|
A
s Minister of Canadian Heritage and Minister responsible for Status of Women, I am proud to present this Departmental Performance Report (2004-2005) for Library and Archives Canada to Parliament and to all Canadians. This report details how Library and Archives
Canada has worked toward its goals and objectives over the past year, and indicates how it has contributed to has contributed to a more cohesive and creative Canada.
A
n essential part of the Canadian Heritage Portfolio, Library and Archives Canada is an innovative knowledge institution. It combines the collections, services and staff expertise of the former National Library of Canada and National Archives of Canada. Its objective is to provide all Canadians with easy, one-stop access to
the texts, photographs and other documents that reflect our cultural, social and political development.
I
am pleased to be able to count on the support and commitment of Crown corporations and Agencies, like Library and Archives Canada, to help carry out the many responsibilities of this Portfolio, which include increasing the cultural vitality of our communities, preserving our multicultural heritage, promoting our official languages, ensuring equal opportunity, and strengthening
Canada's cultural sovereignty.
T
ogether, we ensure that citizens of all ages can make the most of their creativity, talent and skills, so that our entire society can benefit. Together, we work to make Canada a prosperous country, distinguished by its diversity, cultural vitality, and spirit of innovation.
Liza Frulla
Message from the Librarian and Archivist of Canada
From April 1 to May 20, 2004 I was the National Archivist
working closely with Mr. Roch Carrier, then National Librarian. On May 21, 2004, the
Library and Archives of Canada Act
was proclaimed, I was appointed acting Librarian and Archivist of Canada and then confirmed in the position on September 21, 2004. Based on a solid commitment to work together as we had been doing since the 2002 Speech from the Throne, and in anticipation of new legislation officially creating Library and Archives Canada, the National Library and the National Archives submitted a
joint
2004-2005 Report on Plans and Priorities
. We knew, however that the plans and priorities presented would evolve because 2004-2005 would be a critical transition year.
Indeed, as 2004-2005 unfolded and Library and Archives Canada officially came into being, plans were aligned with the new institution's
Directions for Change
to shape the new institution (
http://www.collectionscanada.ca/consultation/012012-200-e.html
). We focused on our transformation agenda: implementing
the Act; integrating our multi-media holdings, services, systems and facilities; harmonizing work practices; responding to the recommendations in the 2003 Auditor General's Report; fostering connections with Canada's diverse communities; and upholding government commitments to sound financial management and accountability.
Although the complete transformation process will take several more years, I am pleased to report that we have made significant progress in establishing the governance and
integration structure of the new institution. We defined our approach and business strategies, and organized ourselves to implement our broad change concepts. We established a new management board; integrated the top level of our Web site and combined the interlibrary/inter-institutional loans services; began to rethink our national role as Canada's lead knowledge institution; sought partnerships with communities; and established multicultural and Aboriginal heritage initiatives. Investing in our innovation
agenda, we defined the scope of four initiatives that are key to the future of the new institution. They include: to design the next generation AMICAN system to present Library and Archives Canada holdings in a single database; to meet the challenges of digital collections; to develop a framework for using metadata; and to transform our concept of client service.
We continued to build Canada's documentary heritage collection of published and archival materials with notable new material such as drawings by
Canadian artist and Group of Seven member Alexander Young Jackson; the World War I and immediate post war drawings of William Redvers Stark; and approximately 400,000 photographs as part of the Rt. Hon. Jean Chrétien fonds. The eventual acquisition of the whole Jean Chrétien fonds, which will take place over the next four years, will provide a rich, fascinating window on his 40 year political career and our nation's development. Our Lowy Collection of Hebraica and Judaica was enriched with a second complete
set of the "Montreal Talmud" printed in 1919, the year of the first printing of the Talmud in North America and a landmark in the cultural history of the Canadian Jewish community. These selected items and many more enhanced the unique value of Canada's documentary heritage collection, which is an unparalleled record of the development and achievements of Canadian society and reflection of the rich and creative output of its people.
We defined a vision and strategy for our long-term accommodation
needs. Together with the Department of Canadian Heritage, and Public Works and Government Services Canada we relocated a large number of staff to Place de la Cité, in Gatineau, Québec, and planned the move of some of our collections that are at risk to an interim storage facility also in Gatineau, Québec. With effective project approval from the Treasury Board of Canada, we advanced the Portrait Gallery of Canada building project.
As a first step in responding to the recommendations in Chapter 6 of the
November 2003 Auditor General's report on the
Protection of Cultural Heritage in the Federal Government
, we drafted a framework to improve how we manage and care for our collection. Also in response to the Auditor General's call for improved methods of acquiring records generated by federal institutions and federal ministers' offices, we reengineered the Government Records Appraisal and Disposition Program.
In our legislated role to facilitate information management in the federal
government, we continued to work with the Treasury Board Secretariat on an Information Management (IM) program for the Government of Canada, and continued to develop tools to manage government records and information.
Over the past five years, with assistance from the Canadian Culture Online Program of the Department of Canadian Heritage and other partners, our investment in developing Web resources and tools has created unprecedented growth in access to the contents of our collection. While we welcome this
new visibility, it has placed immense pressure on staff to meet user demands.
Our documentary heritage collection is the largest and most complex body of records subject to the
Access to Information Act
and
Privacy Act
. Compared with other government departments we deal with a very high volume of these types of requests. With 2005 being the Year of the Veteran, requests for access to our Second World War personnel files more than doubled. With today's prominent legal issues such as
First Nation Land Claims and Residential Schools, our Access to Information and Privacy Unit has been deluged with demands. While we invested heavily in technology and training to respond more quickly to Canadians' demands for information, we are still dealing with a significant backlog.
Library and Archives Canada supports diversity as a fundamental Canadian value as we have demonstrated on our Web site and in our outreach programs to connect with a variety of community groups, partners and
stakeholders. We encouraged Aboriginal communities to explore their past and the richness of their documentary heritage by digitizing over 1,000 maps of reserves and settlements throughout Canada, and working with the government, youth and elders from Nunavut on
Project Naming
. Through our partnership in the TD Summer Reading Club, we encouraged young Canadians to develop a love for reading. We hosted many international delegations on records preservation, and we were particularly honoured to host
President and Mrs. Bush and their party on a visit to our Preservation Centre in Gatineau, Québec on November 30, 2004.
The establishment of Library and Archives Canada is a work in progress. Yet last year, with the assistance of employees, managers and partners such as the Department of Canadian Heritage, the Treasury Board Secretariat and Public Works and Government Services Canada, we ensured that the foundation as laid down by our legislation was in place, and proceeded in a strategic and coherent
manner to build a knowledge institution for all Canadians. We have aligned our resources with our strategic outcomes and soundly managed our financial and non-financial resources to end another fiscal year without deficit or lapsing funds. While much remains to be done, we are succeeding in making the new institution a reality.
Ian E. Wilson
Management Representation Statement
I submit for tabling in Parliament, the
2004-2005 Departmental Performance Report (DPR)
for
Library and Archives Canada
This document has been prepared based on the reporting principles contained in the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat's
Guide for the Preparation of 2004-2005 Departmental Performance Reports
:
-
It adheres to the specific reporting requirements;
-
It uses an approved Program Activity Architecture;
-
It presents consistent, comprehensive, balanced and accurate information;
-
It provides a basis of
accountability for the results pursued or achieved with the resources and authorities entrusted to it; and
-
It reports finances based on approved numbers from the Estimates and the Public Accounts of Canada.
_____________________
Ian E. Wilson
Librarian and Archivist of Canada
Summary Information
Mandate of Library and Archives Canada
The
Library and Archives of Canada Act
was proclaimed in Parliament on May 21, 2004. As
stated in the preamble of our enabling legislation, 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 the new concept "documentary heritage", which includes publications and records in all media related to Canada. The
Act
strengthens the mandate of the new 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, and to facilitate the management of information by government institutions.
Library and Archives Canada's strategic outcomes reflect our mandate and ensure that:
-
Canada's documentary heritage is known, accessible and used;
-
Canada's
documentary heritage is safeguarded and organized for current and future generations;
-
Information and knowledge are effectively managed within the government of Canada.
|
Total Financial Resources:
|
|
|
Planned
|
Authorities
|
Actual
|
|
$143,472,000
|
$114,569,400
|
$113,201,100
|
Note: The total Planned Spending includes $47,011,000 re-profiled into future years.
|
Total Human Resources:
(FTE = Full Time Equivalent)
|
|
Planned
|
Authorities
|
Difference
|
|
1,168 FTEs
|
1,147 FTEs
|
(21) FTEs
|
Performance Context
This section provides an overview of Library and Archives Canada's operating environment and strategic context for the reporting period. The institution works within the overall planning context of the Government of Canada, and is largely funded through
operating expenditures, with the authority to spend revenues received from its reproduction services.
Over the past year, we showed strong progress in implementing our new mandate. At the same time we faced many challenges to better serve Canadians in the 21st century—challenges in completing our transformation; becoming a truly national institution and learning destination; facilitating information management in government institutions; and advancing our long-term infrastructure strategy.
We aimed to provide value to Canadians and to provide the kind of service that they want and deserve by making the best use of resources and improving the way we manage. However, major accommodation projects, investments in technology, preservation and digitization of collections that are critical to our ability to better serve Canadians will need new funding sources.
Our Challenge: Transformation to Library and Archives Canada
Canada's newest knowledge institution was
created when the
Library and Archives of Canada Act
came into force on May 21, 2004. Our new legislation puts a greater emphasis on making Canada's documentary heritage known to Canadians and to those with an interest in Canada through interpretive programs, exhibitions and publications. Modernized provisions of the
Act
permit the extension of legal deposit to Internet publications, and the periodic archiving of Web-based material of interest to Canada. We have a stronger leadership role in
information management and in the preservation of government records, and a new power to request from other government departments and agencies the transfer of records of historical or archival value that are at risk of serious damage or destruction.
Over the past year, we began to implement our transformation agenda guided by: access as a primary driver, a focus on the client, effective stewardship through the management of risk, new approaches to describing Canada's documentary heritage, a view of
digital information as mainstream, strengthened leadership and strategic focus, and integrated and holistic perspectives.
We began to rethink the way we work, established a new structure, developed strategies to ensure we have the people, tools, information, and resources to achieve what we set out as directions for change. Equally important, we determined the scope of major initiatives for digital collections, a metadata strategy, service delivery transformation, and enhanced information technology
architecture to move the institution forward into the future. Our challenges have been and remain significant. We know it will take several more years to fully achieve our goals and to stabilize the organization.
Our Challenge: Being Truly National
Canadians from all cultures and regions expect Library and Archives Canada to be a national institution that is relevant to their needs, and enhances the quality of their lives. In a nation-wide consultation (over 6,400 libraries and
800 archives) carried out in 2004-2005, stakeholders confirmed that they look to Library and Archives Canada for support and national leadership within the Canadian information environment. Their feedback helped us to shape our national role.
Our challenge is to extend the consultation into a focused national dialogue on what is to be achieved and the means to achieve it. We must make a deliberate effort to have a pan-national presence—both through collaboration with partners and through the
latest advancements in virtual information technology. In this way the concept of a national documentary collection will extend beyond Library and Archives Canada to involve libraries, archives and all types of cultural centres, other heritage institutions and even the creators of cultural and documentary resources. We have begun to formulate purposeful partnerships so that all Canadians will find their own communities' heritage and culture within our collection. Our new Aboriginal Heritage and Multicultural
Resources and Services initiatives have demonstrated our commitment to ensure that the documentary heritage of these communities is represented in the collection, and that we provide relevant services that help them to find and use documentary heritage resources in a convenient time, place and format.
Our Challenge: Making Canada's Documentary Heritage Known
Our legislation introduced a new concept: the documentary heritage of Canada. This is an all-inclusive term for the
extraordinary material gathered over 184 years of active collecting. It ranges from incunabula (the earliest printed books, dating from the invention of the printing press in the 15th century) and the earliest printed publications documenting exploration and discovery to the official records of government in electronic form. It includes the papers of our writers, poets and musicians; the archives of politicians and business leaders, Canadian newspapers, local histories, sound recordings, feature films, maps,
photographs, broadcast recordings, documentary art and portraits of Canadians. Also in our documentary heritage are the constitutional records that document the sovereignty of Canada over its territory and provide the essential evidence for a host of continuing legal issues; the full records of war; the details of Canada's social, cultural and economic development; and the daily records of life in this country. This collection is a Canadian treasure and arguably the most valuable asset, certainly one of the
most fragile, owned by the people of Canada.
Technology is essential to achieve our vision. Its effective use will enable us to acquire, manage, preserve and access digital and non-digital content. To increase our capacity to make our collection known and available to Canadians, we have begun to use emerging technology and improved systems architecture to develop the AMICAN system, and we are finding new ways to make many more digital collections and resources available to the public. While
information technology is enabling us to open our collection in important new ways, it also brings with it a monumental challenge.
The electronic environment is volatile and while superb for communication, it does not yet offer a secure platform for preservation. We have been closely monitoring developments internationally and have implemented solutions for electronic publications, graduate theses, and some email systems. In the course of the next three years, we will propose solutions for other electronic
materials including Canadian Web sites and electronic record keeping systems.
In making digital collections known, a second challenge is to keep up with the exponential growth requirements for Internet connection speed and for online storage. Even though the cost per unit of network and storage capacity continues to decline, it is not declining as fast as the growth of digital collections or as fast as the demand for access to these collections.
The new institution also began life with a new
legislated mandate to be proactive in making these unique resources known and available to all Canadians. New technologies, modern environment-controlled buildings and advanced technical processes coupled with the opportunities of the Internet for access to the collection give us the opportunity to balance careful preservation of our collection and appropriate access to it now and for future generations to come. However, much remains to be done to achieve this balance.
The objects and powers of our
Act
support the establishment of programs and activities including exhibitions, readings, performances and other events to make known and interpret Canada's documentary heritage. As we gain a better understanding of our audiences, we will develop and implement a strategy to deliver public programming that meets the diverse information and cultural needs of Canadians.
Our Challenge: Becoming a Prime Learning Destination
Knowledge and learning are essential to Canada's
social cohesion—helping Canadians grow and develop and keeping us together as a people. Knowledge and learning are also key elements in Canada's economic success and the prosperity of its people. Recognizing this, Library and Archives Canada with the assistance of the Department of Canadian Heritage's Canadian Culture Online Program launched the Learning Centre, a bilingual educational portal for students and teachers in May 2004. In 2004-2005, following an examination of our current approach to the
Learning Centre, we developed a three-year plan to broaden our role as a resource centre for learning. The findings supported the informed discussions that we have had with educators and other experts to promote the use of Library and Archives Canada resources as authoritative curriculum-based learning tools that can be distributed on the Web to teachers at the intermediate and secondary levels.
The ceremony for the Governor General's Awards for Excellence in Teaching Canadian History was held at Library
and Archives Canada's Gatineau Preservation Centre on October 15, 2004. The theme "There's a lot to be learned from historical documents" focussed on the use of primary documents in the classrooms of our nation to inspire and challenge students to explore Canada's past. Teachers whom the Governor General saluted for inspiring and challenging students to explore Canada's past came away from this event with an even greater understanding of Library and Archives Canada's role as a learning destination, a
greater knowledge of the richness of its documentary heritage collection, and how to access and use primary documents in its collection to bring Canadian history and culture directly to students to enrich their projects with evidence from the past.
We continued to make our documentary heritage collection better known as our staff participated in educational conferences, workshops and history fairs such as those sponsored by the Ottawa-Carleton Elementary Teachers' Federation, the Association canadienne
d'éducation en langue française in Laval, Québec, the Alberta Teachers' Association Social Studies Council, and the Ontario Library Association 2005 Super-conference in Toronto, to name a few. Our presence at such venues provides opportunities to network with teachers, educators and teacher-librarians from across Canada. Library and Archives Canada also continued to thrive as a learning destination as history teachers used our
Lest We Forget
Web site to help students learn about and remember the
contributions of those who died in the First World War. Since its inception in 2001, the
Lest We Forget
project has expanded into a partnership with the Royal Canadian Legion, Veterans Affairs, the Upper Canada District School Board and the Renfrew County District School Board.
Canadians of all ages, who pursue life-long learning have shown a great interest in the
Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online
available on our Web site at (
http://www.biographi.ca /EN/index.html
), a
collaborative project between the University of Toronto, Université Laval, the Department of Canadian Heritage and Library and Archives Canada. Since its launch in October 2003, there have been over 23,000 visits to this site averaging 756 visits per day by those interested in stories of fascinating people who have contributed to the development of our country.
These examples demonstrate just some of the ways that we are using the Web to overcome territorial boundaries that have arisen over the
decades when the past was broken up and some of it placed in museums, archives, libraries and historic sites. We can reassemble these parts on the Web and present them in a connected way to facilitate learning and knowledge discovery.
Our Challenge: Facilitating Information Management in Government Institutions
The Auditor General and the Information Commissioner both pointed to the significant challenges faced by the government in managing information and maintaining its record
keeping systems. Library and Archives Canada has a key leadership mandate in concert with central agencies and the information management community to develop processes, standards, training and practical tools to address the challenges of paper and electronic records, to provide authoritative descriptions of the publications of federal departments and agencies, and to work with federal libraries to provide information to government users through both traditional and electronic means.
Challenges
facing both Library and Archives Canada and federal government departments include ensuring that information is understood and embraced as a critical asset and enabler of government business and service to Canadians. We must develop government-wide systems to facilitate the management of information so that it is available, useful, reliable, interoperable and re-used as needed, and directly supports well-informed policy and decision-making, as well as government transparency and accountability. A particularly
critical challenge will be to implement systems to manage the explosive growth of electronic information assets, including electronic mail, data, documents and publications. Information, when effectively managed, enables client-centered government and service delivery transformation, and reduces cost and risk to the Government of Canada.
We will continue to champion information management in the federal government and to promote a culture of information management in which all players are aware of
the value of well-managed information and appreciate their role in supporting government. We will also continue to support the role of federal departmental libraries in improving information and knowledge management in the Government of Canada.
Our Challenge: Infrastructure
A major challenge facing Library and Archives Canada is that our current accommodation infrastructure capacity is insufficient. The November 2003 Auditor General's report on the
Protection of Cultural
Heritage in the Federal Government
(
http://www.oag-bvg.gc.ca/domino/reports.nsf/a1b15d892a1f761a852565
c40068a492/eb4fe16e8720cd9585256e2b00533d6d?OpenDocument
) made it imperative for us to justify that we have made the best choices possible with regards to our collection facilities and the protection of the collection. The report stipulated that Canada's published heritage is at risk because our continually growing collection is geographically dispersed and most buildings where collections
are housed (with the exception of the Preservation Centre in Gatineau, Québec) do not meet standards for temperature, humidity and space needed to preserve our documents. The Auditor General also underlined the fact that management practices alone cannot fully compensate for the shortcomings of the physical infrastructure. Adequate infrastructure lies at the heart of the preservation of Canada's documentary heritage. Significant investments from the Government of Canada will be required to ensure that one of
the most valuable assets of the Canadian people is protected and remains accessible for future generations.
Summary of Library and Archives Canada Performance
In anticipation of the proclamation of the
Act
creating Library and Archives Canada, the National Library of Canada and the National Archives of Canada presented a joint
2004-2005 Report on Plans and Priorities (RPP)
to ensure that the objectives reflected as much as possible the new institution
that they would become. The
Act
establishing the new Library and Archives Canada (LAC) was proclaimed on May 21, 2004.
Our
2004-2005 RPP
was a transitional planning document because both institutions (the former National Library and National Archives) were in the midst of fundamental change, where transition and transformation dominated the agenda and plans would evolve. As the fiscal year unfolded, this proved true. We adjusted our plans and priorities to keep our multi-year
transformation journey on course and achieve the outcomes expected by Parliament. This summary table reflects these adjustments. The 2004-2005 commitments below are grouped by program activity within each strategic outcome.
|
Strategic Outcome
|
Program Activity
|
2004-2005 Commitments
|
Results
|
Current Status
|
|
Canada's documentary heritage is widely known, easily accessed and broadly used.
|
Services
|
Focus on client with the aim of fine-tuning the institution's understanding of current and potential users.
|
We consulted stakeholders on our
Directions for Change
and planned a user survey. We established Aboriginal heritage
initiatives and multicultural initiatives.
|
Not fully met.
|
|
Begin to implement key components of Library and Archives Canada's initiative to transform the way it delivers service to Canadians.
|
We defined the scope and approach of this 2-year service delivery transformation initiative.
|
Not yet fully met this 2-year commitment.
|
|
Test the effectiveness of our public
services against a new evaluation framework.
|
This commitment became part of our 2-year service delivery transformation initiative.
|
See above.
|
|
Initiate a 3-year project to develop a joint LAC system, AMICAN.
|
We defined the scope of this 3-year initiative to provide integrated access to the LAC collection through a new system, AMICAN.
|
Not yet fully met this 3-year commitment.
|
|
Expand the Canadian Genealogy Centre and Virtual Reference Canada.
|
We added content to the Canadian Genealogy Web site. Virtual Reference Canada completed its second year of operation.
|
Successfully met.
|
|
Assess national access services for clients with print, perceptual and other disabilities; and facilitate their access to the resources of Library and Archives Canada.
|
We spearheaded a study on access to academic materials for post-secondary students with print disabilities.
We started to prepare for the implementation of a national network for equitable public library services to Canadians with print disabilities.
|
Successfully met.
|
|
Catalogue the British Columbia Audiobook preservation masters.
|
We decided that this was not a priority since the items were not transferred to us.
|
Commitment cancelled.
|
|
Strategic Outcome
|
Program Activity
|
2004-2005 Commitments
|
Results
|
Current Status
|
|
Canada's documentary heritage is widely known, easily
accessed and broadly used. (continued)
|
Services (continued)
|
Renew Library and Archives Canada's authority for grants and contributions.
|
We consulted with provincial and territorial archives in preparation for the renewal of our grants and contributions program to the archival community. Authority for the program was extended until March 2006.
|
Successfully met.
|
|
Continue
to develop mutually beneficial relationships with the book and sound-recording industries.
|
We decided that this commitment was part of the transformation activity to integrate special and multimedia collections (Music and Literary Arts) and harmonize acquisition strategies and policies.
|
Commitment merged with another.
|
|
Programs
|
Develop a Virtual Learning Centre.
|
Some content was added to the existing Web site. In 2005-2006, we will further analyze the scope of the Learning Centre.
|
Not fully met.
|
|
Increase access to Canadian digital content, resources and electronic services.
|
With the support of the Canadian Culture Online Program of the Department of Canadian Heritage, we added new Canadian digital content and resources to our Web site.
|
Successfully met.
|
|
As part of the Canadian Initiative on Digital Libraries, work with various organizations to develop a digital cultural strategy.
|
This commitment was deferred to 2005-2006.
|
Not fully met.
|
|
Carry out strategies developed by the Centre for Newspapers and News in Canada for better access to a wide range of news material in the collection.
|
This commitment became part of
our 2-year service delivery transformation initiative.
|
Commitment merged with another.
|
|
Support multi-year national tour of the exhibition
Where Are the Children?
|
The exhibition was shown in Edmonton, Alberta, St. John, New Brunswick and Winnipeg, Manitoba.
|
Successfully met.
|
|
Support the international tour of the
Oscar Peterson
exhibition.
|
The exhibition was shown in Australia and Japan.
|
Successfully met.
|
|
Manage the TD Summer Reading Club.
|
We successfully managed this summer reading club.
|
Successfully met.
|
|
Portrait Gallery of Canada
|
Improve public awareness of the portrait collections.
|
Public awareness of the Portrait
Gallery's program grew through media interest and association with national and international audiences.
|
Successfully met.
|
|
Strengthen the portrait holdings and finalize the Portrait Gallery of Canada's acquisition and commissioning policies.
|
Drafts of both policies are underway. New portrait holdings were added to the collection.
|
Successfully met.
|
|
Strategic Outcome
|
Program Activity
|
2004-2005 Commitments
|
Results
|
Current Status
|
|
Canada's documentary heritage is safeguarded and organized for current and future generations.
|
Development of Collection
|
Build collection of Canadian publications.
|
We exceeded the target set for acquiring different categories of published material.
|
Successfully met this ongoing commitment.
|
|
Collect and preserve important records created by both the private sector and the government regardless of medium.
|
We continued to acquire historically valuable records of the Government of Canada and records
created by private individuals and organizations.
|
Successfully met this ongoing commitment.
|
|
Continue the review of Records Disposition Authorities.
|
We reviewed the Records Disposition Program and implemented new mechanisms to modernize it and expedite processes.
|
Not fully met.
|
|
Hold consultations on the new legal deposit requirements, and assess the impact of the
new directions for legal deposit of electronic resources.
|
We consulted with a cross-section of publishers prior to completion of the drafting of the Legal Deposit of Publications Regulations.
|
Successfully met.
|
|
Harmonize acquisition strategies and policies.
|
We drafted a collection development framework at the end of March 2005.
|
Not fully met.
|
|
Further develop Aboriginal and multicultural collections and work with these communities to safeguard their documentary heritage.
|
Work remains to be done to build our capacity to implement the framework in consultation with the Aboriginal and multicultural communities. Our work with these communities was addressed in our first commitment to focus on the client under our Services program activity.
|
Not fully met.
|
|
Acquire
more electronic Canadian theses.
|
A pilot project successfully tested the capture of electronic theses and metadata directly from four Canadian universities.
|
Successfully met.
|
|
Continue discussions with Public Works and Government Services Canada in order to resolve the best possible placement for the Depository Services Program.
|
A joint steering committee concluded in February 2005 that the
operations of the Depository Services Program would not be transferred to LAC.
|
Successfully met.
|
|
Description of Collection
|
Use metadata to improve access to digital library and archival resources.
|
We defined the scope of a 2-year metadata initiative to develop and implement a strategy for a collaborative approach to description that facilitates integrated access to published and unpublished resources in all
media.
|
Not yet successfully met this 2-year initiative.
|
|
Care of Collection
|
Operate in a risk-smart culture and assess risks to the collections.
|
We deemed this commitment was part of our response to the Auditor General of Canada's report.
|
See below.
|
|
Put in place strategic directions in response to the Auditor General's report on the
protection of cultural heritage in the federal government.
|
We established a Collection Management Infrastructure Working Group to address the need for an improved regime for the care of the collection and for more appropriate accommo-
dation. Work will continue into 2005-2006.
|
Not fully met.
|
|
Establish a task force to provide solutions for the acquisition, management and preservation of digital collections.
|
We defined the scope of a 2-year initiative to address the challenges of acquiring, managing and preserving digital collections.
|
Not yet successfully met this 2-year initiative.
|
|
Strategic Outcome
|
Program Activity
|
2004-2005 Commitments
|
Results
|
Current Status
|
|
Canada's documentary heritage is safeguarded and organized for current and future generations. (continued)
|
Care of Collection
(continued)
|
Set policy directions for preserving Canada's digital heritage and address needs for preventive actions.
|
We decided that this commitment was part of the scope of our 2-year
initiative to address the challenges of acquiring, managing and preserving digital collections.
|
See above.
|
|
Under the Canadian Feature Film Policy, preserve films funded by Telefilm Canada, and acquire describe, preserve, store and restore feature films.
|
We acquired, described, preserved, stored and restored many categories of Canadian feature films.
|
Successfully met.
|
|
Implement lessons learned from the Symposium on Preservation of Electronic Records.
|
The main goals of the symposium were achieved. Delegates left with a sense of the broader issues involved in collecting and preserving electronic records. We are implementing some of best practices gleaned from the Symposium, and developing policies on the preservation of electronic records and Web sites.
|
Successfully met.
|
|
Implement the
Capital Replacement Plan.
|
As resources permitted, we purchased new and replaced old digital and analog equipment, which enhanced our capacity to manage the collection and to serve our clients.
|
Successfully met.
|
|
Participate in the Canadian Musical Memories program to acquire and preserve sound recordings.
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With $360,000 from the Department of Canadian Heritage's Canada Music Fund, we continued to
participate in the program. The funding has been extended to 2005-2006 under the Department's "tomorrow starts today" program.
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Successfully met.
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Information and knowledge are effectively managed within the government of Canada.
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Information Management Strategies
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Take a leadership role in the Management of Government Information Policy in cooperation with the Treasury Board Secretariat and with Public Works and
Government Services Canada.
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We collaborated with the Treasury Board Secretariat/
Chief Information Officer Branch, and Public Works and Government Services Canada, to establish an enterprise-wide IM program in the Government of Canada with a strong client focus, and clear roles and responsibilities. The IM program implementation plan led by Treasury Board Secretariat originally expected in January 2005 is now expected for Summer 2006. In accordance with responsibilities
assigned to us by the Management of Government Information Policy to develop IM tools, standards and guidelines, we developed a draft Records Management Metadata Standard for the Government of Canada, and carried out research on managing electronic information. Library and Archives Canada also provided bibliographic descriptions for currently published federal publications in all formats, including Internet publications.
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Successfully met.
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Strategic Outcome
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Program Activity
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2004-2005 Commitments
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Results
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Current Status
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Information and knowledge are effectively managed within the government of Canada. (continued)
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Information Management Strategies
(continued)
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Increase awareness and understanding of information management (IM) as a core discipline.
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We provided support to the Librarian and Archivist of Canada in his role as co-champion for IM excellence in the Government of Canada, and continued to participate in senior-level government IM committees, and make presentations to IM practitioners in departments and agencies and at IM events. We provided an IM reference service to clients in departments and
agencies, and conducted a study to improve our client services and communication. We analyzed the use that departments and agencies have made of the IM Capacity Check and the results served as strategic input into development of the IM Program, and the future development of IM tools, standards, and guidance.
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Successfully met the fiscal-year goal for this ongoing commitment.
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Information Management Solutions
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Create a
functional classification system for government records.
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We developed two prototype model classification structures for the common administrative functions of Real Property Management and Materiel Management. We drafted an implementation guide to facilitate development and customization of the function-based classification models. Our work on a functional classification system for government records will continue into 2005-2006.
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Successfully met the fiscal-year
goal for this ongoing commitment.
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Develop a generic approach for clearing the backlog of legacy business records.
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This commitment was postponed and incorporated into our 2005-2006 plan to develop an integrated strategy concerning a national government information storage service using the Federal Records Centres, and will be gradually implemented over the next 3 years.
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Not fully met.
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Information Management Services
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Strengthen ties to the Council of Federal Libraries to support the role of libraries in managing information resources of government departments and agencies.
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We began to broaden the traditional understanding of IM as records management and archives-centric to encompass the initiatives and services provided to federal libraries in government departments and agencies. We began to determine the role of the Council of Federal
Libraries Secretariat and Consortium within LAC's newly created Government Information Management Office, and within the context of the Government of Canada-wide IM agenda. The Council of Federal Libraries Consortium ensured cost-effective procurement of library materials and services for federal libraries.
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Successfully met the fiscal-year goal for this ongoing commitment.
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Overall Library and Archives Canada Performance
In 2004-2005, in anticipation of the
proclamation of the
Act
creating Library and Archives Canada, the National Library of Canada and the National Archives of Canada presented a joint
Report on Plans and Priorities
to ensure that objectives for 2004-2005 were reflective of the new institution that they would become. The plans were organized by strategic outcomes reflecting the mandate of the new institution, now articulated in Library and Archives Canada's Program Activity Architecture. However, until the legislation creating
Library and Archives Canada came into force (which it did on May 21, 2004), financial resources in the joint
Report on Plans and Priorities
had to be presented by the business lines of each institution. The following crosswalk is provided to show the relationship between the business lines of the former National Archives and National Library and the new Program Activity Architecture of Library and Archives Canada. The figures were based on proportional spending in previous years.
Click on image to enlarge
Click on image to enlarge
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