Recent cuts to Library and Archives Canada included the elimination of the National Archival Development Program (NADP), a peer-reviewed funding agency that supports local archival activities across Canada, including some in University Archives at the U of S.

Funds from this program are essential to University Archives and enhancing access to primary source research resources. Loss of this funding will impact not only our University Archives, but all archives across the country.  Loss of funding will mean a direct reduction of access to the country’s primary source research collections, which has been at the heart of the Canadian archival system for over two decades. Most provincial councils providing services, especially to small archives, were completely dependent on NADP funding.

The annual cost of the NADP was $1.71 million, trivial in the grand scheme of government finances. This minuscule “saving” severely impacts archival research in Canada.

If you or your students have benefited from the work of archives, we would encourage your support in making the case for this cost effective and far-reaching program. Please write the Minister of Canadian Heritage, the Honourable James Moore, and your MP, asking them to stop the NADP cut. Go to the Saskatchewan Council of Archives and Archivists NADP – Advocacy Alert at (http://scaa.sk.ca/nadp) for contact information.