Library and Archives Canada’s 2023-24 Departmental results report: At a glance

A departmental results report provides an account of actual accomplishments against plans, priorities and expected results set out in the associated Departmental Plan.

Read the full Departmental results report

Key priorities

Keeping Vision 2030 at the heart of its activities, Library and Archives Canada (LAC) focused on putting users first in its efforts to modernize and improve its programs and services. In line with federal priorities and its unique mandate, LAC’s strategic direction guided its fundamental acquisition, preservation and access-related activities so that individuals and communities can discover, understand and connect with the national collections, rich with their stories, cultures and experiences.

LAC’s top priorities for 2023-24 were as follows:

  • Making the collections even more accessible
    • Modernize infrastructure and processes to improve LAC’s capacity to acquire and preserve the collections in its care
    • Develop a digitization strategy and coordinated approach to metadata standards to improve the discoverability of the collections
  • Offering programming and services focused on user needs
    • Transform services to focus on user needs, both online and in person
    • Develop public programming to allow people across the country to experience a new range of exhibitions, workshops and events
    • Renew Access to Information and Privacy (ATIP) services
  • On the path to reconciliation
    • Continue to play an active role in reconciliation between the Government of Canada and Indigenous peoples
    • Update its Indigenous Heritage Action Plan and deepen the integration of reconciliation into its activities
    • Support Indigenous communities through the Listen, Hear Our Voices contribution program and support access of Indigenous documentary heritage in its collection through the We Are Here: Sharing Stories initiative
    • Work to continue digitizing and describing records related to the federal Indian Day School Systems
  • Diversity, inclusion, equity and accessibility
    • Review acquisition guidelines to ensure that the collections accurately reflect the diversity of communities in Canada
    • Continue initiatives to promote and maintain a healthy, safe, inclusive and respectful work environment
    • Develop and implement strategies to create a qualified and diversified workforce
    • Launch its first-ever accessibility plan

Highlights

In 2023-24, LAC’s total actual spending (including internal services) was $216,878,983 and total actual human resources was 1 126 full-time equivalents. For complete information on LAC’s total spending and human resources, read the Spending and human resources section of the full report.

The following provides a summary of the department’s achievements in 2023-24 according to its approved Departmental Results Framework. A Departmental Results Framework consists of a department’s core responsibilities, the results it plans to achieve and the performance indicators that measure progress toward these results.

Core responsibility 1: Acquiring and preserving documentary heritage

Actual spending: $84,992,506

Actual human resources: 396 Full Time Equivalents

Departmental results achieved:

  • LAC acquires a collection that is representative of Canada
    • Acquiring materials that reflect diverse experiences and perspectives supports LAC’s efforts to ensure that more Canadians can see themselves in the collections LAC preserves. LAC also seeks to integrate the principles of Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Accessibility (EDIA) in its acquisition practices. This past year, LAC succeeded in acquiring material from all 25 subject areas indicated in its 2019-24 Private Archives Acquisition Orientation. It also acquired books, serial publications and various audiovisual recordings that prioritized Indigenous publishers, 2SLBGTQI+ content and regional publications, while additionally initiating a review of its Published Heritage Acquisition Orientation. Furthermore, the successful implementation of a new digital ingest system and a variety of outreach initiatives allowed LAC to attract 835 new digital publishers and 7 904 new digital titles in the last year.
  • Documentary heritage acquired by LAC is processed in a timely manner to make it searchable
    • Significant process improvements enabled LAC to make more records discoverable to users in a timely manner. Efficiencies created by the operationalization of the Digital Asset Management System (DAMS) contributed to LAC’s ability to process 94% of published heritage acquisitions within the service standards. LAC also successfully processed 95% of private archive acquisitions within the service standards, notably due to improvements in its physical processing space. In addition, 58.5% of new government records transfers were processed within service standards, marking a considerable improvement over the past fiscal years.
    • LAC also made significant headway in describing the collections in its care with more respectful and accurate terms. Considering its diverse range of users, applying EDIA principles and working towards reconciliation, LAC launched a pilot project to target inappropriate descriptive language of existing private fonds. Updates to library cataloguing resources removed older disrespectful descriptions of Indigenous content, replacing them with terminology used by various Indigenous communities.
    • Recognizing the importance of metadata in achieving its goal to make its collections more discoverable, LAC advanced numerous projects in 2023-24, such as the implementation of its Guideline on the Essential Level of Arrangement and Description for Government Archival Records, to improve its metadata practices and standards.
  • LAC’s collection is preserved within standards for current and future generations
    • 2023-24 saw the completion of the monumental task to move 680 294 containers from Renfrew Collections Storage Facility (RCSF) to the Preservation Storage Facility (PSF) and Preservation Centre (PC) in Gatineau, which had begun in August 2022. This project also made 26 694 of these containers discoverable in LAC’s systems, contributing to making the collections more accessible. This move has helped to ensure that more of LAC’s collections are conserved in facilities with environments that meet preservation standards to ensure their long-term preservation. In addition, LAC increased its cumulative number of terabytes of digital material preserved to 15 334, exceeding its target.

More information about Core responsibility 1 can be found in the Results – what we achieved section of the full departmental results report.

Core responsibility 2: Providing access to documentary heritage

Actual spending: $83,411,737

Actual human resources: 444 Full time Equivalents

Departmental results achieved:

  • Canadians increasingly access Canada’s documentary heritage
    • Honouring its commitment to ensure access to the collections in its care, LAC digitized 5.7 million images, many related to the ATIP request backlog and in support of advancing the horizontal initiative on the legacy of Residential Schools to digitize and describe records from the federal Indian Day Schools system. Modernization of LAC’s digital services and tools guided by a user-centric approach resulted in significant public interest in collections. Through its Collection Search and Aurora catalogue, LAC saw 52 million virtual interactions between the public and the collections. Another important success for 2023-24 was the public release of the records and images of the 1931 Canadian census. To attract new and more diverse audiences and to improve services, LAC also finalized its strategy on services and advanced its work on developing new service models that put the user at their centre. In collaboration with the Ādisōke host nation and partners, LAC also advanced its preparations for the opening of Ādisōke, in addition to making progress on designing the services the new building will offer to the public, which will include engaging exhibition spaces and immersive experiences.
  • LAC contributes to the advancement of Canada as a free and democratic society by providing access to records
    • LAC committed to improving its Access to Information and Privacy (ATIP) services in 2023, hiring new staff and adopting approaches and tools that centred on improving user experience, such as the Government of Canada portal for ATIP requests. Continued implementation of its ATIP Action Plan allowed LAC to notably increase its capacity to process ATIP requests. It was able to respond to 61% of requests within the statutory time limits and reduced wait times by up to 80% in some cases. LAC was also able to support the Government of Canada’s response to litigation involving the retrieval of records in the collection.
  • Canadians are more aware of their documentary heritage
    • LAC’s commitment to put people at the heart of its activities continued in 2023-24, with a number of successful exhibitions and events spreading awareness of LAC’s collections to over 225 000 participants. It also reached audiences through online initiatives, increasing its presence on social media by 68% from the previous year and publishing numerous blog posts and podcasts. In both its in-person and online activities, LAC’s active engagement with communities, such as its collaboration with Grand Council Treaty 3 on the travelling exhibition that brought Treaty 3 documents to 28 First Nations communities, sought to reach diverse audiences and to promote reconciliation.
    • In line with its vision to develop its expertise and share it with the world, LAC increased its international presence in 2023-24. It also actively participated in a variety of national engagement activities and conferences with stakeholders and the archival community.

More information about Core responsibility 2 can be found in the Results – what we achieved section of the full departmental results report.