Government Information in Canada/Information gouvernementale au Canada, Volume 3, number/numéro 4 (Spring/printemps 1997)

Learning about publications released by Canadian federal government departments has just become much easier through the Public Works and Government Services Web site for the Depository Services Program (DSP). While researchers may be somewhat aware that libraries in Canada carry Canadian government documents, they are likely to be fuzzy on which libraries can provide these, not know how else they can be obtained, and have only an inkling of the types and titles of documents available. The Weekly Checklist at the DSP site promises to be very useful both as a current awareness tool for learning about the latest releases from the government, and as a general reference list for documents and departments over the past couple of years.

The "Search Our Catalogue" feature also promises to be valuable for quickly locating the documents of a department or a particular title. Unfortunately it was "temporarily out of service" the times I visited. The search facility is an important feature at a site of this type and one hopes that service will soon be restored. Associated with this catalogue is a list of subject terms to help the researcher define the topic and locate the material. This is very rare on the Internet, given the propensity of search engines for indexing Web pages and supporting full-text search. In the case of these government documents, subject indexing is more important, since few documents are available in full text or in abstract.

The listings include parliamentary documents, and departmental publications--from Agriculture Canada to Transport Canada, commissions of inquiry, and Statistics Canada. The availability of each document is described: whether it will be distributed through the Depository Services Program (and many are not) to over 700 libraries, how copies can be obtained and at what price. The convenience of this single listing is enormous.

Some of the descriptions include hypertext links to documents on the Web. For the researcher these links are like water holes in a desert. Foreign Affairs and International Trade often provides access to Internet versions of their announced offerings. Notably, the issue for August 15, 1997, had a link to a Canada-US joint statement on salmon, and the May 9, 1997, issue to the very useful document, Bon Voyage But ... Tips for Canadians Travelling Abroad. Industry Canada is another department that makes good use of Web publishing. Users of the Weekly Checklist can go directly to the Web list by clicking on View Sites from This Week's Checklist.

Unfortunately, the site does nothing to help the researcher order the document online or locate it in a nearby library. A staff member at a depository library can use this site to order documents but the non-depository person cannot. While there is often a telephone number or email address given, links to the commercial suppliers for more information or order placement would be much better.

Contacting a library is not made easy either. There is a listing of Depository Libraries with mail addresses and Web address where available. There is not a single phone number on this list. There is a separate listing of Full Depository Libraries composed of large academic and public libraries. These are more likely to have URLs for Web access, but good luck trying to locate the Canadian Government Documents section for help in obtaining a document. Surely, these connections can be improved.

The main shortcoming with the DSP site, and I hasten to add that this is easily overcome with a little rearrangement, is that it is not clear if this site is intended for the depository library alone, or for the general public. The core of the site is directed to helping eligible depository libraries place electronic orders for documents, but, as noted, there is also information about the document that can be helpful to individuals and non-depository organizations. So which is it? These are different audiences, and if both are to be served it would be much less confusing to give each its own space. Another example of the confusion is in Electronic Publications. With a label like that I expect to find Web documents, HTML or PDF. Instead I learn that Internet access is restricted to the Depository Library. The lockout is very unfriendly to researchers. Why can't there be direct access to electronic documents at Finance Canada, Industry Canada, and the NAFTA secretariat? And if there is a good reason for locking out the public, just don't show us the option.

Not to be overlooked, there is also a very fine Web page of Guides to Government Information at the DSP site. This page alone makes the site a bookmark in my collection. Among the resources listed is the very latest, Anita Cannon's Canadian Government Information on the Internet. This very devoted cataloguer of government information on the Internet deserves special recognition for her work in helping us find government services and documents.

As an occasional researcher and as a frequent Internet trainer, the Depository Services Program will be among the sites to be used and watched.

Notes

[1] May be cited as/On peut citer comme suit:

Gwen Harris Information Services. "Current Awareness and the Depository Services Program," Government Information in Canada/Information gouvernementale au Canada 3, no. 4 (1997). [http://www.usask.ca/library/gic/v3n4/harris/harris.html]
Back to text.

[2]