Electronic Collection
A collection of digital books and journals

Introduction

The Electronic Collection of Library and Archives Canada (LAC) consists of Canadian books and periodicals published online, and continues to grow through the Legal Deposit of online publications. As of spring 2009, it included more than 30,000 monographs (books) and more than 100,000 serial issues (journals, periodicals, newsletters, magazines) published in Canada by both non-governmental and governmental publishing sectors. The collection supports LAC's mandate of preserving the documentary heritage of Canada for the benefit of present and future generations.

The Library and Archives of Canada Act (2004) is a federal statute of Canada that mandates and legally empowers Library and Archives Canada (LAC) to collect and preserve the nation's published heritage under legal deposit. On January 1, 2007 legal deposit was extended to online or Internet publications.

All Canadian publishers are required to deposit copies of their online publications with Library and Archives Canada (LAC), according to the Legal Deposit of Publications Regulations. Further information is available by consulting Legal Deposit: Preserving and Providing Access to Canada's Published Heritage.

Some titles indicate that "access is restricted to LAC onsite clients only". These titles can only be accessed at the public Internet workstations located in the Library Reference Room at 395 Wellington Street in downtown Ottawa. These workstations permit read-only access.

How to Reach Us

For more information, please contact Digital Legal Deposit:

by email at: epe@bac-lac.gc.ca

by telephone at: 819-994-7513
1-866-578-7777 (Toll free in Canada and the U.S.)

by fax at: 819-953-8508

or by regular mail at:

Digital Legal Deposit
Library and Archives Canada
395 Wellington Street
Ottawa, ON  K1A 0N4
Canada