Canadian Government Information: A National Resource at the National
Library of Canada1,2
3
Dr. Marianne Scott, National Librarian, National Library of Canada
ABSTRACT: Government information is a national resource that
is acquired, preserved and made accessible by the National Library of
Canada through its Official Publications Collection. The Collection
is heavily used for a variety of research purposes. Bibliographic
information is made available through DOBIS, Canadiana, the
MARC Records Distribution Service and a planned CD-ROM. Work is under
way to improve access to electronic government information.
RÉSUMÉ: L'information gouvernementale est une
ressource nationale qui est acquise, préservée et
rendue accessible par la Bibliothèque nationale du Canada
grâce à sa Collection de publications officielles.
La Collection est grandement utilisée pour toutes sortes de
recherches ayant des buts différents. L'information
bibliographique est disponible par le truchement de DOBIS, de
Canadiana, du service de distribution des notices
MARC et d'un CD-ROM dont on a dressé les plans. Des travaux
sont en cours pour améliorer l'accès à
l'information électronique gouvernementale.
Introduction
I am in full agreement with the recently released Blueprint for
Renewing Government Services Using Information Technology
4 which calls government information a national
resource, vital to the country's social, cultural and economic development.
The National Library of Canada takes very seriously its mandate to acquire,
preserve and make accessible the part of this national resource which
Canadian governments have chosen to publish. This article will describe
this national resource and highlight new developments in both the
collection and related services with emphasis on federal government
information.
Building a Collection
History
The National Library has the largest collection of Canadian official
publications held anywhere. Beginning with a large retrospective gift
from the Library of Parliament, it has grown since 1950 through on-going
arrangements with the federal and provincial governments for deposit of
current material, and has been enriched by donations from many Canadian
libraries and federal government institutions. Retrospective materials
have been purchased to fill in gaps. Before the advent of legal deposit
of microforms, commercially produced microforms of Canadian official
publications were purchased as funds permitted. Extension of legal
deposit to microforms in 1988 has allowed this collection to become
comprehensive.
Collection policy
The Canadian Official Publications Collection comprises publications of
the Canadian federal government including legislative, executive and
judicial branches, Crown corporations, joint Canadian or bilateral
international organizations of which the federal government is a party;
publications issued by a Canadian provincial government, territory or
inter-provincial governmental agency; publications of governments in
Canada before Confederation; and microforms and reprints of Canadian
official publications published by commercial publishers. Selected
publications of Canadian municipalities are incorporated into the
National Library's general collection.
The National Library acquires published Canadiana, including Canadian
official publications, in all formats. Copies are acquired for
preservation and for service. Publications of "the Crown" are not
subject to legal deposit but are acquired through arrangements with
governments. However forthcoming changes to the National
Library Act announced by the Minister of Communications on
March 2, 1994 will extend legal deposit to all federal government
publications including those of Crown corporations.
Size and strengths
The sheer size of the Canadian Official Publications Collection
indicates its breadth and depth. There are 966,178 hard copy and
251,855 microform items in the federal collection and 251,855 hard copy
and 149,494 microform items in the provincial collection plus a growing
collection of government produced videos, CD-ROMs and cassettes for a
total of over two million items.5 The collection
begins with the official publications of Upper and Lower Canada in 1791
and 19th century documents from Nouvelle France. The Canadian Official
Publications Collection is rich in debates, acts and regulations, sessional
papers, annual reports, statistics, Royal Commission reports, public
hearings, geological reports, and election results across all jurisdictions.
The collection is well able to support comparative research over time and
across jurisdictions.
Access to a National Resource
Canadiana cataloguing
Federal and provincial government publications have been listed in
Canadiana, Canada's national bibliography which has been
published since 1952. Canadiana cataloguing records and
authority records are available on microfiche, on tape or file transfer
through the MARC Records Distribution Service, and online in the DOBIS
and AMICUS databases.
Retrospective conversion project
Bibliographic access to the National Library's Canadian Official
Publications Collection has improved substantially since 1987 when a
seven year retrospective record creation and conversion project began.
Machine-readable records have been created or holdings added to
existing records for the entire retrospective Canadian federal and
provincial collections, a total of 124,040 titles. These records and
holdings are part of the DOBIS/AMICUS database.6
In addition a large gift collection, 1020 linear metres, received
from Information Canada in the early 1970s, has recently been processed.
This collection included the archives of the Queen's Printer and added
3504 unique titles to the National Library collection as well as many
additional copies for the Preservation Collection and new serial issues.
As part of this retrospective project, many duplicate copies have also
been identified which have been made available to the Canadian library
community through the Canadian Book Exchange Centre.
Federal government publications in alternative format
Since the International Year of Disabled Persons in 1981, the Canadian
government has increasingly published items in alternative format to
provide Canadians who are unable to read conventional print with
equitable access to information. The National Library has endeavoured
to acquire a complete collection in braille, large print, electronic
text and audio format. These publications are listed in a bibliography:
Federal Government Publications in Alternative Format,
1981-1992.7
Working with the Canada Communication Group
Both the National Library and the Depository Services Program within the
Canada Communication Group - Publishing (CCG-P) create bibliographic
records for current federal government publications; the National
Library for Canadiana and the DOBIS/AMICUS database; CCG-P
for the Weekly Checklist and Quarterly
Catalogue. The two agencies are currently working on projects to
share data, to minimize duplication and to ensure more prompt delivery of
CAN/MARC records for new publications in the Weekly Checklist
.
A Rich and Valuable Collection in Use
Service description and volume of use
Official publications have always been a heavily used part of the
National Library's collection. On-site researchers often take
advantage of the proximity of the National Library and National Archives
to access published and unpublished documents in a single visit. In
1987 the National Library instituted an integrated reference service for
official publications, newspapers and general reference. The integrated
reference and referral service and the growing access to official
publications in the integrated DOBIS database have improved access to
and use of the collection by on-site and external users across all
subject areas. New electronic reference tools (online, CD-ROM, Internet)
and growing staff expertise are enhancing access to the collection and
its value to researchers. With very few exceptions (reference books,
rare, fragile, or oversize documents) material is available for use in
the library or available on interlibrary loan. In 1993/94, 19,863 items
were borrowed in the Library and 5861 items were loaned or photocopied
for Interlibrary Loan. But the complexities of government publishing
and the variety of access tools remain a challenge to users and staff
alike. At the National Library, a Government and Law Specialist is
available to assist researchers and is responsible for developing and
maintaining expertise among all reference staff, as well as advising
interlibrary loan staff.
Highlights of research based on collection
Official publications are essential for the study of the history of
Canadian society. Researchers trace the origins and history of a
government policy or initiative using a variety of sources, such as
discussion papers, policy papers, ministerial statements, news releases,
committee proceedings, debates and answers given in the House of
Commons. Researchers investigating the original legislative intent of
an Act or clause within it also consult committee proceedings and
reports as well as debates. The historical collection of the National
Library facilitates the tracing of legislation back to its origins
(even to Great Britain or France) or forward through all its changes.
National Library policy of retaining all editions recently proved
valuable to a court case where the content of different editions of a
title proved to be crucial evidence.
The comprehensive collection of departmental annual reports across all
jurisdictions is valued for the detailed descriptions of activities,
persons, services and programs. In particular nineteenth century
reports of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, immigration, land, Indian
affairs and prisons are often in demand. This material is also used for
ongoing research related to land claims. There is as wide use of other
departmental publications as there are subjects treated in these--and
now in all formats: slides, diskettes, CD-ROMs and, as mentioned,
alternative formats.
Publications of the financial cycle, estimates, budget speeches and
public accounts, as well as the report of the Auditor General, are also
steadily consulted, again for their historical information which is
easily comparable to current data.
Some recent questions which have been addressed to National Library
reference services in person and by telephone, mail, fax or electronic
mail:
- Who were the first holders of the office of Deputy Prime Minister?
- Has any provincial legislation been disallowed by the federal
government in recent years?
- How can I find the Canadian Constitution on cassette or in braille?
- Is there a legal standard for the French Canadian horse breed?
- Is the Ontario Act of 1901 which established the YWCA still in
force?
- Can you give me all references in provincial legislation to medical
devices?
- Do you have information on prisons in Upper Canada in the 1830s?
- Is there a federal law giving free lodging across Canada to the
Prime Minister's chauffeur.
- What was the amount of public debt in 1867?
Renewing Government Services Using Information Technology
A New Bibliographic Tool: CD-ROM of federal government
publications
The access to information process excludes published material and is
only responsive to specific requests for information. The federal
government has recognized the need to improve the channels for public
access to government information which exist outside the access to
information process.8 Canadian libraries
tackling retrospective conversion for their government publications
collections and coping with the weekly arrival of depository shipments
have expressed needs for more complete and effective sources of
bibliographic information. The National Library and the Canada
Communication Group are working to develop a joint product which will
incorporate all the machine readable records for federal government
publications in the databases of the National Library and Canada
Communications Group. This retrospective data, including library
locations, will be selected, merged and disseminated on a CD-ROM product
which will provide straightforward access to publications available for
purchase, consultation or loan. This product will be updated regularly
and will provide enhanced access to the national resource at the National
Library and at other Canadian libraries whose holdings of government
publications are represented in the DOBIS/AMICUS database. A mechanism will
be developed to link the CD-ROM to sources of information for current
publications, current CAN/MARC and Weekly Checklist records.
The National Library hopes to build on its experience with ROMULUS.
A market study is currently under way to further identify user needs and
refine the requirements for the CD-ROM product.
Government Electronic Publishing
The National Library is working with other key agencies in the federal
government to develop solutions to the problems of management,
dissemination and preservation of government electronic information.
The National Library is actively acquiring electronic government
information published in tangible forms e.g. diskette, CD-ROM. In the
growing area of networked information, the National Library is closely
monitoring federal government information made available on the
Internet. As a preliminary, practical step towards improved
organization and accessibility of networked government information, the
National Library gopher has established a gopher on the Internet which
points to these new information sources as they are identified. But it
is essential that the federal government develop a common vision with
defined roles and responsibilities to ensure effective access to
government information as we move more and more to an electronic
information environment.
Commitment to Equitable Access to Government Information
I began this article by referring to government information as a
national resource, vital to the country's social, cultural and economic
development. It is important that we ensure equitable access to this
national resource for all Canadians. This article outlines many ways in
which the National Library is supporting this goal in its current
activities and will continue to support this goal in the future.