Accounting for Macroappraisal at Library and Archives Canada: From Disposition to Acquisition and Accessibility

This article explains the re-engineering of the government records disposition program at Library and Archives Canada (LAC) in 2002-2004. The main point is that the framework of accountability has grown since the launch of the macroappraisal program (often referred to as the planned approach to disposition) at the (former) National Archives of Canada (NA) in 1990-1991. The opportunity for building an expanded framework of accountability presented itself after 2000 when a number of "push'' (internal to the disposition program) and "pull'' (external to the program) factors coalesced to challenge a reduced program. The re-engineering exercise involved LAC government records archivists working together to develop the following new program documentation: Government-Wide Plan (GWP); Memorandum of Understanding (MOU); Appraisal Checklist; Terms and Conditions for the Transfer of Archival Records; Briefing Note for the Librarian and Archivist of Canada; and the Multi-Institutional Disposition Authority (MIDA) for Operational Case Files. Significant work also went into creating version three of the Records Disposition Authorities Control System (RDACS). As a result of re-engineering the appraisal and disposition program, there is an accountability framework now in place for more than keep-destroy recommendations, one that has moved beyond disposition to include acquisition of and accessibility to the archival record.