In the News: Proposal to Merge National Library of New Zealand & National Archives of New Zealand
A proposal to merge the National Library of NZ and the National Archives of NZ and merge them into the Department of Internal Affairs continues to have opinions published Here are a couple from the past few days:
“The Government is trying to wind back the clock by putting Archives and the National Library under the control of Internal Affairs, after extensive work was done to separate them only a decade ago,” Grant Robertson said.
“The Chief Archivist needs to be in the position to enforce the law that requires other government agencies to keep and deposit their records. That will be compromised with a re-merger into Internal Affairs.
“When the National Library was administered by Internal Affairs and the Ministry of Education it struggled to have a voice. The separation allowed protection for the iconic Alexander Turnbull Library, and a place for library users to have a role in its management. None of this can be guaranteed with a re-merger.
The New Zealand Society of Authors has strong reservations about the proposed merger of Archives New Zealand and the National Library into the Department of Internal Affairs.
[Snip]
Tony Simpson, President of the Society, comments “Research facilities are not only important to historians and writers of historical fiction, but also to the protection of New Zealand history. It is crucial that the integrity of New Zealand’s research facilities be maintained and we are concerned that through this merger Archives New Zealand will lose its autonomy which would jeopardise its objectives with serious consequences for freedom of speech.”
We will continue to monitor and post news and opinion from all sides.
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