applicable records legislation were often flawed because of fundamental misconceptions of the nature of the records themselves. The thesis traces how the most widely accepted approach for administering records, which called for the division of responsibilities amongst records professionals according to the records' "life status" — active, semi-active, or inactive — was incorrect because it was not compatible with the reality that records exist as a conceptual whole and are best administered in a manner which reflects this realization. The records, which should have been managed as a coherent and complete fonds of an institution, suffered from these divisions which had eventually led to the evolution of separate records occupations: those who looked after active records, called records managers, and those who handled inactive ones, labelled archivists. What was required was an "integrated" or "unified" approach such as that articulated by the Canadian archivist Jay Atherton. Like others, he called for the management of records in a manner which reflected the singular nature of the records, an approach which did not make arbitrary divisions where none existed, but instead viewed records from a wider and more complete perspective. Support for this approach amongst some records administrators was precipitated by a number of factors, not the least of which were the demands of handling information in modern society. The thesis concludes by examining what is required for the integrated ideas to be implemented as part of a practical model in today's institutions. It suggests that for the best results to be achieved, records administrators will have to learn to work with others in related information professions, or risk losing the ability to make valid contributions in the modern information age.

This article, written by Glenn Drexhage, Communications Officer – UBC Library/Irving K. Barber Learning Centre, appeared in the BCLA Browser: Linking the Library Landscape online newsletter (vol.1, no.3 2009). BCLA Browser website: http://bclabrowser.ca.

This thesis surveys the efforts made by Canadian and American records administrators, both records managers and archivists, to ensure that records are created, received, stored, used, preserved, and disposed of in a manner which is both efficient and effective. Beginning with the French Revolution and continuing to modern times, it investigates how approaches in North American archival thinking, government records programs, and applicable records legislation were often flawed because of fundamental misconceptions of the nature of the records themselves. The thesis traces how the most widely accepted approach for administering records, which called for the division of responsibilities amongst records professionals according to the records' "life status" — active, semi-active, or inactive — was incorrect because it was not compatible with the reality that records exist as a conceptual whole and are best administered in a manner which reflects this realization. The records, which should have been managed as a coherent and complete fonds of an institution, suffered from these divisions which had eventually led to the evolution of separate records occupations: those who looked after active records, called records managers, and those who handled inactive ones, labelled archivists. What was required was an "integrated" or "unified" approach such as that articulated by the Canadian archivist Jay Atherton. Like others, he called for the management of records in a manner which reflected the singular nature of the records, an approach which did not make arbitrary divisions where none existed, but instead viewed records from a wider and more complete perspective. Support for this approach amongst some records administrators was precipitated by a number of factors, not the least of which were the demands of handling information in modern society. The thesis concludes by examining what is required for the integrated ideas to be implemented as part of a practical model in today's institutions. It suggests that for the best results to be achieved, records administrators will have to learn to work with others in related information professions, or risk losing the ability to make valid contributions in the modern information age. / Arts, Faculty of / Library, Archival and Information Studies (SLAIS), School of / Graduate