Canada cuts library and archives budget.

• Position: ARCHIVES - Brief article

Library and Archives Canada (LAC) is being hit hard by federal budget cuts. More than 400 positions have been terminated, and another 200 jobs will be cut over the next three years. This represents a 20% reduction of LAC's workforce.

The LAC also has had to cut its acquisitions budget and the national Cultural Development Program, which has provided funding to Canadian archival organizations to increase their capacity to preserve archival materials and make them available to the public.

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"Our national library and archives has a broad mandate to acquire, preserve, and make available the documentary heritage of Canada," said Canadian Library Association President Karen Adams. "They are also responsible for the management of the archival records of government." She added that even before the cuts, LAC was challenged to fulfill its mandate; the financial and staff cuts will make it even more difficult.

The Ottawa office of the Canadian CCA, which organizes much...