DPR 2005-2006
Library and Archives Canada

The Honourable Beverley J. Oda
Minister of Canadian Heritage and Status of Women

Library and Archives Canada
2005-2006 Performance Report

Minister's Message

Message from the Librarian and Archivist of Canada

Management Representation Statement

Mandate of Library and Archives Canada

Summary of Departmental Performance

Year in Review

Analysis of Program Activities by Strategic Outcome

Other Items of Interest

Financial Information

Contacts for Further Information

Minister's Message

As Minister of Canadian Heritage and Status of Women, I present Library and Archives Canada's (LAC) 2005-2006 Departmental Performance Report (DPR) to Parliament and to Canadians. This report represents a major step forward for LAC, a detailed record of the activities and achievements of an institution that is no longer in transition, but working towards the realization of its mandate, offering new services to Canadians and providing greater access to our national heritage.

Through systems integration and improvements LAC has enhanced its capacity to serve Canadians of all ages and cultures, wherever they live.

A great deal of work was carried out behind the scenes during the evolution of this new organization.

Beverley J. Oda

Message of the Librarian and Archivist of Canada

When Library and Archives Canada was created in 2004, Parliament confirmed a new mandate that encouraged us to become a new kind of knowledge institution with a truly national scope.

To achieve the ambitious goals that flow from our mandate, we recognized the need for clear direction and strategic choices to make best use of the resources allocated by Parliament. We achieved that clarity by crafting a shared corporate vision for everyone in LAC, digging deep in the organization and its culture. This was a year of continuing and substantive transition for the institution as we worked to implement the vision and the plans developed in our Transformation process. This is a major, institution-wide process affecting the whole organization, our services and the way in which most staff work, focusing on the needs of our clients, and adapting to new technologies. Our transformation process enabled us to define compelling priorities and align them with our vision. During the 2005-2006 fiscal year, we addressed those priorities in many ways.

One of our most fundamental, ongoing roles is to facilitate the management of Government of Canada records; so that the decisions, deliberations and the day-to-day operations of a dynamic federal government are preserved, in line with the requirements set by Parliament. In a time when federal departments and agencies are increasingly aware of the importance of effective record keeping for decision-making and accountability, we are helping lead government-wide efforts to revise information management policies and serve as a centre of expertise and source of tools for departments and agencies as they organize and preserve their records of value.

LAC assumed a national leadership role in developing a pan-Canadian digital information strategy, which will do a great deal to ensure that important websites, e-publications and other elements of Canada's growing volume of digital information are preserved and made accessible. We have set an ambitious agenda, which will carry over in the next fiscal year working with our partners, representatives from all parts of the information community, to develop a Canadian Digital Information Strategy.

For most Canadians, Library and Archives Canada is synonymous with collections that contain much of Canada's rich documentary heritage. Collections are the very heart of LAC; they are permanent – they define Library and Archives Canada. Our goal is to establish LAC as a prime learning destination with collections that are accessible to people across Canada and around the world. We made progress toward that goal by making it simpler for Canadians of all ages to connect with us and explore the collections through initiatives such as a new search engine on our website. We also acted on our responsibility for effective stewardship of the collection through work that will result in a 25-year strategy to preserve and house the collections; to support adequate and inviting public, research and exhibition space; and to provide a safe, productive and welcoming working environment.

Through those and many other actions, Library and Archives Canada is a major contributor to the cultural, social and economic advancement of Canada. As this report demonstrates, we are focusing attention and resources on the activities that make the greatest difference so current and future generations of Canadians have access to their documentary heritage.

Management Representation Statement

Mandate of Library and Archives Canada

The preamble of our enabling legislation, the Library and Archives of Canada Act, states that the mandate of Library and Archives Canada is:

• to preserve the documentary heritage of Canada for the benefit of present and future generations;
• to serve as a source of enduring knowledge accessible to all, contributing to the cultural, social and economic advancement of Canada as a free and democratic society;
• to facilitate in Canada cooperation among the communities involved in the acquisition, preservation and diffusion of knowledge; and
• to serve as the continuing memory of the Government of Canada and its institutions.

The Library and Archives of Canada Act introduced a new legal concept "documentary heritage", which includes publications and records in all media related to Canada. The Act strengthens the mandate of the institution to preserve this documentary heritage by providing for online publications and future new media to be included in legal deposit, for archiving Web sites of interest to Canada, and for the transfer of any government records deemed to be at risk. The legislation also provides an explicit mandate to make Canada's documentary heritage known and understood by Canadians and those interested in Canada.

Summary Information

Financial Resources

Note: The total Planned Spending includes $53,283,000 re-profiled into future years.

Human Resources (FTE = Full Time Equivalent)

An Enhanced Strategic Approach to Priority-setting and Reporting for Library and Archives Canada

The Report on Plans and Priorities for 2005-2006 was based on a reporting structure with three strategic outcomes and nine activities. It reflected the organizational structure that was put in place when the National Library of Canada and the National Archives of Canada were integrated to form Library and Archives Canada.

As part of our transformation to an organization that will fulfil the mandate set out on the following page, we decided to build our Program Activity Architecture (PAA) around a far more strategic orientation. Accordingly, we have identified a single strategic outcome, supported by three program activities, which are depicted below. This PAA provides a clearer basis for us to report to Parliament and to Canadians about our goals, our achievements and the strategies and actions that represent our path to the future.

In practice, this means a Departmental Performance Report that includes information on every priority to which we committed ourselves in the 2005-2006 RPP. It also means a DPR with a more consistent focus on our strategic directions and results, so that we provide a clearer report on our progress and on areas where we still have more to do.

Summary of Departmental Performance

 Crosswalk Between Former Program Activities Architecture and Revised Program Activities Architecture approved in June 2006

 Crosswalk Between Former Program Activities Architecture and Revised Program Activities Architecture approved in June 2006 (continued)

1. The total Planned Spending includes an amount of $53,283,000 re-profiled into future years.
2. Total authorities includes funding received from 2005-2006 Governor Special Warrants and they are allocated by program activities.
3. Corporate Services costs have been distributed to each of the Program Activities as per the distribution formula approved by the Treasury Board Secretariat.

Year in Review

As we indicated in our Report on Plans and Priorities for 2005-2006, our vision is to become a prime learning destination, a lead institution in information management within the Government of Canada, and an institution with national presence and greater capacity to serve Canadians of all ages, cultures and regions. During the year, we made clear progress towards our goals, while recognizing that we have more to do and will need more resources to achieve our mandate.

This was the final year for our transformation funding received to integrate the predecessor organizations that were brought together to create Library and Archives Canada. Some of this has been achieved through actions such as creating a stable organizational structure and relocation of a substantial number of staff to Gatineau, Quebec adjacent to the Gatineau Preservation Centre. It was supported by the move of many of the most vulnerable literary manuscript and music items in our collection to the LAC Preservation Centre from various locations that the Auditor General and our staff had found to be substandard, as well as work on a new approach to storage of the collection.

More visible to users of our programs and services has been our Service Delivery Transformation Initiative that resulted in changes such as a single website, a new Query Management System that allows us to track user requests effectively, the renovation of our public facilities in Ottawa to bring them in line with user needs and a new National Archival Development Program that provides support to Canada's archival community.

We also reached out to Canadians with new programming and new resources, much of it online. For example, our Silver Screen website brings information to Canadians on early films about and for Canadians, while the 1911 Census online adds an important resource for historical, genealogical and other researchers no matter where they are.

Other initiatives identified improvements in services that we could make with existing resources. For example, we amalgamated units and improved procedures related to responding to requests under the Access to Information Act. By doing so, we eliminated our entire backlog of requests.

One major priority has been to address the growing wealth of digital content such as Internet-based publications and websites, and to find effective, sustainable ways to acquire, describe, manage and preserve access to it. As part of our new Collection Development Framework, we created a Digital Collection Development Policy that has focused our efforts to select Canadian websites and e-publications of all types for acquisition and guided our partnerships with other institutions with similar interests as part of work towards a Canadian Digital Information Strategy (CDIS).

Another major priority has been to improve the organization of our extremely diverse collection. A key challenge, and one that will take time to address fully, is to further the development of AMICAN, which will organize our multiple databases that describe the contents of our collection, which are now organized in MIKAN, for our archival collection and AMICUS, for our bibliographic collection. During 2005-2006, we achieved some integration of the databases, supported by a new search engine that enables users to conduct a search of our databases.

A related initiative has been to develop and implement a common approach for the description of resources in all media, known as metadata. We have already begun to use this approach to help our Records Disposition organize the almost 1,500 Government of Canada websites that we have collected for preservation, so that users can find sites easily and consistently.

We have begun to refine our efforts on the responsibilities that we have in the Library and Archives of Canada Act for Government of Canada management of records with archival and historical value. A key element in this has been our work with partners on a new Information Management policy for federal departments and agencies that should bring about more consistent ways for records keeping, with LAC providing skilled guidance to support this change. This complements work that we are doing to introduce the Business Activity Structure and Classification System (BASCS), which provides a consistent way for departments and agencies to classify records. We also moved forward on other initiatives in these areas such as providing on-line access for departments and agencies to our Records Disposition Authority Control System (RDACS), which enables institutions to identify, monitor and manage the official status of their records in terms of retention and disposal under the Library and Archives of Canada Act.

While we have made substantial progress, we continue to face challenges that we will need to address to deliver on our mandate and deliver high-quality services to Canadians. For example, sustainability will depend on having the staff and resources necessary to meet our legislated obligations. The infrastructure that houses our collections will need to be improved, as the Auditor General has recognized, and information technologies will be an increasingly critical element of managing our collection and making it accessible to Canadians and to people around the world interested in Canada.

We will do our part to build for the future by continually identifying how to get the best results from our resources and by developing strategies that focus clearly on meeting our priorities. We will extend our work with partners in the Government of Canada and among Canada's archival and library communities to build collaborative solutions to common issues.

Analysis of Program

Strategic Outcome: Current and future generations of Canadians have access to their documentary heritage

Program Activity: 1.1
Managing the disposition of the Government of Canada records of continuing value.

Through the issuance of Records Disposition Authorities, the development of record keeping advice, tools and guidance, and the provision of Federal Records Centre services for departments of the government of Canada, LAC enables and facilitates the management of information within federal agencies and ensures that government's archival and historical records are identified and appropriately preserved.

Financial Resources:

Human Resources (FTE = Full Time Equivalent)

Our broad legislated mandate "to serve as the continuing memory of the Government of Canada and its institutions" is defined specifically by Section 12 and 13 of the Library and Archives of Canada Act. Those sections relate to our responsibilities, and those of departments and agencies, related to the disposal of government and ministerial records.

Many documents and records that federal departments, agencies and Ministers generate in their current operations have long-term significance for legal, policy, historical and other reasons. In an era of increased emphasis on accountability and significant interest in reviewing records to assess decisions and actions, it is important that records of potential archival value be kept and managed in ways that enable them to be searched when needed. At the same time, the cost of cataloguing, organizing and storing these kinds of materials in appropriate conditions makes it reasonable to permit the destruction of materials with no archival value.

During 2005-2006, we continued to act on our core responsibilities under this program activity, which centre on our responsibilities related to Government of Canada recordkeeping as well as our work with the community of people who manage and deliver services through federal department and agency libraries.

More information on our core, ongoing responsibilities in this area as well as related issues, tools and services is available at:
http://www.collectionscanada.ca/information-management/index-e.html

We will enable a business-based approach to information management across federal government departments and agencies by collaborating with the Government of Canada's IM community to establish a government-wide IM program linked to the government's business objectives and accountabilities.

We, along with other partner departments and agencies, have made progress on this commitment. It reflects an increased awareness across the Government of Canada of the importance of records management – and the need to have information systems in place that manage an environment in which records are more often created electronically than on paper.

A key element of our contribution to this commitment was a decision to concentrate on our core responsibilities related to record keeping. This will enable us to play a strong, clear role in helping the federal community move forward in supporting the Government's business objectives.

As one of the three lead agencies responsible for managing Government of Canada information (with the Chief Information Officer Branch of Treasury Board Secretariat and Public Works and Government Services Canada), this focus on our record keeping role informed our contribution to the redrafting of the government-wide IM policy (the Management of Government Information Policy) and the development of a new IM accountability framework (the IM Program).

The new policy and framework will ensure that the Government of Canada manages information to support government programs and service delivery, supports transparency and collaboration across organizations, provides for informed decision making in government operations and preserves information of enduring or historical value.

For more information:
http://www.collectionscanada.ca/information-management/index-e.html

We will enable optimal government use and management of information throughout its life cycle:

• by completing a Government of Canada-wide function-based classification system and developing records management metadata.
• by establishing, a strategy to ensure that electronic information is effectively managed throughout its life cycle with enterprise-wide systems, and ensuring that electronic systems are the Government of Canada's preferred means of creating, using and managing information.

While these were set out as two separate priorities in the Report on Plans and Priorities, we took an integrated approach to them that combined collaborative work with other departments and agencies to accelerate the use of electronic records across the government with work on tools and supports that help federal departments and agencies carry out their records management responsibilities better and more consistently.

For example, we made progress on the Business Activity Structure and Classification System (BASCS), which provides a consistent way for departments and agencies to classify records for the first time. This will be particularly useful for achieving consistency in the classification of administrative records across the government and will evolve as resources permit. During the year, we developed, validated and tested BASCS models for records related to information management, information technology, security and audit and evaluation. BASCS has been designed to work within whatever information management system a department uses. This includes the Records, Documents and Information Management System (RDIMS), which is the government-preferred system.

We also created a Records Management Metadata Standard (RMMS), which sets out how records and the information they contain should be classified. We expect it to lead to more consistent organization and recording for later reporting and tracking purposes. RMMS was endorsed by Treasury Board Secretariat and was tested operationally, first by Transport Canada and then by the Canadian International Development Agency and Agriculture and Agri-food Canada with a first focus on classifying and organizing executive correspondence.

For more information on BASCS:
http://www.collectionscanada.ca/information-management/002/007002-2089-e.html

We will provide valued, cost-effective information management services to the Government of Canada by developing a new model for storing Government of Canada records of business value in all media.

Early in the fiscal year we set out a process that would have led to a model for storing government records. However, keeping in mind our specific responsibilities under Sections 12 and 13 of the Library and Archives of Canada Act, we decided to defer action while we took a closer look at a more-focused approach that would limit our storage responsibilities, and the related substantial costs, to those documents that meet the legislated test of value. This would achieve a more cost-effective approach that would be reinforced by our other efforts to support greater consistency in how departments and agencies classify and catalogue their paper and electronic records.

We will provide valued, cost-effective information management services to the Government of Canada by developing and implementing the initial phase of a strategy to increase the capacity of federal libraries to provide high-quality information services.

As committed, we completed the initial phase of a three-year strategy for the Government of Canada's federal libraries, "Maximizing Information for Knowledge, Competitiveness and Innovation: Canada's Federal Libraries in the 21^st Century". That set the stage for work under the strategy that will enable federal libraries to provide the best possible and most cost-effective library services for the Government of Canada. The strategy development and related cooperation has already helped to guide the work of the Council of Federal Libraries Consortium, which, via the Consortium's Strategic Plan 2005-2006, focuses on enabling federal libraries to work together to obtain lower prices from vendors for a wider range of information products and services.

For more information:

Council of Federal Libraries:
http://www.collectionscanada.ca/cfl-cbgf/index-e.html

Council of Federal Libraries Consortium:
http://www.collectionscanada.ca/consortium/index-e.html

Program Activity: 1.2
Managing the documentary heritage of interest to Canada

The building of a national documentary resource for all aspects of the study of Canada is fundamental to the mandate of the Library and Archives of Canada. The Library and Archives Canada collection consists of published and unpublished materials in a variety of formats acquired through Legal Deposit, Agreements with government institutions and selected private materials purchased or received by donation. To access the contents of collections, they must be described. Description can take many forms and provide various layers of access but is governed by nationally and internationally accepted codes of practice. At the same time, holdings are also described to meet Canadians' expectations for timely and equitable access. Once materials enter the LAC collection they are managed to ensure their long-term preservation and accessibility through policies, procedures and various programs including storage, conservation, and preservation and copying. To fulfill its role as a permanent repository of the government records and publications, Library and Archives Canada enters into agreements with government institutions to ensure that documents of historical and archival value are eventually transferred to LAC.

Financial Resources:

Note: The total Planned Spending includes $22,939,000 re-profiled into future years.

Human Resources (FTE = Full Time Equivalent)

Among the high profile Library and Archives of Canada roles are those related to building the collection of Canada's documentary heritage, ensuring its proper care and organization. These roles centre on the activities described above and encompass duties that are carried out by LAC staff members with specialized expertise.

A changing documentary environment has affected these roles and our overall strategies. In addition to our ongoing efforts to bring together Canada's published heritage in print form and its archival heritage on traditional media such as paper, photographic negatives and film, we now face the challenge of building and managing the new documentary heritage in electronic formats such as geomatic databases, digital photographs, e-publications and websites.

Complementing these efforts is our commitment to improve our management of our collections. Much of our material was being stored in settings with inadequate physical environments, where the condition of the collection was likely to deteriorate. With specific financial support, we have begun to address this challenge and initiated the drafting for an Infrastructure Strategy. Another part of our transformation has included work to develop and implement an approach to classifying and cataloguing our entire collection, which will provide a single window for people to explore this priceless collection.

During 2005-2006, we continued to act on our core responsibilities under this program activity.

In addition, we took action on eight strategic issues.

We will ensure that Canada's documentary heritage is acquired and preserved by developing an acquisition strategy in the context of collaborative partnerships with other institutions across Canada.

Just before the beginning of the 2005-2006 fiscal year, we introduced a new Collection Development Framework. It setsa policy direction for LAC and collection development priorities for the 2005-2010 periods.

The Framework recognizes the need to work in consultation with partners and with other institutions that also seek to preserve documentary heritage in Canada such as provincial archives and libraries, and universities. During 2005-2006, we worked with those partners through a particular emphasis on one aspect of the Framework – digital information – as we collectively began to define and develop a Canadian Digital Information Strategy (CDIS).

CDIS would aim to ensure that Canada has a vibrant and enduring body of Canadian digital content to carry into the future and to build upon over time. An initial meeting in October 2005 attracted 150 people from organizations that produce digital content, including archives and libraries, the education sector and other areas. Participants agreed on the need for CDIS and identified key issues to be considered in its development. This set the stage for further work and consultation in 2006-2007.

To move forward in our own operations, we introduced a new Digital Collection Development Policy in February 2006, as part of the Collection Development Framework. This policy is guiding our Digital Collection Catalytic Initiative, through which we are putting the infrastructure in place for digital acquisition (such as the selection and acquisition of Canadian e-publications and websites for our collection), digitization projects, digital content management and preservation, and digital resource discovery and access.

More information on the Collection Development Framework is available at:
http://www.collectionscanada.ca/collection/024/index-e.html

More information on work to date related to the Canadian Digital Information Strategy is available at:
http://www.collectionscanada.ca/cdis/index-e.html

More information on the Digital Collection Development Policy is available at:
http://www.collectionscanada.ca/collection/003-200-e.html

We will ensure that Canada's documentary heritage is acquired and preserved by extending legal deposit to electronic publications and maps.

We expected that regulations would be finalized and approved for the legal deposit of electronic publications and maps. The regulatory process was delayed due to the dissolution of Parliament between November 2005 and February 2006 but we anticipate the extension of Legal Deposit to take place in 2007. In the interim LAC has continued the work of well over a decade in archiving e-publications and websites through publisher-by-publisher negotiation without the benefit of the proposed legislation.

More information on Legal Deposit is available at:
http://www.collectionscanada.ca/6/25/index-e.html

We will ensure that Canada's documentary heritage is acquired and preserved.

• by addressing the challenges of acquiring, managing and preserving digital collections;
• by putting in place processes to archive Web sites of interest to Canada.

These were set out as two separate priorities for 2005-2006, but they both demonstrate our commitment to expand and manage an increasingly digital collection and implement the Collection Development Framework. As mentioned above, we have already archived more than 20,000 e-publications. We also experimented with the selective archiving of websites of interest such as those set up for the Commission of Inquiry into the Sponsorship Program and Advertising Activities under Mr. Justice John Gomery and those of political parties during the 2006 general election campaign. The degree of interest in these archives indicated how important this direction will be for LAC.

An important direction in our digital work was our completion of a "web harvest" of the "gc.ca" domain, which holds all federal government-related websites. As we refined the harvesting to improve results, we collected 1,459 websites as a start for future similar efforts.

We also tested an online system that enables departments and agencies to transfer electronic records to us. We expect that this, along with the supporting description, management and access to digital publications could streamline the processes and systems for transferring records from departments to LAC.

We will ensure that Canada's documentary heritage is acquired and preserved by addressing the Auditor General of Canada's recommendations:

• for protecting government records of archival and historical value
• for the care of Canada's documentary heritage collection by developing strategies and a collection management framework, implementing mechanisms to obtain comprehensive information on the nature and condition of the collection, and beginning to develop a risk management framework.

The Library and Archives of Canada Act responds to the November 2003 recommendations of the Auditor General by specifying that government or ministerial records of historical or archival value shall be transferred to the Librarian and Archivist of Canada. It also allows the Librarian and Archivist of Canada to require the transfer of government records that he or she believes are at risk of serious damage or destruction. A primary vehicle for implementing these legislated requirements is our new Records Disposition Authority Control System (RDACS) combined with risk-based approaches to the disposition of business records by departments and agencies.

During 2005-2006, we made progress on RDACS by adding a functionality that allows archivists to monitor the terms and conditions of agreements with departments for the transfer of archival records. During the year, we also issued nine Records Disposition Authorities, up from eight in 2004-2005, and received 22,320 containers of archival material from government and private donors.

The full text of the Auditor General's report is available at:
http://www.oag-bvg.gc.ca/domino/reports.nsf/html/20031106ce.html

Information on RDACS is available at and information on RDAs is included in:
http://www.collectionscanada.ca/information-management/002/007002-2000-e.html
http://www.collectionscanada.ca/information-management/007/007007-1008-e.html

We anticipated acting on these recommendations over at least a three-year period. During 2005-2006, we made progress on this commitment in a variety of ways. For example, we completed the move of unique and valuable materials in our Literary Manuscript and Music Collections that were at risk from the substandard space at our 395 Wellington Street facility in Ottawa to our state-of-the-art preservation facility in Gatineau. We also custom-housed and containerized vulnerable material to ensure better control and preservation of these items.

We also developed tools to allow us to make risk-managed decisions more consistently, such as two decision trees, one to guide collection space management and accommodation planning choices, and the other to support work for enabling current and long-term access to the LAC collection. We made some progress towards creating an environmental monitoring framework for our collection. To date, we have completed an inventory of existing monitoring equipment while also purchasing some new equipment. We have also trained key staff on aspects of environmental monitoring and on the use and calibration of equipment. The development of an overarching framework is moving more slowly than expected because our collection care staff is involved in many LAC priorities such as AMICAN development and collection moves.

We will enhance the management and delivery of content in our collection by developing a framework for using metadata, elements of descriptive information about archival and bibliographic resources, as a new approach for enhanced user access to our collection.

In developing the Metadata Framework for Resource Discovery during 2005-2006, we set out to build a single approach to describing the contents of the LAC collection in a standardized way so that users can find more easily what they are looking for. The Framework itself is a set of guiding principles for the creation and management of metadata at LAC. It sets an overall strategic direction within which we can develop LAC policies, practices and plans related to describing our collection.

By March 2006, we finalized a draft of the Framework and distributed it for consultation to internal and external stakeholders to get their input on the proposed approach. When finalized later in 2006, we will post it on our website as we begin work on practical steps to implement this strategic tool. The Framework will help us to improve our strategic planning and corporate decision-making, provide a communication vehicle and enhance our leadership role in metadata standards within the Government of Canada as well as nationally and internationally. It will also have a more widespread impact, since the resource descriptions that LAC creates for our own collection of Canadiana publications are distributed to libraries across Canada and to other national and international databases where they communicate our holdings and provide support to other Canadian libraries and library users across Canada.

We will enhance the management and delivery of content in our collection by designing the next generation system called AMICAN, which will present the holdings of Library and Archives Canada in a single database, handle digital objects, and provide seamless access to the collection.

This priority reflects our decision to create a single system (AMICAN) that will eventually integrate and expand the information available that we now have on the database that the former National Library of Canada used (AMICUS) and that used by the former National Archives of Canada (MIKAN). We recognized that this would be a long-term process that would depend in part on the availability of resources.

During 2005-2006, among many other improvements and advances, we moved most relevant databases of our archival holdings to an integrated archival description system. We tested the first phase of a "federated search" function in a field trial that offers simultaneous searching of a number of databases describing our published and unpublished collections along with a new user interface for archival descriptions. The design was completed for a single corporate repository for client contact information as well as the design and development of the prototype for a new care of collections control module that integrates information related to LAC holdings.

Program Activity:  1.3
Making the documentary heritage known and accessible for use.

All materials that become part of the LAC collection are intended for use by those interested in Canada. LAC provides information and services including consultation, research and lending, across multiple channels to facilitate access to the documentary heritage to a wide variety of clients. It also establishes activities, such as the learning program and encourages or organizes activities such as exhibitions, publications and performances, to make known and interpret the documentary heritage. LAC also provides information resources and standards such as the national catalogue and supports the infrastructure necessary to ensure its accessibility to those interested in Canada.

Financial Resources:

Note: The total Planned Spending includes $30,344,000 re-profiled into future years.

Human Resources (FTE = Full Time Equivalent)

The ongoing work under this program activity relates to the efforts of the Library and Archives of Canada staff that develops and delivers the programs and services that enable Canadians and people in other countries who are interested in Canada's documentary heritage to have access to our collections and resources. Some of this involves the delivery of programs that focus attention on particular elements of Canadiana and that help people to understand Canadian stories – through our facilities and, increasingly, through the use of the internet. These programs are supported by the people in LAC reference services who assist users in finding the items in our collections that are of most interest and relevance, supported by an expanding range of self-service tools.

More information on our core, ongoing responsibilities in this area as well as related information and services is available at:
http://www.collectionscanada.ca/services/index-e.html

In addition, we took action on five strategic issues related to enhancing the programs and services that we provide.

We will improve service to Canadians by implementing re-designed client services, strengthening service performance measurement, and providing seamless, efficient, multi-channel access to Canada's documentary heritage.

We provide a wide range of services that enable individual Canadians and institutions with an interest in Canada's documentary heritage to gain access to our collection and resources. For 2005-2006, we committed to transforming and modernizing client service, which we did in many ways. In-person access to our services was made easier, with ongoing renovations to our building at 395 Wellington Street in Ottawa, which will be completed in 2006-07, and the introduction of wireless internet access and self-serve digital copying at that location.

Our redesigned website brought together the former websites of the National Library of Canada and the National Archives. People can now search the entire site at once, including archival descriptions and Web pages. The addition of a "Services to the Public" section, including"Services to New Users", presents clear and user-friendly information about our reference services.

We also began implementation of a Query Management System, through which we now track requests from users. It enables us to manage response times to requests and better understand our users and their needs.

We will improve service to Canadians by improving processes for providing access to government records.

We took action after our internal task force on Access to Government Information Services made recommendations that it believed would improve Library and Archives Canada performance in providing access to government records within the 30-day mandated target for that service. Amalgamating units and developing a new procedures manual helped us to eliminate the backlog of requests that we had under the Access to Information Act. We also began to build on that success by developing risk management approaches to our file review processes.

We will enhance Canadians' knowledge and understanding of their documentary heritage by delivering innovative programming to meet the diverse information needs of Canadians

We have a continuing commitment to programming that puts Canadians in touch with our documentary heritage. During 2005-2006, we acted on that commitment by developing a program strategy that articulates a vision, defines key objectives, proposes initial areas of program focus and sets out a planning process to guide program development and management.

Canadians benefited from our actions, such as the launch of new resources for Canadians, including putting the 1911 Census online. A new partnership for online programming was initiated with the National Archives of Ireland. We also developed and delivered innovative online programming such as websites including:

Virtual Silver Screen http://www.collectionscanada.ca/silverscreen/index.html

Cool Canada http://www.collectionscanada.ca/cool/index-e.html

Life of a Rock Star, which was an international prizewinner
http://www.collectionscanada.ca/rock/index2-e.html

and new virtual exhibits including:

Canada's UFOs http://www.collectionscanada.ca/ufo/index-e.html

Through a lens http://www.collectionscanada.ca/dieppe/index-e.html

Bon Appétit http://www.collectionscanada.ca/cuisine/index-e.html

A new three-year agreement with the Toronto Dominion Financial Group renewed the TD Summer Reading Club, which is offered in more than 400 Canadian public libraries to children ages 12 and under to encourage them to read. During the summer of 2005, nearly two million books were read by 200,000 children in this program.

A complete LAC public program list for 2005-2006 is available through our "What's on" Archives Calendar at:
http://www.collectionscanada.ca/whats-on/014-2004-e.html

More information on the TD Summer Reading Club is available at:
http://www.td-club-td.ca/2006

We will enhance Canadians' knowledge and understanding of their documentary heritage by renewing Library and Archives Canada's grants and contributions program for assisting in the development of Canada's archival system.

We received Treasury Board approval for the National Archival Development Program (NADP) after working with the archival community on the new program. It provides financial assistance to Canadian archives and related organizations to increase their capacity to preserve and make accessible unique archival materials about Canada and Canadians.

LAC delivered training on the program and worked with the archival community to define NADP performance measures in February 2006, which was soon followed by the first call for applications in March.

More information on NADP is available at:
http://www.collectionscanada.ca/archivists/042-200-e.html

We will develop and implement programs of the Portrait Gallery of Canada to enhance the display of the collection by maintaining and enhancing the Gallery's awareness activities and collection development, and its presence on LAC's website, and by developing needed program supports, such as education and visitor services.

We made significant progress in 2005-2006 in building national awareness and partnership, both through strategic partnerships and in developing Canada's portrait holdings. For instance, a partnership with The Rooms, the major cultural space in St. John's, led to a highly successful public unveiling and exhibition of two recently-acquired 17th century portraits of Newfoundland historical figure Admiral Sir John Berry and his wife.

More information on the Portrait Gallery of Canada is available at:
http://www.portraits.gc.ca/009001-1000-e.html

Other items of interest

During 2005-2006, we finalized and implemented a new governance structure for the institution, and staffed all senior positions. Key work processes and policies, both at the corporate and operational levels were reviewed and redesigned. Notably a more integrated planning process linking the planning of HR to the business planning, a resource allocation process that better links resources with objectives, and a new Policy on Continuous Learning in line with the new Policy on Learning, Training and Development issued by TBS in January 2006.

Significant efforts were dedicated to developing a three-year corporate Human Resources Plan with a strong emphasis on reinforcing management capacity in the institution. Mandatory training in procurement, financial management and PSMA was a condition to obtaining delegation. Training also focused on the administrative assistants in order to ensure sound practices and consistent support for managers throughout the institution.

Work on the long-term infrastructure strategy continued and is expected to be completed early in the next fiscal year. Planning for the move to the Interim Collection Facility and for the construction of a new nitrate facility is also progressing well. At the same time, in collaboration with Public Works and Government Services Canada, LAC completed the move of most of its administration and operations to its new headquarter in Gatineau, close to its Preservation Centre.

Financial Information

Library and Archives Canada Financial Performance Overview

Library and Archives Canada's Main Estimates for 2005-2006 were $92,894,000 including contributions to employee benefit plans. The operating amount carried forward from 2004-2005 was $4,156,400. Library and Archives Canada also received funding from Treasury Board to cover the increased salary costs resulting from collective bargaining agreements. Additional temporary funding was received during the year for specific initiatives, including:

• $3.5 million for the accommodation of the headquarters at Place de la Cité;
• $4.1 million for the Canadian Culture Online program;
• $1.1 million for the Management Government Information;
• $1.9 million for the Portrait Gallery of Canada;

These and other adjustments brought the total funds available for the year to $115,577,923 (see Table 1).

Library and Archives Canada is comprised of 7 sectors managing its program through 3 strategic outcomes and 9 program activities (see Table 6). The costs of Corporate Services are shared between each of the program activities based on a formula approved by the Treasury Board Secretariat.

In 2005-2006, Library and Archives Canada generated revenues in the amount of $909,328 of which $487,251 was respendable. These revenues are from access to and reproduction of archival and collection materials. The organization also received $176,631 during the year from the sale of surplus Crown Assets, bringing the total available funds for use to $208,372 (including $31,741 available from previous years). Of this, $45,307 was used in general operations this year.

Table 1: Comparison of Planned to Actual Spending (including FTEs)

• In 2004-2005, the National Archives (NA) and the National Library (NL) were merged to create Library and Archives Canada (LAC). To be consistent and for a better comparison between the 3 years, the figures from NA and NL were combined for the year 2003-2004.
• Following the merger of NA and NL, LAC has revised its presentation of non-respendable revenues. Figures for previous fiscal years have been modified accordingly with the new presentation standards allowing for a better comparison between the presented 3 fiscal years. These modifications impact on the Total Departmental Spending. Details of the non-respendable revenues are provided in Table 5.
• Total Planned Spending includes $53,283,000 re-profiled into future years.
• Total Authorities includes funding received from 2005-2006 Governor General Special Warrants and they are allocated by program activities.
• Details of the cost of services received without charge are provided in Table 4.

Table 2: Resources by Program Activity

1. Total Planned Spending includes $53,283,000 re-profiled into future years.
2. Total Authorities includes funding received from 2005-2006 Governor General Special Warrants and they are allocated by program activities.

Table 3: Voted and Statutory Items

1-     Total Planned Spending includes $53,283,000 re-profiled into future years.

2-     Total Authorities includes funding received from 2005-2006 Governor General Special Warrants and they are allocated by program activities.

Table 4: Services Received Without Charge

Table 5: Sources of Respendable and Non-Respendable Revenue

Respendable Revenue

Non-Respendable Revenue

Table 5: Sources of Respendable and Non-Respendable Revenue (continued)

Non-Respendable Revenue (continued)

1-       In 2004-2005, the National Archives (NA) and the National Library (NL) were merged to create Library and Archives Canada (LAC). To be consistent and for a better comparison between the 3 years, the figures from NA and NL were combined for the year 2003-2004.

2-       The distribution of the non-respendable revenue for 2003-2004 is not available by Program Activity.

3-       In 2004-2005, Treasury Board Secretariat authorized revised vote wording to expand vote-net authority to include access to and reprography of other materials from the collection that were previously not eligible under the authority of  the NL.  The figures shown in 2003-2004 represent the NA respendable revenue only since the NL did not have vote-net authority.  NL user fees are included in other adjustment ($36,563 in 2003-2004).

4-       The other adjustments are related to Accrual Accounting Principles.

Table 6: Resource Requirements by Sector

1. Total Planned Spending includes $53,283,000 re-profiled into future years.
2. Total Authorities includes funding received from 2005-2006 Governor General Special Warrants and they are allocated by program activities.

Table 7: Special Cost-Recovered Services Provided to Other Government Organizations

Table 8-A: 2005-2006 User Fees Reporting - User Fees Act

Table 8-B: 2005-2006 Policy on Service Standards for External Fees

Financial Statements of LIBRARY AND ARCHIVES CANADA

For the year ended March 31^st , 2006

Contacts for Further Information:

Library and Archives Canada
550 Place de la Cité Boulevard
Gatineau, Québec
K1A 0N4

General Information: 613 995-5115
Toll free number in Canada and the U.S.: 1-866-578-7777
TTY: 613 992-6969 or 1-866-299-1699 (Toll free in Canada)

This report can be found in electronic format at:
http://www.collectionscanada.ca/index.html

For more information about the contents of this document, contact:

Sean Berrigan, Director General
Strategic Office
Tel: 819 934-5858
Fax: 819 934-5839
E-mail: sean.berrigan@lac-bac.gc.ca

Date Modified: 2006-11-23