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Collection in Crisis: Housing the Library’s Newspaper CollectionPaul McCormick, Director General Canada has a very proud and extensive history of newspaper publishing, dating from its first newspaper, published in Halifax in 1752. The National Library has the country’s largest and most comprehensive collection of Canadian newspapers, in all formats and from all regions of the country. Many of the materials are unique. The range and depth of the Library’s Newspaper Collection is enormous, from bound runs of Confederation-era papers to the preservation microfilm of the Decentralized Program for Canadian Newspapers (DPCN) to currently published Canadian student and ethnic newspapers. With responsibilities under the DPCN to maintain its collections of print newspapers, the National Library is charged with making these original materials available for specialized research, for preservation microfilming, for photographic and digital reproduction and for exhibit purposes. Matching the enormity of the range and depth of the collection is the task of housing and preserving this national heritage collection. The Newspaper Collection was established in 1967 when the main building at 395 Wellington Street was opened, giving the Library sufficient space to house the wealth of original print materials transferred from the Library of Parliament and the then Public Archives. (Prior to the National Library’s creation in 1953, both of these institutions had built extensive collections of print newspapers.) The National Library’s collection has continued to be enriched by transfers, gifts and purchases, so that it now houses over 525 000 issues of print newspapers. While there is substantial growth each year, comprehensive acquisition by legal deposit has not been applied by the Library to print newspapers, largely due to the substantial resources required to acquire, provide access to and preserve these materials for the long term. Newspapers on microfilm, however, have been acquired through legal deposit since 1988. The National Library houses its Newspaper Collection in three separate buildings: the main building at 395 Wellington Street in Ottawa and two warehouses in a suburban industrial park. Earlier this year, Public Works and Government Services Canada (PWGSC) supported the move of a portion of the print newspaper collection from a fourth facility, which had been experiencing a series of water incidents and high temperature and humidity levels. Limited space to house collections at the Library has meant that much of the print newspaper collection continues to be stored in less-than-ideal conditions. It has been estimated that the space required to properly accommodate (i.e., with issues flattened and in acid-free boxes) all of the Library’s print newspapers would be up to four times the space currently being occupied, or almost 8 000 m². One warehouse facility currently housing print newspapers is air-conditioned; one is not. Both lack vapour barriers and insulation. The Library’s main building is air-conditioned and has limited control over relative humidity levels. Changes in uses made to parts of the main building and increasingly demanding environmental requirements have been major challenges for a heating and cooling system built to 1960s standards. The air is not filtered for gaseous pollutants in any of the facilities. PWGSC has made a number of substantial investments in the Library’s main building, most recently to improve the building’s vapour barrier and envelope and to better control fluctuating humidity levels. With their inherent acidic deterioration, print newspapers are difficult to preserve; without appropriate temperature and relative humidity controls, the preservation challenge is even greater. At present, the Library’s Preservation and Copying Service, in partnership with the Archives Preservation Branch of the National Archives of Canada, carries out a limited program for re-housing and conservation treatment. Collection preservation plans have been developed as part of the planning for a new purpose-built collection facility to house the Library’s Preservation and Newspaper Collections. Preservation Plan for the Newspaper Collection outlines and confirms storage requirements, including shelving configuration, boxing requirements, environmental requirements and security and access requirements specific to the Newspaper Collection. None of the Library’s current facilities housing print newspapers meets the identified environmental requirements. Housing collection materials in appropriate environments is the most important investment that can be made to preserve and to prolong their useful life. Greg Hill, Senior Conservator from the Archives Preservation Branch of the National Archives, carried out a major assessment of the print Newspaper Collection in 1999 (Risk Assessment of the Newspaper Collections of the National Library of Canada). In his report, he described the Newspaper Collection as one in "crisis", particularly those materials currently being housed in one of the warehouse facilities mentioned above. Print newspapers held by the Library are largely printed on mechanical wood pulp papers that have inherent acidic properties. Their chemical instability contributes to deterioration even in the best storage environments. Hill’s conclusion was that the "storage conditions for most of the NL newspaper collection can be seen as detrimental to the long term stability of all newsprint, but particularly material from post-1870s". He has recommended short-term requirements for an interim storage site for cool storage (no higher than 18°C, preferably lower, with a relative humidity of 30%), boxing in acid-free containers (to protect fragile materials as well as to reduce exposure to airborne pollutants) and appropriate shelving (with shelf widths to accommodate boxes with little or no overhang). In applying the results of this report to the current housing of this national collection, it is clear that housing of print newspapers in one of the facilities actively accelerates deterioration, while housing in the other two facilities, at best, supports a slower deterioration. In the last few months, a small working group at the Library has detailed the functional requirements of a facility to more appropriately house all its print newspapers. Major resources and a substantial investment will be required. Print newspapers have also become an important element in the development of a Joint Accommodation Strategy for the National Archives and National Library in partnership with PWGSC and the Department of Canadian Heritage. This strategy will address the collections of the Library that are at most risk and the need for collection space that is substantially more environmentally secure. It will also assess the longer-range requirements for both institutions over a 25-year planning horizon. These initiatives will address the very great challenges involved in housing and preserving this national collection in a manner commensurate with its cultural and historical significance. For further information, or to obtain copies of the documents referred to in this article, please contact: Paul McCormick |
