The City of Ottawa have issued the following news release regarding the move of the City Archives. What it doesn't say is that there will be no access to any of the archives partner libraries, including the BIFHSGO and OGS Ottawa Branch Libraries, until service resumes at the new location, which may not be until April.
While its dissappointing that the original schedule for partial reopening in February is not being met that had always seemed optimistic. Given the obvious delays in construction an April target date for becoming fully operational seems more realistic.
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Ottawa - In preparation of its move to a new location, the City of Ottawa Archives will be suspending its walk-in service as of December 31 until further notice. This will affect about 20 per cent of the 9,000 inquiries it handles each year. Reference staff will continue to respond to enquiries by phone or e-mail throughout the move,
As caretakers of Ottawa’s documentary history, the City’s impressive collection of archival records would stretch 20 km if the 92,000 containers were placed end to end. Stored in climate-controlled vaults, the irreplaceable repository includes more than two million photographs and is accessed by researchers, historians and the general public.
City Archivist Paul Henry expects little disruption of service to the public. “We should be moved and fully operational by early April. And in the meanwhile, we will continue to provide service by phone and e-mail. Our new home will provide much more reference and consultation space for researchers as well as access to modern research tools.”
The new $38.6 million state-of-the-art facility (supported by $20 million of provincial funding) is a dual-purpose building. While it will predominantly house the City’s new Archives, about 25 per cent of the building will be home to a new materials centre for the Ottawa Public Library. The new facility will be located at the corner of Woodroffe Avenue and Tallwood Drive.
To contact the City Archives’ reference desk, the public can phone 613-580-2857 or e-mail archives@ottawa.ca.
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