Unresolved: Balancing Access and Privacy in the Digital Age February 15-16, 2018
UBC, Vancouver, BC
The Association of Canadian Archivists Student Chapter at the University of British Columbia (ACA@UBC) is delighted to present its tenth annual international Seminar and Symposium, Unresolved: Balancing Access and Privacy in the Digital Age, which will be held at UBC from February 15th to 16th, 2018.
Records and archives professionals have a mandate to preserve and protect records, while also enhancing their accessibility and dissemination. The tension between access and preservation has long been central to professional debates; however, technological developments have raised serious concerns about the relationships between access and privacy. Guy Berthiaume, the Librarian and Archivist of Canada, writes that “preservation without access is simply hoarding.” While these words generally resonate with the archival profession, many feel that we must ensure that protection of privacy at the same time that we advocate for access. Digitization, guerrilla and community archiving, and open government and data initiatives are calling for accountability through the records. Conversely, many individuals and groups who are the subject of records and archives have supported repatriation efforts, data protection legislation, and the establishment of the right to be forgotten. The 10th Annual ACA@UBC Seminar and Symposium will discuss the following questions: How can the societal need for documentary evidence of facts and acts be reconciled with individuals’ and groups’ need to restrict access to their information and information about them? How can the records and archival profession navigate between these conflicting needs?
Unresolved: Balancing Access and Privacy in the Digital Age seeks to connect the perspective of records and archives professionals with those of law professionals and government officials to critically examine how we can reconcile the seemingly conflicting values of access and privacy.
