Supplementary corporate information 2023–2024

Raison d’être, mandate and role: who we are and what we do

Raison d’être

Under the Library and Archives of Canada Act, the mandate of Library and Archives Canada (LAC) is as follows:

• 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 co-operation 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 Minister of Canadian Heritage is responsible for Library and Archives Canada.

Mandate and role

LAC’s mandate to manage Canada’s documentary heritage rests on three pillars:

LAC is responsible for acquiring documentary heritage of historical value and that shows developments in various areas of activity within Canadian society over the years. The LAC collection contains documents created and published in Canada and abroad that is of interest to Canadians and stored in various formats. To add to its collection, LAC pursues the mandate assigned to it under the Act as well as various mechanisms that include donations and acquisitions.

LAC is responsible for preserving its collection to ensure that it stands the test of time and remains accessible to future generations. This responsibility rests on the expertise of its employees who specialize in preservation, on its processes of migration and digitization of content, and on the quality of LAC’s infrastructure.

LAC’s responsibilities regarding access to documentary heritage consist of facilitating searches and consultation of its vast collection. LAC provides access to its documentary resources by:

• providing the public with digital content and online services;
• providing on-site services at 395 Wellington Street in Ottawa and at its service points in Halifax, Winnipeg and Vancouver; and
• contributing to exhibitions that enable the public to discover LAC collections in communities, museums and cultural sites across Canada.

Operating context

Inspired by its new vision—“Discover. Understand. Connect.”—the organization will set out its goals and priorities for the coming years. The 2030 Strategic Plan, which was made public in the spring of 2022, has four key elements: inviting users to discover the collections; reflecting diverse voices; engaging with the community, partnering with the world; and supporting our people, sustaining our heritage.

LAC’s 2023–24 Departmental Plan is aligned with that vision and informed by three guiding principles: focusing on access to the collection, building organizational capacity and transforming the way we do things.

LAC used the Policy on Service and Digital and the Government of Canada Digital Standards to create virtual services and operations focused on user needs. It facilitates access to Canada’s documentary heritage through its services to the public, both remotely and in person at its points of service across Canada (Halifax, Ottawa, Winnipeg and Vancouver). LAC is continually improving its online presence and developing new digital tools so Canadians will find the content that they are seeking more quickly and more easily. It also offers extensive and varied public programming that contributes to the public’s discovery and awareness of different perspectives on the past and on Canadian society.

The organization is constantly working to strengthen and modernize its infrastructure and its processes to acquire, process, preserve and make accessible to Canadians large volumes of analog and digital records. It is developing a new digitization strategy and an approach to change metadata standards.

LAC is a key player in access to information in Canada. Its responsibilities for requests under the Access to Information Act and the Privacy Act extend well beyond those of other federal departments and agencies because it is the custodian of billions of pages of records that it preserves on their behalf. In response to the 10 recommendations made by the Office of the Information Commissioner of Canada, LAC is implementing its access to information and privacy (ATIP) action plan and continuing to improve its services to users.

It continues to play an active role in the GC’s reconciliation efforts with First Nations, Inuit and Métis Nation peoples. Over the next year, LAC will update its Indigenous Heritage Action Plan and, more generally, it will begin reflecting on integrating reconciliation into its activities. It will also continue the important work of identifying, describing and digitizing records related to the federal Indian Day Schools system.

LAC contributes to the federal priority of investing in green infrastructure and technology. Its new Preservation Storage Facility, completed in 2022, is the first federal facility built in accordance with the Greening Government Strategy. The building has net-zero emissions, as will Ādisōke, the new joint facility with Ottawa Public Library.

Like the federal government, LAC has heard the calls to action to address systemic inequities and disparities, such as racism, sexism, discrimination, misconduct and violence, which contribute to marginalizing (both intentionally and unintentionally) many Canadians. LAC considers it essential to create and maintain an inclusive, respectful and safe workplace and culture that promote diversity and the professional growth of its employees.