access to archives

[Don Perkins]

        It is not unusual for access to archives to be conditional: the Citadel
archives, kept in the Alberta Provincial Archives, for example, are
accessible only with permission.  And the person who grants permission
has a large "private" archive in her office of material she deems not for
public viewing.  But in going through the U. of Alberta archives (Theatre
Network, Workshop West, Catalyst and Nexus Theatres, as well as the U. of
A. Drama Department archives), and in going through the Glenbow
collections in Calgary (Theatre Calgary and Alberta Theatre Projects), I
was never charged.  The theatres involved all deposit at "public"
archives partly to avoid the inconvenience of having to provide staff
time and reading space to researchers, partly to have a secure record.
Theatre Network almost lost its first fifteen years records to a flood
a few years ago, but U. of A Archives freeze-dried the sodden mess as part
of adding it to the collections.

        But private corporations sometimes charge for access to
their records.  The question might be, how does an arts institution that
has received large-scale public funding earn the right to behave as a
private corporation?

Don Perkins
Edmonton