Provincial Archives to reduce operational hours in preparation for move to The Rooms

As part of continued preparations for its move to The Rooms, the Provincial Archives of Newfoundland and Labrador (PANL) will further reduce its hours of operation. Effective March 1, PANL will be closed on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays and will remain open, with full service, on Wednesday evenings from 6:30 p.m. to 9:45 p.m., and on Thursday and Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 4:15 p.m.

Effective March 1, the Cartographic Collection will close and effective April 1, the Still and Moving Images Collection will close. Both collections will remain closed to the public until PANL reopens at The Rooms.

Effective April 1, PANL will temporarily discontinue the service of conducting genealogical and nominal census record searches. This service will resume effective September 1.

The full closure of the Provincial Archives will be effective May 1, when the archives closes completely to the public until the opening of The Rooms on June 29. All on-site research services, as well as all distance research services provided via e-mail, regular mail, telephone and fax will be suspended.

The Provincial Archives is committed to preserving Newfoundland and Labrador�s archival records, from both government and non-government sources, including photographs, maps, architectural plans, electronic records and film footage for its on-site and distance clients from within the province, the rest of Canada, the United States and even Europe. Its collection includes over 400,000 photographs, some 50,000 maps, records and diaries of colonial secretaries, governors and prime ministers, post-confederation government records and merchant and business records of the colony and country.

The Rooms, the new home of the Provincial Museum of Newfoundland and Labrador, Provincial Archives of Newfoundland and Labrador and the Art Gallery of Newfoundland and Labrador, will officially open to the public on June 29. For more information on The Rooms, visit The Rooms Web site at www.therooms.ca.

Media contact: Tansy Mundon, Communications, (709) 729-0928 or (709) 685-1741

2005 02 02                        9:20 a.m.