Three-year plan 2019-2022

© Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Canada, as represented by the Minister of Canadian Heritage and Multiculturalism, 2019.
ISBN SB1-9E-PDF

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Table of contents

• Foreword
• Our raison d'être: proud guardians of our story
• Section 1. Our organization, our clients, our employees
  • Our organization: embracing Canada's past and supporting Canada's future
  • Our clients: expanding content and access to every corner of the country
  • Our employees—our strength
• Section 2. Our strategic insights: considering current trends and targeting client needs
  • Our context: understanding the evolving role and ever-increasing value of memory institutions
  • Our collaborators: understanding client needs through consultation and building relationships
• Section 3. Our strategic priorities 2019–2022
  • Introduction
  • Engaged citizens. Accessible holdings..
  • Adaptable Organization. Sustainable Collection.
  • Collaborative efforts. Magnified results.
• Section 4. Our success: measuring results and impact

Foreword

The exercise leading to the development of a three-year plan essentially includes some futurology. What will be our users' needs over the next three years, what will be the intellectual context and the technological innovations that will inform these needs, and what will be the milestones that a flagship institution such as Library and Archives Canada will need to set, to maintain its relevance beyond this very short 36-month period?

It seemed to us that the best way to conduct the foresight exercise was to consult as many players as possible: the Library and Archives Canada staff and our clients in the National Capital Region, of course, but also our Stakeholders' Forum, our university partners, our newly formed Youth Advisory Council, our employees and partners in the Halifax, Winnipeg and Vancouver regional offices, and, finally, to ensure that we have covered our vast country as widely as possible, the entire public, through an online survey.

The results of this consultation are reflected in the following pages. I take the main message to be that the relationship between our institution and its users is being radically redefined. The digital revolution has led to the rise of a culture of citizen participation: our users now see themselves more as partners than as consumers of services. This posture change is exactly what Library and Archives Canada's guardian figure, the theorist Marshall McLuhan, predicted more than 50 years ago when he wrote, "There are no passengers on Spaceship Earth. We are all crew."

Indeed, under the influence of models developed by Amazon, Google and Wikipedia, our users are now ready to transcribe, translate, tag and describe our documents ^Note1. Moreover, the Canadians we consulted told us how the relocation, in 2024, of our public services to a joint facility shared with the Ottawa Public Library will also transform our relationship with the public; beyond the geography of the transition, the unprecedented marriage of a public library with a national library and archives has captured imaginations across the country.

The coming years will be crucial for Library and Archives Canada, and the very existence of the formidable network that participated in the development of this plan is, it seems to me, the best guarantee of our ability to meet—together—the challenges ahead.

Dr. Guy Berthiaume
Librarian and Archivist of Canada
April 2019

Our raison d'être: proud guardians of our story

The Library and Archives of Canada Act, which legislated the creation of Library and Archives Canada (LAC), was given Royal Assent on April 22, 2004. The Preamble to the Act explains the Parliament of Canada's rationale for the creation of our organization and encapsulates the significance and consequence of our role as the curators and keepers of Canada's story:

WHEREAS it is necessary that

(a) the documentary heritage of Canada be preserved for the benefit of present and future generations;

(b) Canada be served by an institution that is a source of enduring knowledge accessible to all, contributing to the cultural, social and economic advancement of Canada as a free and democratic society;

(c) that institution facilitate in Canada cooperation among the communities involved in the acquisition, preservation and diffusion of knowledge; and

(d) that institution serve as the continuing memory of the government of Canada and its institutions.

This strategic plan lays out the foundation for our work for the next three years, but it also serves as an important reminder to our stakeholders, our employees and to all Canadians of the significant impact our organization has as "a source of enduring knowledge accessible to all."

We are tasked with preserving and sharing the cultural, social and economic contributions of all Canadians to enrich our collective fount of knowledge. We are responsible for securing the records of the Government of Canada, supporting and safeguarding our free and democratic society by ensuring Canadians have the information they need to assure government transparency and accountability. We help to steward the acquisition, preservation and diffusion of knowledge here in Canada and abroad to drive the research and innovation that will benefit present and future generations. We support Canada's Charter of Rights and Freedoms and contribute to the cause of social justice by serving as the continuing memory of the Government of Canada and its institutions, ensuring that the documentary records that led to our freedoms—and those that caused us to re-examine our principles—are preserved in perpetuity.

We believe our work is fundamental to the preservation of our democracy and to the success of our country.

We are Library and Archives Canada. 

Section 1. Our organization, our clients, our employees

 

1.1. Our organization: embracing Canada's past and supporting Canada's future

In 2022, Library and Archives Canada (LAC) will be celebrating 150 years of acquiring, processing, preserving, and providing access to Canada's documentary heritage. From the establishment of the Dominion Archives in 1872 to the creation of the National Library of Canada in 1953, through the joining of these two storied institutions into Library and Archives Canada in 2004 and on to today's "digital age," ^Note2 we have played a vital role. Our employees in the library and archives fields have been ensuring that Canadians are able to mine the treasures of their collective past to support the learning, creativity and innovation that fuels a vibrant and successful country.

Memory institutions are reimagining their place in a world where a lifetime of learning can be accessed in the palm of one's hand. The British Library notes that "we are living through a revolution in the creation, analysis and exploitation of data in all its forms, from the vast scientific and social datasets typically badged as 'big data' to the innovations already being derived from analysing digitised cultural content in the humanities." ^Note3 This data revolution has meant that improved online access to memory institutions is not only expected, it is considered a fundamental necessity.

The scope of LAC's collection underscores the significance of our role as a custodian of Canada's living history. The collection is commonly acknowledged to be the fourth largest in the world. LAC provides access to vast amounts of data and information such as censuses, genealogy and family history details, military and immigration records, and Indigenous documentary heritage. Beyond our physical assets, LAC presently holds almost 7 million petabytes of information in electronic format; we are continually expanding this collection by acquiring and curating online publications and web-based data—a dizzying responsibility in a world where the creation of information is as easy as the click of a "post" button.

The realization of the commitments in the 2016–2019 Three-Year Plan resulted in more projects that expand LAC's collection through engagement and collaboration, while increasing access to Canadians. In that three-year period, 122 public events and 31 exhibitions were held across the country, significantly increasing LAC's reach and impact. DigiLab, launched in 2018, provides clients with free access to state-of-the-art digitization equipment and enables them to enhance LAC's collection. Within the first few months, more than 1,000 photographs and 24,000 pages of textual material were digitized and shared. Also in 2018, LAC completed the digitization of 622,290 First World War personnel files, which are all now available online. This was our largest mass digitization project ever, preserving for future generations one of Canada's most significant sets of historical documentary records. Through these and many other innovative projects introduced over the past three years, LAC has been successful in achieving, and even surpassing, its goals.

As we look toward 2022, we will continue to engage with our clients and partners to expand Canada's documentary heritage and increase access to our collections—even in the most remote areas of the country. We will focus on sustainability and adaptability, accelerating our efforts to digitize and preserve our collections. We will support our employees in their efforts to enhance their knowledge, skills, and expertise to maximize the organization's impact. We will continue to collaborate and cooperate with the documentary heritage community in Canada and abroad to find cooperative solutions to enhance the world's documentary heritage—a critical building block of our collective future.

1.2. Our clients: expanding content and access to every corner of the country

 

Funding

The Documentary Heritage Communities Program (DHCP) has provided funding for organizations across the country—from Port Edward, British Columbia to Mahone Bay, Nova Scotia to Iqaluit, Nunavut—to organize, preserve and share their collections. Groups include the Inuit Broadcasting Corporation, the Jewish Historical Society of Southern Alberta, the Women's College Hospital Foundation and the Canadian Lesbian and Gay Archives. A new pillar of this successful program is the availability of additional support for communities and organizations in remote areas of Canada.

Supporting

LAC supports numerous programs designed and implemented in collaboration with First Nations, Inuit, and Métis Nation and their communities.

The award-winning Project Naming initiative has digitized over 10,000 photographs of Indigenous subjects, and over 2,500 previously unknown people and places have been identified.

Since 2017, an Indigenous Advisory Circle has provided guidance for new programs that help preserve Indigenous languages and documentary heritage enabling increased access to these critical assets:

We Are Here: Sharing Stories is a program that digitizes LAC records containing First Nations, Inuit, and Métis Nation related content such as treaties, photographs, and Indigenous-language dictionaries and lexicons.

Listen, Hear Our Voices offers support and services to Indigenous communities in the preservation of First Nations, Inuit, and Métis Nation languages, with a focus on oral recordings.

1.3. Our employees—our strength

 

The new preservation centre will be:

• 21,500 cubic metres (the equivalent of about 8.5 Olympic swimming pools) of collection storage capacity
• the largest preservation centre in the world equipped with an automated storage and retrieval system
• the first Net Zero Carbon archival centre in the Americas

Section 2. Our strategic insights: considering current trends and targeting client needs

 

2.1. Our context: understanding the evolving role and ever-increasing value of memory institutions

"The objective is not to do more with less; it is to do more with more—more partnerships, more collaborations."

—Maureen Sawa, Greater Victoria Public Library

Over the past decade, memory institutions from around the world have been re-examining their value and role as they consider the effects of the digital era. A remarkably consistent finding from studies of the monetary and cultural value of memory institutions' output is that libraries and archives are economically sound investments for society, and they are expected to deliver ever more services and increased access for their clients.

Here in Canada, for example, the Ottawa Public Library determined that they delivered $5.17 in benefits for every $1 invested in the library ^Note5; similarly, the Toronto Public Library delivered $5.63 of economic impact for every $1 spent. ^Note6 The British Library delivered an economic value of £4,90 for every £1 invested and generated a net economic value of £419m annually for its users and UK society. ^Note7

It is not only through economics that the world measures the impact of its cultural institutions. It would indeed be a "static and sterile" world without galleries, libraries, archives and museums to fuel creativity, stimulate innovation and embolden and educate its citizens. ^Note8 While measuring broad societal benefits from cultural institutions may be considered abstract, there is evidence that benefits can be measured in this age of digitization and open access.

While the use of big data drives sales and customer loyalty, one of the more exciting benefits may be its use in creating knowledge and supporting innovation. We are already seeing early benefits of this new environment, where information technologies allow researchers to quickly complete their tasks, some of which were previously impossible. ^Note9

As we plan for the next three years, we do so with confidence knowing that our organization offers Canadians sound return on their investment; that our commitment to the digitization of our collections will support broader access in concert with the worldwide trend toward open knowledge; that our commitment to extend our reach to new users supports the enhancement of Canada's digital heritage; and that we are assembling the building blocks for the creation of knowledge to fuel the innovations that will support our future.

2.2. Our collaborators: understanding client needs through consultation and building relationships

We wanted to better understand how to successfully connect with our next generation of users, so we decided to ask them directly! Our new Youth Advisory Council, formed in 2018, will play a significant role in helping us design new programming directed at Canadian youth and assisting us in pinpointing specific ways we can foster more interest in our collections among their peers. Already, the Council has increased our awareness of the interest of their generation in our contemporary holdings.

 

Our advisors

LAC works with a number of advisory committees:

• The Stakeholders Forum advises on LAC's strategic, policy and operational directions
• The Acquisitions Advisory Committee provides advice and recommendations on acquisition policies and strategies
• The Services Consultation Committee provides guidance on the direction and priorities of LAC's public services
• The Public Programming Advisory Committee helps guide LAC's program of events and exhibitions
• The Indigenous Advisory Circle guides LAC in its actions related to Indigenous heritage
• The Youth Advisory Council provides insights into the visibility of, access to, and relevance of Canada's documentary heritage for Canadian youth

Section 3. Our strategic priorities 2019–2022

 

Introduction

This is a pivotal moment for LAC. We are revitalizing our institution. We are changing our relationship with Canadians. And we are positioning ourselves to be at the forefront of an extraordinary revitalization of memory institutions worldwide as public support for and interest in documentary heritage surges.

Four years ago, we implemented a series of initiatives to make our organization more visible, more approachable, and more engaged. We reached out to Canadians in a new way, and we were overwhelmed with the response. There is a thirst for documentary heritage that, rather than being eroded by the digital age, is being propelled by new technologies.

We have learned a great deal over the past four years, and we have been emboldened by Canadians' enthusiasm for our new programming. The story of Canada—the story we are tasked with preserving—is the story of Canadians themselves. The following goals and strategic priorities are the framework upon which we will build a detailed work plan for the next three years that will allow us to capture and preserve those stories—sustainably and efficiently—for generations to come.

This strategic plan lays the foundation for expanding access to our holdings to more Canadians than ever before. It supports collaboration with national and international memory institutions to expand and enhance our documentary heritage at home and abroad. And it provides the heart of our organization—our employees—with the direction they need to realize our goals.

3.1. Engaged citizens. Accessible holdings.

Strategies

1. We will increase and enhance interactive opportunities for individuals, organizations, and communities of all types and locations to contribute information about our library and archival collections.
2. We will make LAC collections better known through outreach, promotion and public programming.
3. We will increase access to LAC collections (Government of Canada's records, published heritage, private archives and web resources) and services, both digitally and in physical locations across Canada and through increased and improved public services, exhibits, and events.
4. We will continually improve our outreach and services by capturing and using feedback from current and potential clients and partners.

3.2. Adaptable organization. Sustainable collection.

Strategies

1. We will design our acquisition strategies in a way that ensures our collection captures an accurate record of the Government of Canada and also reflects the diversity of Canadian experience.
2. We will expand our relationships with the Government of Canada's Information Management community to ensure dynamic transfer of historical digital content to LAC and its long-term preservation and access.
3. We will embrace emerging technologies to accelerate our digital transformation, increase efficiency, enhance citizen access, and improve the sustainability of our collections.
4. We will cultivate a culture that thrives on change. We will embrace the transition to our new facilities, capitalizing on this unique opportunity to enhance services and public access, and realize improvements in collection management.
5. We will support and encourage excellence by providing our employees with opportunities to expand their knowledge, skills, and expertise through internal and external collaboration and engagement

3.3. Collaborative efforts. Magnified results.

Strategies

1. We will pursue greater coordination with our federal partners and those within the GLAM community to avoid duplication of effort and pool our collective knowledge to improve tools and products and provide increased access to heritage material of the highest quality.
2. We will seek out and identify new collaborators while continuing to work with established partners to build better national and international networks for sharing and access, expanding our reach and impact here at home and increasing Canada's presence on the world stage.
3. We will collaborate closely with Indigenous communities to better understand and preserve Indigenous heritage, and will implement the actions identified in the Indigenous Heritage Action Plan developed in collaboration with LAC's Indigenous Advisory Circle.
4. We will continue to nurture and expand LAC's relationships with academic, cultural, and memory institutions, to create opportunities for learning, knowledge-sharing, and skills development.

Section 4. Our success: measuring results and impact

By examining past successes and challenges, studying current trends, and consulting with stakeholders, clients and employees, we have developed a strategic plan that is guided by our past and shaped to move us into the future.

Now, the real work begins.

A reporting framework with clear and measurable performance indicators will keep the plan on track. These indicators and their impact will be assessed regularly to support evidence-based decisions, identify needed adjustments, and maximize success.

LAC is committed to transparency and openness and will share performance results quarterly.

Implementing this plan is not a solitary effort! We will continue to engage with our advisory committees, our networks, our clients, and the public, while providing the leadership and direction expected from a national institution. LAC is well positioned to continue its path of excellence in acquiring, processing, preserving and providing access to a national collection that will make all Canadians proud.