Library and Archives Canada’s 2024–25 Departmental Plan at a glance

A departmental plan describes a department’s priorities, plans and associated costs for the upcoming three fiscal years.

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Key priorities

Library and Archives Canada (LAC) has refined its strategic direction, building on the progress made and what remains to be done to deliver its forward-looking Vision 2030 plan. With the goal of putting the user first, five key organizational priorities will guide LAC’s efforts in 2024–25:

  • Deepening its commitment to reconciliation through the Indigenous Heritage Action Plan and continuing to build respectful relationships;
  • Stabilizing its Access to Information and Privacy (ATIP) function and improving access to government records;
  • Transforming its services to attract new audiences and better serving existing users to meet or exceed their expectations;
  • Improving access to collections by advancing our digitization efforts, deploying a robust metadata strategy and improving our systems; and
  • Integrating equity, diversity, inclusion and accessibility (EDIA) principles throughout its services, collection management and workforce to foster a welcoming and inclusive environment.

Refocusing Government Spending

In Budget 2023, the government committed to reducing spending by $14.1 billion over the next five years, starting in 2023–24, and by $4.1 billion annually after that.

As part of meeting this commitment, LAC is planning the following spending reductions.

  • 2024-2025: $2,324,000
  • 2025-2026: $3,610,000
  • 2026-2027 and after: $5,368,000

LAC will achieve these reductions by doing the following:

  • Reducing travel expenses compared to pre-pandemic expenditures;
  • Reducing funding provided through the Documentary Heritage Communities Program (DHCP); and
  • Primarily limiting annual investments in the development and modernization of the digital infrastructure and online access tools.

The figures in this departmental plan reflect these reductions.

Highlights

A Departmental Results Framework consists of an organization’s core responsibilities, the results it plans to achieve, and the performance indicators that measure progress toward these results.

Acquiring and preserving documentary heritage

Departmental results:

  • LAC acquires a collection that is representative of Canada
  • Documentary heritage acquired by LAC is processed in a timely manner to make it searchable
  • LAC’s collection is preserved within standards for current and future generations

Planned spending: $74,892,748

Planned human resources: 407

Committed to integrating the principles of equity, diversity, inclusion and accessibility into its acquisition, treatment and preservation processes and practices, LAC will develop an organization-wide strategy in 2024–25. This proactive strategy will aim to ensure that collections more accurately reflect Canadian society.

LAC will also continue to improve the effectiveness of its processes and working methods by developing a coordinated and more uniform approach to metadata. It will make better use of computer systems and explore opportunities for automation, all while ensuring the security of collections and data. It will continue to advance its project to acquire a new archival information system to manage the acquisition, description and location of archival material in order to circulate it.

LAC’s commitment to reconciliation with Indigenous peoples also guides the review and improvement of these processes and activities. For example, LAC will continue its initiative to replace incorrect language from past cataloguing practices in the metadata and descriptions of library and archival material with modern vocabulary that accurately and appropriately represents Indigenous peoples.

More information about Acquiring and preserving documentary heritage can be found in the full departmental plan.

Providing access to documentary heritage

Departmental results:

  • Canadians increasingly access Canada’s documentary heritage
  • LAC contributes to the advancement of Canada as a free and democratic society by providing access to records
  • Canadians are more aware of their documentary heritage

Planned spending: $81,766,696

Planned human resources: 273

In 2024–25, LAC will continue to transform its services, both online and in-person, to align them and to provide a user-friendly experience that more accurately meets the needs of users. It will continue to improve its Collection Search tool and improve content discovery through its website. To improve its ATIP services and meet its legal obligations, LAC will also continue to implement its ATIP Action Plan.

LAC also intends to develop and implement pilot engagement programs and activities to reach a wider audience while continuing to plan for the opening of Ādisōke, the facility that LAC will share with the Ottawa Public Library (OPL) in 2026. In collaboration with the Indigenous Advisory Circle, LAC will also actively review its Indigenous Heritage Action Plan. This documentary heritage collection reflects the experience of Indigenous peoples in Canada spanning more than 400 years.

More information about Providing access to documentary heritage can be found in the full departmental plan.