Archivaria - the journal of the Association of Canadian Archivists (ACA)

This article discusses a number of implications for manuscript sources preserved in archival repositories with respect to the Canadian copyright law, as well as requests a revision of the law. The law inadequately defines certain terms such as literary works, publication, and author, making it difficult for archivists to apply the law without infringing upon it. The clause authorizing fair use of documents for research purposes is the only clause to date to allow archival material to be available to researchers. Although the absence of opposition by those holding copyright on archival materials can be seen as an acceptance of current practices, the law continues to be vague. The law must be revised so as to specifically include the use of material preserved in archives, as well as support current practices that archival repositories have had to adopt regarding the reproduction of their documents. RÉSUMÉCet article discute de certaines implications de la loi canadienne du copyright pour les sources manuscrites conservées dans les dépôts d'archives et en réclame une révision. Parce que cette loi définit maladroitement certains termes comme travail littéraire, publication, auteur, il est difficile pour l'archiviste de l'utiliser sans y contrevenir; seule la clause autorisant toute utilisation honnête de documents pour fins de recherche a permis jusqu'ici de mettre le matériel archivistique à la disposition du chercheur. Bien que l'absence de protestations de la part de ceux qui détiennent les droits d'auteurs sur la documentation archivistique manuscrite puisse être interprétée comme une acceptation des pratiques courantes, la loi n'en demeure pas moins vague. I1 ne fait aucun doute qu'elle devrait être révisée afin de tenir compte spécifiquement de l'utilisation du matériel conservé dans les archives et sanctionner les pratiques courantes que les dépôts d'archives ont dû adopter quant à la reproduction de leurs documents

Dryden, Jean

English

Copyright in Manuscript Sources

Knight, James W.

96 ARCHIVARIA 
Philadelphia as a means of experiencing other institutional environments. 
The result was a loss of time and even temper on at least one occasion. 
Issues of a domestic nature dominated many of the deliberations, 
particularly the plenary session on the Public Documents Commission 
created by the 93rd Congress to explore the problems and issues involved in 
the location and maintenance of the records of public officials. Neverthe- 
less, the principles at issue had a relevance for Canada even though so far we 
have been spared a Watergate to bring these issues to a head. 
Next year, the conference will be held in Washington at the same time as 
the International Council on Archives in the 200th year of the Republic, and 
the 40th of the S.A.A. The theme will be "The archival revolution of our 
time", and Canadians will have plenty to say about that! 
Hugh Taylor 
Public Archives of Canada 
Architectural Records and Archives 
Concern for Canada's architectural heritage is growing across the country. 
Public interest in the preservation of architectural works has been 
demonstrated by the recent proliferation of societies and citizens' groups 
concerned with the rapid metamorphosis of the built environment; the 
consequent destruction of historic buildings has generated some fierce 
political and legal battles. Governments on all levels have responded: the 
City of Ottawa has employed a "heritage planner"; the Province of QuCbec 
has new legislation protecting designated buildings; the Federal Government 
has established Heritage Canada. More examples could be cited. 
Recognizing that archivists have a significant role to play in this area, 
the Canada Council agreed to sponsor a five-day conference entitled 
"Architectural Records and Archives in Canada". The request for the 
support came from the Archives Committee of the Society for the Study of 
Architecture in Canada. 
During the week of August 11 to 15, 1975, thirteen individuals with 
widely varied professional affiliations convened at Stanley House, the 
century-old summer residence of the former Governor General on the south 
shore of the Gasp6 Peninsula. Participants included archivists specializing in 
various media, senior administrators of archives, the President of the Royal 
Architectural Institute of Canada, a restoration architect, an architectural 
historian, and two librarians. The mix of professions and experience, drawn 
from all parts of Canada, and the delightful setting of Stanley House, were 
conducive to stimulating discussions covering all aspects of architectural 
records and archives. 
NOTES AND COMMUNICATIONS 97 
Anyone wishing additional information about this conference can 
contact me at the National Map Collection, Public Archives of Canada. A 
full report based on more than forty hours of tape-recorded proceedings is 
being submitted to this journal for the next issue. 
James W. Knight 
Archives Committee 
Society for the Study of Architecture 
in Canada 
The Add. MSS. System - PABC 
On January 1, 1975 the Public Archives of British Columbia inaugurated a 
new system of cataloguing manuscripts. All material catalogued since that 
date has been listed in a new catalogue. Material described by the old 
method will be recatalogued, but until the recataloguing is completed, 
researchers will have to consult both the old and new catalogues, which are 
located together in the reference room. 
The major disadvantage of the old system was the way it treated larger 
collections. Although each unit was kept together physically on the shelves, 
the series and items of which it was composed were catalogued individually 
without a description of the unit as a whole. This made it easy to assign 
subject headings to specific parts of a collection, but difficult both for the 
Archives to produce descriptions of its holdings and for researchers to cite 
PABC materials with reasonable brevity. 
At first we had hoped to correct this fault by recataloguing only the 
larger collections in order to provide general descriptions and finding aids. 
However, problems such as overlapping or conflicting subject categories 
and a very cumbersome numbering system led to the conclusion that the 
recataloguing of the entire manuscript collection would be more efficient. 
The manuscript group system was rejected because most units were too 
complex to fit into a single, narrow subject group. Furthermore, the use of 
broader categories would result in lengthylistings which would tend to defeat 
the purpose of having groups. It was decided, therefore, to adopt an 
additional manuscripts (Add. MSS.) system. 
In the Add. MSS. system, units are simply given successive numbers - 
Add. MSS. 1 ,  Add. MSS. 2, and so on. A later addition to a unit already 
held is not integrated with that collection, but is assigned a new Add. MSS. 
number as it is catalogued. The unit is then brought together by means of the 
card catalogue in which title cards are filed alphabetically. Both title and 
subject cards bear appropriate cross references when a single finding aid 
covers two or more additional manuscripts. 


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Copyright in Manuscript Sources

Architectural Records and Archives

HOULE, Guide to the Reports of the Public Archives of Canada, 1872–1972

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