Doughty on the Use and Utility of Government Information and Archives, 1933
Abstract
In 1933, a Select Committee of Inquiry submitted a cost-cutting report to the federal government on the topic of government printing and publications. A copy of the report was sent to Dominion Archivist, Arthur Doughty. In his response to this report, Doughty attempted to convince the government of the benefits, uses and utility of archives, government records, and good information management. He did so through an almost stream-of-consciousness narrative, reporting on the many times that archives and government records had benefited the government. Doughty argued for the continued and continuing value of archival holdings. The criticisms he levied are familiar to modern users, the concerns he uttered are well-known, and his comments on the value of good records management could have been writtentoday. Indeed, some of his comments are just as applicable to modern digital copying. Doughty’s commentary speaks across the generations as archivists will easily agree with his views on appropriate pay, records preservation, and the value of archives.
RÉSUMÉ
En 1933, une commission spéciale d’enquête a soumis au gouvernement fédéral un rapport de réduction des coûts pour l’impression et la publication de documents gouvernementaux. Une copie de ce rapport a alors été envoyée à l’Archiviste du Dominion, Arthur Doughty. En réponse à ce rapport, Doughty a tenté de convaincre le gouvernement des avantages et de l’utilité des archives et des documents gouvernementaux, ainsi que d’une bonne gestion de documents. Pour ce faire, il a choisi comme instrument un récit presque sous la forme d’un monologue intérieur, dans lequel il relate de nombreux cas où le gouvernement a bénéficié des archives et des documents gouvernementaux. Doughty y défend la valeur continue et permanente des documents d’archives. Pour les personnes qui se servent présentement des archives, les critiques qu’a faites Doughty sont familières, les préoccupations qu’il avait sont bien connues et ses pensées sur la valeur d’une bonne gestion de documents auraient pu être écrites aujourd’hui. En fait, certains de ses commentaires peuvent tout aussi bien s’appliquer aujourd’hui à la reproduction numérique. Les observations de Doughty ne se limitent pas à son époque et les archivistes d’aujourd’hui seront facilement d’accord avec ses opinions sur le niveau de salaire approprié, la conservation des documents et la valeur des archives.
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