The Impact of Digitization in Rhetoric and Practice

1. The Impact of Digitization in
Rhetoric and Practice:
A Review of Budget Cuts at Library and Archives Canada
Sara Allain, MI, Librarian (@archivalistic)
Kelli Babcock, MLIS, Special Projects Librarian (@kelllib)
Digital Scholarship Unit at the University of Toronto Scarborough Library

2. Digitization Rhetoric - What is it?
Digitization rhetoric is the misrepresentation of digitization as a solution to
issues of describing, making accessible and ascribing value to archives and
special collections.
Digitization rhetoric ignores the very real and inherent limitations of digital
records – such as obsolescence, the tremendous investment of resources
required, and the exclusion of users who don’t operate in an online
environment.
Digitization rhetoric can:
− Affect budget decisions
− Skew our users’ perception of access to special collections and archives
− Create an unrealistic expectation of deliverables

3. Library and Archives Canada (LAC):
A Timeline of Recent Events
Library and Archives Canada Act is proclaimed
Digital Collection Development Policy is approved
Advocacy letters deter LAC from cutting back public service hours by 12.5h/wk
(advocacy letters state that digital access ≠ need for in-person access)
Canadian Digital Information Strategy draft is released by LAC for public comment
LAC ends the Archival Community Digitization Program
LAC cuts service hours and announces they will implement a digital service
approach as part of its “Modernization” initiative
LAC announces that it will provide most services digitally by 2017 but also cancels
its 2008 plan to build a Trusted Digital Repository
LAC announces that inter-library loan service will end as of Feb. 2013
LAC announces over 200 positions to be eliminated, including a significant
reduction of staff in digital preservation and conservation
LAC cancels the National Archival Development Program ($1.7 million)
without consultation, resulting in the elimination of 90 archival projects
(including digitization projects) for 2012-2013 in institutions across Canada
2004 – May:
2006 – Feb:
2007 – Sept:
2007 – Oct:
2009 – March:
2012 – Feb:
2010 – Dec:
2012 – April/May:
2012 – April/May
2012 – April/May

4. "Buried in Manitoba":
Other Issues Affecting Library and Archives Canada
TOTAL ARCHIVES:
“The essence of total archives was that Canadian society took collective
responsibility for the preservation of a documentary heritage [...] At the end of
the twentieth century, the archival system has devolved from that position of
collective responsibility to what seems to have become a collection of distinct
and separate agencies, each with its individual responsibilities, but perhaps not
equipped to carry its weight of responsibility within the network.”
– Laura Millar, Archivaria 46, p. 139
GEOGRAPHY:
“Thanks to the digital age technology, we can gradually transcend our historic
geographic challenges by making this heritage accessible to all Canadians [...]
We have some collections that were buried in Manitoba and nobody talked
about it.”
– Daniel Caron, Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage No. 17, 6 December 2011

5. Rhetoric in Practice: THE CUTS
On April 30th, 2012, the Canadian Council of Archives (CCA) announced
Library and Archives Canada’s elimination of the National Archival
Development Program to the archival community.
NADP
funding

6. Rhetoric in Practice: THE CUTS
On April 30th, 2012, the Canadian Council of Archives (CCA) announced
Library and Archives Canada’s elimination of the National Archival
Development Program to the archival community.
More news of the widespread cuts followed.
NADP
funding
21/61 archivists and
archival assistants
dealing with non-govt.
records
50% of circulation
staff for analogue
holdings
50% of digitization staff
and a number of
preservation and
conservation staff
Manager of the Digital
Preservation Office,
Preservation Registrar,
Conservation
Technician in Textual
and Visual Records
Cuts to In-Person
Services

7. Methodology
Bibliographic Review:
1. Government Documents (20 documents reviewed):
− Hansard (parliamentary debates), committee evidence, reports, policies related to the
cuts
2. Media Documents (16 documents reviewed):
− Newspaper articles and other documents representing public perception related to the
cuts
3. Advocacy Documents (119 documents reviewed):
− Advocacy campaigns, letters, listserv posts, blogs related to the library and archives
community’s reaction to the cuts
Also reviewed reports on digitization to gather facts and statistics (11 documents
reviewed).
Sources are available through our Zotero Group:
http://goo.gl/36T8v OR https://www.zotero.org/groups/library_and_archives_canada_-_cuts__digitization_rhetoric/items

8. Findings: OVERVIEW
Bibliographic Review:
1. Government Documents:
− 13 out of 20 (65%) documents used digitization rhetoric to justify the cuts and changes
at Library and Archives Canada
2. Media Documents (16 documents reviewed):
− 16 out of 16 (100%) documents questioned the justification behind the cuts and
changes at Library and Archives Canada
3. Advocacy Documents (119 documents reviewed):
− 119 out of 119 (100%) documents questioned the justification behind the cuts and
changes at Library and Archives Canada
Reports on digitization contained facts and statistics that countered the digitization
rhetoric used by LAC (11 documents reviewed).
Sources are available through our Zotero Group:
http://goo.gl/36T8v OR https://www.zotero.org/groups/library_and_archives_canada_-_cuts__digitization_rhetoric/items

9. Findings: OVERVIEW
How do the cuts impact traditional services?
NADP
funding
21/61 archivists and
archival assistants
dealing with non-govt.
records
50% of circulation
staff for analogue
holdings
50% of digitization staff
and a number of
preservation and
conservation staff
Manager of the Digital
Preservation Office,
Preservation Registrar,
Conservation
Technician in Textual
and Visual Records
Cuts to In-Person
Services
DESCRIPTION REFERENCE APPRAISAL

10. “I don't believe that will affect official languages. To absorb the shock, I believe
we simply have to find innovative ways of describing things, for example, and
make greater use of information technologies in order to absorb those cuts.”
[in response to a question regarding LAC’s ability to carry out its main activities
and fulfill its official language responsibilities after reducing expenditures by
$4.6 million in 2010-2011]
- Daniel Caron, Standing Committee on Official Languages No. 34, 30 November 2010
“In the past, we used to have to manually describe all the materials that were
coming in [...] Much of this type of work is becoming increasingly unnecessary.
That includes the description of archival materials. Since we now get the
materials in digital form, we can automatically search inside those materials.”
[in response to a question regarding the elimination of 50% of digitization and
circulation staff at LAC]
– Daniel Caron, Standing Committee on Official Languages No. 59, 6 November 2012
Digitization rhetoric
as a solution to:
DESCRIPTION

11. “…thanks to the digital age technology, we can gradually transcend our historic
geographic challenges by making this heritage accessible to all Canadians. In
fact, in 2017 we will permit all Canadians here and in Canada and around the
world to access a quantity, without precedent, of their rich documentary
heritage, past and present, any time.”
[during presentation on 150th anniversary of Confederation activities]
– Daniel Caron, Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage No. 17, 6 December 2011
“Fewer and fewer people are coming in person. I think that there are about 70
visitors a day, whereas there are half a million visitors a month on the internet.
That is increasingly how people visit us.”
[in response to a question asking how long it would take to have 50% of LAC’s
archival holdings online]
– Daniel Caron, Standing Committee on Official Languages No. 59, 6 November 2012
Digitization rhetoric
as a solution to:
REFERENCE

12. “Many things are very interesting and need to be digitized. But there are also a
lot of things that are perhaps less interesting or that are going to appeal to
small segments of the population. So those materials can wait. They will not be
necessarily digitized, they might never be digitized.”
– Daniel Caron, Standing Committee on Official Languages No. 59, 6 November 2012
“Fulfilling our mandate in the new digital environment presents unique
challenges and opportunities… And we are witnessing a new phenomenon: in
the digital media age, too much information is recorded. This creates a major
challenge unique to the archival function, which is how to be selective about
what should be preserved and what need not be.”
– Daniel Caron, Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage No 12, 4 May 2010
Digitization rhetoric
as a solution to:
APPRAISAL

13. As practicing archivists, librarians, and information
professionals, we know these statements are misleading –
technology and digitization are not solutions to the time
consuming processes of description, reference and
appraisal.

14. As practicing archivists, librarians, and information
professionals, we know these statements are misleading –
technology and digitization are not solutions to the time
consuming processes of description, reference and
appraisal.
But how do we prove it?

15. Be Honest: The Realities of Digitization
Digitization is not the solution to a budget problem
– it might be creating more costs:
Libraries cite “funding of [digitization] activity was their greatest sustainability
concern… Aggregate figures show the cost of ongoing support for all digitized
special collections is just a fraction of the amount spent in any one year to
create new ones, and the raw figures often represent small fractions of
someone’s time. This suggests a scenario where digitized collections, once
created, are intended to essentially run without much active management, a
situation that could ultimately hamper the ability of these institutions to sustain
their projects and achieve the impact they desire.”
– Maron, Nancy L., and Sarah Pickle. Appraising Our Digital Investment: Sustainability of
Digitized Special Collections in ARL Libraries. Washington, D.C.: Association of Research
Libraries and Ithaka S+R, 2013, p. 2

16. Be Honest: The Realities of Digitization
The Internet doesn’t give access – archivists do:
“Some interviewees discussed directly the importance of cultivating a
relationship with an archivist early in a research project, in order to facilitate
access and support... Because these archivists are typically deeply
knowledgeable of the content of their collections, and have their own networks
of research support professionals, they are well-positioned to connect history
scholars to additional resources.”
“From the interviews it was clear that archivists' deep knowledge of the
collections they work with and understanding of related collections is of
tremendous value to historians working with primary sources... The archivist is
seen as a partner in the discovery process.”
– Rutner, Jennifer, and Roger C. Schonfeld. “Supporting the Changing Research Practices of
Historians,” December 10, 2012, p. 10.

17. Be Honest: The Realities of Digitization
Making Research Tangible
"Surveys and consumer reports also suggest that the sensory experiences
typically associated with reading—especially tactile experiences—matter to
people more than one might assume. Text on a computer, an e-reader and—
somewhat ironically—on any touch-screen device is far more intangible than
text on paper."
– Jabr, Ferris. “The Reading Brain in the Digital Age: The Science of Paper Versus Screens.”
Scientific American (April 11, 2013).

18. Be Honest: The Realities of Digitization
Can researchers even find their way through our online
content half of the time?
“Promoting archival literacy… should be a primary objective and web-based
outreach tools are but one way to achieve this… People will not come unless
they know what there is to consult. And of course, they will come if they know
how to consult them.”
– Bance, Bryan. “Outreach in the academic community: enhancing the teaching role of university
archives,” October 2012.
“One negative impact of investing in the LAC’s online presence is that the direct
link between the institution and public use has been broken. Those finding and
using LAC resources online are seldom aware of the institution or processes
behind the preservation of the record [...] Research online looks so convenient
and so easy, but the creation and maintenance of digital assets are far from
simple.“
– Wilson, Ian. “Reflections on Archivists and Genealogists,” February 2013, p. 137.

19. Be Honest: The Realities of Digitization
Online access as exclusion?
– “Canada Digital Future in Focus,” March 2013.

20. What can you do to advocate against
Digitization Rhetoric?
"The biggest pressure, however, comes from the digital revolution, which has
transformed the world of documentary production—and with it the work of
archivists—while irrevocably changing public expectations. Digital access is
now seen as a quasi right and digitization as a means of mass
democratization.”
– Crean, Susan. “National Archives Blues by Susan Crean - The Literary Review of Canada.”
Literary Review of Canada, 2011.
− Collaborate, share resources
− Become active in professional advocacy efforts
− Document your own “digitization realities” to avoid digitization rhetoric in
your own institution