Adéquiste named to head BAnQ
Marie Grégoire, who was briefly an ADQ MNA, has been named to head the Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec and thus also the Grande bibliothèque. The ADQ later merged into the CAQ.
I’m seeing some negative tweeting about partisan appointments, but much more approval.
jeather 11:13 on 2021-07-08 Permalink
I don’t think her brief stint as an MNA is an issue, but she doesn’t seem to have relevant experience — she’s been a journalist, she’s worked in marketing/communications, she’s edited and owned a magazine, but does she have any history in libraries? That seems like a very important qualification to head up a library, which should not be run like a for-profit business.
Kate 13:42 on 2021-07-08 Permalink
Le Revoir says today “En nommant Marie Grégoire à la tête de la BAnQ, on voulait faire la preuve que si t’as été députée pendant une fin de semaine, tu peux néanmoins accéder aux plus hautes fonctions intellectuelles.”
Harsh, but encapsulates what some folks are thinking.
Aside from her having joined the pro-business ADQ, I can’t find much out about her political stances, or how they may bear on how she’ll run the big library.
Daisy 14:39 on 2021-07-08 Permalink
Prior to her appointment there had been public requests for the next appointee to be a professional librarian or archivist.
https://www.ledevoir.com/opinion/idees/607524/idees-a-propos-de-la-direction-de-banq
Kate 17:12 on 2021-07-08 Permalink
I can also see appointing someone of generally recognized cultural standing, who would outline priorities and give a general orientation to the librarians and archivists working there, without necessarily being of their number. When the library opened in 2005 Lise Bissonnette was at the helm, and as I recall, she was generally considered a good choice, although she wasn’t an archivist. Since then, it’s been Guy Berthiaume, who is an archivist, and Jean-Louis Roy, described by Wikipedia as historian, journalist and diplomat – he used to be the editor of Le Devoir. Not sure Marie Grégoire has equivalent cultural weight, but we shall see.
The only physical change at the library that has made me flinch was the decision to stop holding exhibits in the gallery below street level. I saw some interesting stuff down there, the more charming because I never went to the library primarily for an exhibit, but they were just sort of there, and drew me in – you could see parts of the gallery from above. I don’t recall exactly when this ended but it felt like an impoverishment.
JP 18:47 on 2021-07-08 Permalink
I remember when they had far longer hours. I never spent any time there very late as it’s not very close to me, but I thought it was cool that there was a public library that was open until midnight (or something like that)
Kate 20:52 on 2021-07-08 Permalink
Yes, and you used to be able to access the periodicals section on the main floor on Mondays, even when the rest of the library was closed. It had a nice atmosphere when everything else was quiet, but they ended that a couple of years ago.