City recommends moving archives collection back to Carnegie Library years after devastating flood

The City of Winnipeg's archives could eventually return to their original home in the historic Carnegie Library a decade after a devastating rain storm forced them to relocate.

Since 2013, the archives have been housed at what was meant to be a temporary location in a warehouse on Myrtle Street. 

On Wednesday, the city's Standing Policy Committee on Property and Development, Heritage and Downtown Development will consider a proposal to refurbish the site at 380 William Ave. in order to bring the archives back, with funding set aside in the 2023 budget. 

The project is expected to cost approximately $12.69 million.

The city's archival collection houses municipal and privately donated documents dating back to 1873, and is valued at more than $4 million for insurance purposes, according to the City of Winnipeg Archives' annual report for 2017

Archivists and historians in Winnipeg have expressed concerns about the warehouse at 50 Myrtle St., which lacks the kinds of environmental controls needed to preserve the collection.

"Light, heat and humidity fluctuations are considerable here in Winnipeg, and all of those things are damaging to the records," said Tom Nesmith of the Association for Manitoba Archives.

Nesmith has advocated for the archives to return to the Carnegie Library.

"It's a beautiful old heritage building. It has heritage status and it would be quite fitting to see the city archives installed in there again," he said.

A heavy rainstorm damaged the roof of the library in 2013, while the building was undergoing major renovations that would have turned it into a state-of-the-art archival facility.

After the storm, the city immediately repaired the building and made it weather-tight, but a lengthy insurance claim ensued, which wasn't settled until 2020, the city report said.

"Given all the unknowns in this process, and emerging concerns over a redesigned archives space, 50 Myrtle St. was intended to serve the archives until a long-term solution could be found following comprehensive analysis, including public consultation," the report said.

City clerks considered a number of options, including building a new facility, but ultimately settled on refurbishing the William Avenue building.

Nesmith says he's pleased the city is considering funding the project in 2023, but he would rather see it included in budget planning for next year.

"We feel that the situation is urgent," he said.

Nesmith fears the items in the collection could rot away if they aren't moved soon.

"They become more fragile, harder to handle, not as usable. And so we've got to get them out of there," he said.

The city has a legal responsibility under the Municipal Act and the City of Winnipeg Charter Act to provide archives that are publicly accessible, he said.

"And so the city is not truly fulfilling its legal obligations by having the archives in this woefully substandard warehouse."