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2010-11
Report on Plans and Priorities



Library and Archives Canada






The original version was signed by
The Honourable James Moore, P.C., M.P.
Minister of Canadian Heritage and Official Languages






Table of Contents

Minister's Message

Section I - Department Overview

Section II: Analysis of Program Activities by Strategic Outcome

Section III: Supplementary Information



Minister's Message

Photo of the Honourable James Moore, Minister of Canadian Heritage and Official Languages.

Each year, the Canadian Heritage Portfolio organizations, including Library and Archives Canada (LAC), work very hard so that Canadians across the country can benefit from their rich culture and heritage. As Minister of Canadian Heritage and Official Languages, I am proud to present the 2010-2011 LAC Report on Plans and Priorities.

LAC is steward of a unique collection of documentary heritage that is a window on Canada's diversity and cultural strengths over time, as well as its social and economic development. LAC's recordkeeping responsibilities, in collaboration with Government of Canada departments and agencies, are fundamental in supporting government accountability to Canadians. At the same time, LAC is seizing the opportunities presented by a rapidly changing environment to better fulfill its roles and responsibilities in Canadian society.

Digital technologies give Canadian access to more information than ever. They enable Canadians to add to our documentary heritage in new ways and with new tools. LAC is modernizing how it focuses its work to better meet the needs of Canadians today and in future generations. This modernization is ambitious and innovative. It ensures effective, efficient spending that puts Canadians' interests first.

The 2010-2011 Report on Plans and Priorities demonstrates that Library and Archives Canada intends to be innovative and effective in delivering its mandate, in order to achieve the objectives of the Canadian Heritage Portfolio and the Government of Canada. In this way, LAC will contribute to Canada's cultural, social, and economic vitality.

The Honourable James Moore, P.C., M.P.




Section I - Department Overview

Raison d'être

The Library and Archives of Canada Act came into force in 2004. Through that Act, our organization, Library and Archives Canada (LAC), was created with a mandate to:

  • preserve the documentary heritage of Canada for the benefit of present and future generations;
  • 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;
  • facilitate in Canada cooperation among the communities involved in the acquisition, preservation, and diffusion of knowledge; and
  • serve as the continuing memory of the government of Canada and its institutions.

Responsibilities

Documentary heritage takes many forms. What was once largely printed and recorded items such as books, historical documents, government records, photos, films, maps, music, and documentary art is becoming increasingly digital: the websites, audio, video, and social technology that capture the stories of Canada today.

Describing that shift does not begin to capture the scale of change. Library and Archives Canada works in an information universe of phenomenal growth. Researchers have estimated that the world's information production in 2003 was approximately five billion gigabytes. Current reports predict there will be 988 billion gigabytes of information in 2010-or almost 5,000 times more information than just seven years earlier. Much of this comes from user-generated sources that were barely imaginable a decade ago. Uploaded videos, self-created audio, the massive contents of social networking sites are all part of the documentary heritage that Canadians generate today. This explosive growth of content, combined with the expectations of Canadians that they should be able to find anything, anywhere, anytime, have generated fundamental and sweeping change for LAC and all memory institutions.

No matter the format in which Canadians generate documentary heritage, its sources or its volume, in LAC, we have recognized three business lines that must be approached in integrated, strategic ways to continue to meet our mandate effectively:

  1. Acquisition;
  2. Preservation; and
  3. Resource discovery.

As noted above, the work of LAC in all three business lines are taking place in a context of significant change. Beyond the rise of the digital universe, we are driven by other factors such as the evolving needs and interest of Canadians and government-wide commitments to get the best results from available resources. This challenge leads LAC to review our responsibilities through modernization. To remain relevant, we are tackling the issues and communicating and collaborating more than ever before with others who share our goals. These factors and responses are described in detail later in this section.

Acquisition trends

Figure 1.1: showing the acquisition trends for the published items transferred to or acquired by LAC from 2006-2007 to 2008-2009.

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Figure 1.2: showing the acquisition trends for the number of government acquisitions transferred to LAC from 2006-2007 to 2008-2009.

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Figure 1.3: showing the acquisition trends for the number of acquisitions from the private sector acquired by LAC from 2006-2007 to 2008-2009.

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Acquisition

We see acquisition in terms of finding the most meaningful documentary heritage in a world where information is not only abundant; the amount being created is growing massively. There are currently three main LAC acquisition processes. First, legal deposit requirements in the Library and Archives of Canada Act obligate publishers to provide us with copies of materials published in Canada. Second, Government of Canada departments and agencies transfer to us their documents and records of expected business or historic value. The third process covers all other acquisitions, such as donations, purchases, and our work to gather material online. The rapid growth in available materials demands that LAC take a strategic approach to acquisition. This approach considers items of value to understanding Canada's social, economic, and cultural development, as well our roles in support of Government of Canada recordkeeping.

Preservation

Preservation at LAC involves managing the care of items that we hold so they are appropriately accessible to this and future generations. We have specialized staff who are experts in diverse preservation fields, a range of tools and technologies as well as dedicated infrastructure such as the LAC Preservation Centre to care for the items we have. Given the growth and diversity of the material that we have as well as its fragility, we act on preservation priorities that reflect factors such as risk and importance.

Resource Discovery

Resource discovery centres on the client-driven processes that LAC is using to make it as easy as possible for Canadians to explore and interact with the collection on their own terms. Many Canadians are using Web-enabled searches of material in the collection as they pursue interests such as family history or for other research. The Library and Archives Canada website has become a major destination for Canadians and people interested in Canada. [www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/collection/index-e.html] LAC staff members organize exhibitions and learning events that are increasingly online or at partner sites across Canada.

Resource discovery is also linked to government accountability, through access to the Government of Canada digital, paper, and other records that we manage. LAC Access to Information responsibilities often involve reviews of archival records, personnel records of former civilian and military government employees, and business records. Our eight Regional Service Centres manage more contemporary records in all media on behalf of clients in more than 90 federal government organizations across the country, including holding backup copies in case of disasters or emergencies.

Figure 1.4: Access to information requests trends

Figure showing the access to information request trends from 2006-2007 to 2008-2009.

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Our thinking about resource discovery continues to evolve in line with the expectations of Canadians that they should be able to find information easily, immediately, and autonomously. We are increasingly meeting these expectations through improved online access to the collection, our programs and services, and the work to digitize millions of images from our collection to make them more accessible in collaboration with partners.

The processes we use to describe the items in the collection are essential to resource discovery and are models that other Canadian memory institutions also use. Our development and use of effective, consistent description standards enables Canadians to understand the stories behind the collection, to find items of interest to them, and to provide their own descriptions of items as necessary. This extends to helping clients understand how we have organized the collection and resources as well as assistance in their searches.

Strategic Outcome and Program Activity Architecture (PAA)

The program activity architecture (PAA) below sets out the existing LAC accountability structure. The single strategic outcome noted below is equally applicable to digital and analogue documentary heritage. While LAC activities are aligned with the Social Affairs Government of Canada priority area, our role in relation to government records is recognized as also supporting the Government of Canada strategic outcome: Government Affairs.

We expect a new PAA to be in place for 2011-2012 that will reflect our most current understanding of our core activities and the updated organizational structure designed to meet the commitments of Modernization that will be described later in this section.

Figure showing presentation of LAC's Program Activity Architecture.

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Planning Summary


Financial Resources ($ thousands)
2010-11 2011-12 2012-13
120,285.2 117,985.8 99,758.5


Human Resources (FTEs)
2010-11 2011-12 2012-13
1,109 1,109 1,109


Strategic Outcome: Current and future generations of Canadians have access to their documentary heritage
Performance Indicator Targets
Extent to which the LAC collection is accessible to Canadians measure by the use of the collection 2010-2011 determines the baseline *
* The indicator and target are being revised to be more precise on how the accessibility to the collection could be measured.


Program Activity Forecast Spending
2009-10
($ thousands)
Planned Spending
($ thousands)
Alignment to Government of Canada Outcomes
2010-11 2011-12 2012-13
Program Activity 1.1 - Managing the disposition of the Government of Canada records of continuing value 10,682.8 6,915.6 6,807.2 6,807.2 Government Affairs*
Program Activity 1.2 - Managing the documentary heritage of interest to Canada 58,127.3 64,370.2 62,286.0 44,058.7 Vibrant Canadian Culture and Heritage
Program Activity 1.3 - Making the documentary heritage known and accessible for use 25,169.2 19,483.0 19,432.4 19,432.4 Vibrant Canadian Culture and Heritage
Program Activity 1.4 - Internal Services 30,938.9 29,516.4 29,460.2 29,460.2 N/A
Total Spending 124,918.2 120,285.2 117,985.8 99,758.5  

* Effective recordkeeping establishes an essential administrative and business foundation within government for services to Canadians. It is an essential element in supporting ministerial and managerial accountability within Canada's democratic process. Therefore, program activity 1.1 relates to Government Affairs.

Risk Analysis

Soon after LAC came into being, we began to assess the risks facing us and our ability to deliver on our mandate in a sustained way. We identified major trends reshaping what Canadians expect from us, the information environment in which we operate, and how LAC generates results of relevance to Canadians and the Government of Canada.

  • As described earlier in this section, we no longer have just the predictable flow of items for the collection in forms such as books, maps, and sound recordings that we once did. Canada's collective memory is now expanding digitally at an extremely rapid rate. LAC has to deal effectively with this explosive growth of material, while continuing to acquire, preserve, and support resource discovery for analogue items.
  • We had well-established ways of offering programs and services, including providing access to the collection. However, Canadians now expect to go online to find information-easily, immediately, and autonomously. New technologies create interactive ways for LAC and far more Canadians to connect than has ever been possible before, increasing our presence, visibility, and relevance.
  • The scale of change and the rising expectations of Canadians, combined with relatively stable funding, means that LAC must be more strategic and creative than ever in our use of resources. We know we must reinvent our processes and pursue the most compelling new investments to get the most from the funds we have. We know we need to build partnerships and leverage the efforts of others to meet common goals.

An Initial Corporate Risk Profile took these and other factors into account. It enabled an examination of our environment and the issues to be addressed over the long term. We determined that five of the eight key risks to the achievement of LAC's mandate and commitments were particularly significant due to a combination of their expected impact and their probability. These risks were considered in LAC planning and analysis since that time.

The Need to Address Canada's Digital and Analogue Documentary Heritage

We operate in a climate in which we will continue to acquire, preserve, and support resource discovery for the wealth of documentary heritage in traditional analogue formats. At the same time, we have to build the specialized capacity to deal with the growing volume of documentary heritage being generated in digital formats. No matter which format, LAC needs to meet the expectations of Canadians so that they can explore and make use of items in the collection in the ways they prefer. LAC needs to set acquisition, preservation, and resource discovery priorities that best meet the needs of current and future generations of Canadians. As this is a challenge that is common to memory institutions, which include libraries, archives, galleries, and museums, we need to identify and engage partners that share our commitment and our vision of how memory institutions must evolve.

Long-Term Accommodation and Technological Infrastructure

We have a rapidly growing collection in a wide range of digital and analogue formats. It requires specialized infrastructure, both in terms of facilities and technologies, so that we can preserve a diverse array of holdings and enable us to support resource discovery by Canadians well into the future. That specialized infrastructure must be kept up to date with preservation requirements and the resource discovery needs of LAC clients.

Managing for Financial Sustainability

It is always important to find the most efficient ways to realize our mandate. This is particularly true in the face of ongoing resource constraints combined with rising costs associated with emerging realities such as the need to preserve digital documentary heritage and expand resource discovery opportunities. This underlines the importance of interpreting our mandate strategically so that we focus our attention and align our resources with the interests of Canadians. It encourages us to build partnerships with the extensive range of memory institutions in Canada that have mandates that complement ours and that are dealing with similar opportunities and risks.

Enabling the Full Contribution of LAC Employees

The expertise and commitment of LAC staff members is a fundamental strength. Many of them contribute the highly specialized expertise needed for us to achieve our goals. However, many LAC employees are approaching retirement age and all are working in a rapidly evolving professional climate. We recognize the importance of ensuring that institutional knowledge is transferred from experienced employees to newer staff members. We understand the need to recruit and develop our staff so that they have the knowledge and skill sets needed to deliver the best results as our working environments and operations continue to evolve.

Engagement in Government-wide Initiatives

LAC needs to be able to allocate resources to meet our mandate and responsibilities. At the same time, we need to ensure the flexibility for us to respond to broader government-wide commitments. This will ensure that we continue to be relevant to the government's agenda and that we can bring our unique expertise and capacities to bear when needed.

Corporate Priorities

LAC knows that to be able to address the risks presented earlier and to be relevant to Canadians and responsible to the Government and Parliament that provide our funding, we must modernize in order to embrace the new world of information in which Canadians live, work, learn, and create.

Building a Path to Tomorrow

LAC took important first steps to become a modern memory institution soon after our creation in 2004. By 2006, we identified five strategic choices that served as our departmental priorities for the past three fiscal years. As described in previous Reports on Plans and Priorities, those strategic choices indicated our goals and the factors we saw as critical for our decision making. They influenced our priorities, while we launched specific initiatives to test new approaches to delivering on our mandate.

For example, our work with our partners across the Government of Canada led to a new approach to government recordkeeping. It is already reducing the demand on LAC resources by focusing on records of enduring business or archival value to support government accountability.

New technologies are already making it easier to acquire digital material that documents Canadian society. Our digitization strategies are making more items easily accessible to Canadians. New partnership strategies and initiatives are connecting Canadians with items from the collection in more places and through the shared effort of more partners, including as a strategy for our Portrait Gallery of Canada program. Government support is putting essential infrastructure in place to address preservation challenges.

Modernization and Four Guiding Principles

We drew on our experience and analysis to frame LAC modernization during 2009-2010. A major step was to identify four guiding principles that are beginning to drive our acquisition, preservation, and resource discovery decisions and priorities.

  • Significance focuses our attention on the documentary heritage material that best represents the development of Canadian society and its identities, cultures, values, and experiences, which is captured for current and future generations of Canadians, and for others interested in Canada. We will focus on the items of significance.
  • Sufficiency points us towards collecting Canada's documentary heritage in the quality and quantity adequate to meet our objectives of documenting Canadian society and fulfilling the needs of Canadians. While we have never aimed to collect everything, now we will strive consciously to identify and fill in priority gaps.
  • Sustainability will encourage acquisition choices that are within our resource capacity-in terms of immediate resources needed for acquisition and those needed over the long term to preserve that documentary heritage and make it accessible for resource discovery. We will emphasize acquiring items that do not present preservation and access challenges.
  • Society will emphasize the LAC commitment to document Canada's diverse society, and the importance of serving and benefiting Canadians through the use of the collection. It spurs us to work with and influence partners who share our commitment to documentary heritage.

The Path Forward - A New Documentary Heritage Management Framework

The four guiding principles are now being applied to the development of a Documentary Heritage Management Framework that is beginning to take shape in 2009-2010. As it takes more detailed shape in 2010-2011, the Framework will begin to guide how LAC deals with the acquisition, preservation, and resource discovery priorities for all LAC activities related to documentary heritage, including our partnerships with other memory institutions. The Framework implementation will generate several strategic initiatives in each of the program activities which will align orientation and processes towards modernization.

The Documentary Heritage Management Framework is being designed to generate the following outcomes:

  • Canadians will identify with Canada's documentary heritage and see it as personally relevant.
  • LAC will demonstrate a more disciplined, holistic, and transparent approach to acquisition decisions with more effective use of resources.
  • LAC will have a more responsive and agile organizational approach to business by structuring along the business lines of acquisition, preservation, and resource discovery.
  • LAC will be the steward of a documentary heritage collection that we can sustain.
  • Memory institutions across Canada will collaborate to meet Canadians' need for a more cohesive approach to Canada's documentary heritage.

Detailed instruments will bring greater clarity to how we will set and act on priorities that meet LAC goals and address the long-term risks described earlier in this section. Those instruments will influence our priorities in relation to human resources, information technology, infrastructure investments, and other internal services.

While challenging, with the right fundamental choices, the Documentary Heritage Management Framework will enable LAC to:

  • build and support access to documentary heritage with the breadth and depth to be significant, relevant, and accessible to Canadians and people interested in Canada around the world;
  • respond appropriately to clients who need onsite service and support as well as reaching out to others through online technologies; and
  • make sound investments in people, technology, and infrastructure that will align with evolving needs and meet emerging opportunities.

Contribution of Corporate Priorities to Our Strategic Outcome


Operational Priorities Type Links to Strategic Outcome Description
Implement the Documentary Heritage Management Framework New Current and future generations of Canadians have access to their documentary heritage We will implement instruments for acquisition, preservation, and resource discovery that will establish in detail how we will apply the Framework principles.

We will pursue initiatives under acquisition, preservation, and resource discovery that will test best ways to implement the Framework and support the introduction of necessary elements and supports.
Implement a sound recordkeeping capacity among federal institutions to support their accountability and to preserve their continuing memory. New Current and future generations of Canadians have access to their documentary heritage We will supply expertise and support to Government of Canada departments and agencies as the new recordkeeping regime is implemented.


Management Priorities Type Links to Strategic Outcome(s) Description
Manage the change within LAC needed to support the Documentary Heritage Management Framework New Current and future generations of Canadians have access to their documentary heritage We will address the implications of the Framework for our enabling activities. This will include attention to human resources issues, information technology needs, infrastructure priorities, and other internal service contributions.

Expenditure Profile

The permanent funding of Library and Archives Canada has remained constant at approximately $100 million per fiscal year over the past four years. While we have experienced growth in our permanent funding for items such as, supporting our increased workload resulting from the implementation of the Federal Accountability Act and collective bargaining funding, we have equally contributed on a permanent basis to government-wide initiatives such as the strategic review exercise to relocate spending to higher priorities of government, which results in the appearance of our permanent funding remaining stable. For example, effective in 2010-11 LAC is receiving a permanent amount of $4.8 million for collective bargaining; however, during this same time frame, LAC is contributing $4.6 million towards the government-wide strategic review exercise. In response to this last reduction, LAC has revisited its activity base and will continue to do so throughout 2010-2011 toward delivering its mandate in a more efficient manner.

Library and Archives Canada's spending trend beyond our $100 million permanent funding is related to specific projects for which we have received temporary funding. The spending fluctuation is mainly explained by the following temporary projects:

  • Between 2005-06 and 2009-10, we received approximately $22.5 million from the Department of Canadian Heritage in support of collaborative activities to advance the creation of cultural content online and other digitization projects (Canadian Culture Online program);
  • Over three years beginning in 2007-08, we received $21.7 million to replace obsolete systems and provide the capacity for managing electronic publications and the digital records of the Government of Canada;
  • In 2008, we received approval for the construction of a preservation facility that will safeguard Canada's cellulose nitrate-based documentary heritage (photograph negatives and films). We anticipate spending $7.7 million in 2009-10 and an additional $6.4 million in 2010-11; and
  • In 2009, we received approval to initiate fit-up work for a Collection Storage Facility with a high-density shelving system. This will lead to planned spending of $1.3 million in 2009-10, $12.8 million in 2010-11 and $19 million in 2011-12.

The latter two projects reflect the element of the LAC mandate to safeguard and preserve Canada's documentary heritage.

Library and Archives Canada is committed to prudent spending and ensuring measurable results are attained for Canadians. We work in close collaboration with other government departments and external partners to ensure the effective and efficient delivery of our activities and to provide increased access to the collection.

Canada's Economic Action Plan (CEAP)

As part of Canada's Economic Action Plan announced in Budget 2009, LAC has received approval for $3 million over two years. This funding has been allocated to support renovations and improvements to the LAC laboratories where preservation and restoration work is performed on the fragile items in our custody. More information.

The spending graph below (figure 1.5) shows that the Government continues to invest in specific initiatives and new infrastructure for LAC including funding from CEAP.

Figure 1.5: Departmental Spending Trend

Figure showing the departmental spending trend.

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Planned Spending by Program Activity

The pie chart (figure 1.6) displays the allocation of Library and Archives Canada's financial resources by program activity. Planned spending in 2010-11 for program activity 1.2 includes investments of $19.2 million for the capital projects described in the expenditure profile section.

Figure 1.6: 2010-2011 Planned Spending by Program Activity ($ thousands)

Figure showing the 2010-11 planned spending by program activity ($ thousands).

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Voted and Statutory Items


Voted and Statutory Items displayed in the Main Estimates
($ thousands)
Vote # or Statutory Item (S) Truncated Vote or Statutory Wording 2009-10
Main Estimates
2010-11
Main Estimates
50 Operating expenditures 110,215.9 97,071.1
52 Capital expenditures 0.0 11,998.0
(S) Contributions to employee benefit plans 11,166.8 11,216.1
Total 121,382.7 120,285.2


Section II - Analysis of Program Activities by Strategic Outcome

For 2010-2011, there is a single Library and Archives Canada strategic outcome, which encompasses everything we do for Canadians through our three business lines: acquisition, preservation, and resource discovery.

Current and future generations of Canadians have access to their documentary heritage

The operational and management priorities set out in Section I have implications for each of the three LAC core program activities as well as our internal services. This Section describes each of those program activities and the strategies, key initiatives, and expected results we intend to achieve in 2010-2011 in line with the corporate priorities described in Section I. It shows the resources that our organizations plans to dedicate to each program activity, the performance indicators and targets, as well as the benefits that Canadians can expect to gain from our efforts.

The table below shows the broad relationships between our three business lines and the existing framework of program activities.


Current LAC Program Activities LAC business lines
Acquisition Preservation Resource Discovery
Program Activity 1.1 - Managing the disposition of the Government of Canada records of continuing value Co-lead Contribute Contribute
Program Activity 1.2 - Managing the documentary heritage of interest to Canada Co-lead Lead Co-lead
Program Activity 1.3 - Making the documentary heritage known and accessible for use Contribute Contribute Co-lead
Program Activity 1.4 - Internal Services Support for all three LAC business lines

Program Activity 1.1 - Managing the disposition of the Government of Canada records of continuing value

Graphic presentation of program activity 1.1

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This program activity captures the Library and Archives Canada leadership roles and services in relation to Government of Canada recordkeeping, including activities related to document retention and disposal. The primary ongoing functional roles align with our responsibility for acquisition and contribute to our preservation and resource discovery business lines. Those roles involve:

  • Supporting the Treasury Board Secretariat in the development of policies and tools that enable federal institutions to fulfill their recordkeeping obligations and that enable Treasury Board and those federal institutions to track adherence to those obligations;
  • Developing partnerships with federal institutions and issuing Records Disposition Authorities for records that a federal institution must transfer to LAC;
  • Offering federal institutions the advice, tools, and training that enable them to manage their information resources effectively and aid them to meet their recordkeeping obligations;
  • Supporting departments in eliminating legacy documents that are no longer being managed; and
  • Administering the Regional Service Centres across Canada that hold documents of business and archival value.

Program Activity: Managing the disposition of the Government of Canada records of continuing value.
Human Resources (FTEs) and Planned Spending ($ thousands)
2010-11 2011-12 2012-13
FTEs Planned Spending FTEs Planned Spending FTEs Planned Spending
162 6,915.6 162 6,807.2 162 6,807.2
Note: Please refer to the Expenditure Profile for explanations on spending trends.




Program Activity Expected Results Performance Indicators Targets
Relevant Government of Canada information is managed by Government of Canada institutions in a manner that is coherent and demonstrates accountability to support the rights, obligations, and privileges of Canadians Proportion of institutions that receive or maintain ratings of "acceptable" or "strong" in the Information Management report card 40 %

Planning Highlights

Operational Priorities

  • Implement a sound recordkeeping capacity among federal institutions to support their accountability and to preserve their continuing memory.
  • Implement the Documentary Heritage Management Framework.

This program activity demonstrates the kind of comprehensive analysis and integration that modernization is bringing to all three LAC business lines and across all program activities. The LAC approach to the new government recordkeeping regime implicitly reflects all four guiding principles of the Documentary Heritage Management Framework (significance, sufficiency, sustainability, society). Action under this program activity will take place through the ongoing activities listed above and through support for the implementation of the new government-wide recordkeeping regime.

  • During 2010-2011, our training and awareness-building activities will increase understanding of the new recordkeeping regime and support effective implementation of its requirements by departments and agencies.
  • The first phase of the LAC Trusted Digital Repository (TDR) will become operational on April 1, 2010. With the TDR, we will be able to acquire electronic materials directly from government departments and other creators. Our holdings of government records in digital formats will expand to meet the requirements of the new recordkeeping regime.

LAC's Trusted Digital Repository Initiative

Digital records come in many formats and are based on many technologies. The challenge for LAC and other memory institutions is to acquire and manage digital records from many sources and in diverse formats-and to do so in ways that make those records accessible over the long term, even as technologies continue to change. That challenge extends to ensuring that clients can be sure that each digital record they access is authentic and unchanged since it was acquired.

The establishment and operation by LAC of a Trusted Digital Repository (TDR) is a response to that challenge. A TDR provides a framework, system, and tools to manage reliable, long-term access to digital resources, starting for LAC with Government of Canada records and electronic publications received under legal deposit. It is organized to address challenges such as the volatile nature of digital objects and ongoing changes in the information technologies used to create and access them.

LAC is putting the elements in place to serve as a TDR and is working with partners in government and outside such as Canadian libraries, archives, museums, and public institutions to create a network of TDRs. TDR development by LAC and these partners is grounded in internationally established models. It is positioning them to receive digital material from creators from all sectors of society in efficient, automated ways.

What does this mean for Canadians?

  • LAC can ensure that despite technological obsolescence, Canadians will have perpetual access to their digital documentary heritage.
  • LAC can be more proactive in engaging content creators and providers in the digital realm.
  • Researchers will have enhanced access to a richer resource of digital assets and can have confidence in the integrity and authenticity of the documents.

Benefits for Canadians

  • Implementation of the new recordkeeping regime across the Government of Canada will allow Canadians to exercise their rights as citizens to have access to government records of business or archival value.
  • A focus on retaining only records of business or archival value and the use of digital tools will facilitate preservation and resource discovery of the records that are retained, enabling timely responses to access to information and privacy requests under Program Activity 1.3.
  • The commitment to store only records of ongoing business or archival value will enable federal institutions, including LAC, to control document storage conditions and costs.

Program Activity 1.2 - Managing the documentary heritage of interest to Canada

Graphic presentation of Program Activity 1.2

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This program activity includes or influences all three business lines of Library and Archives Canada. As currently structured in the Program Activity Architecture and based on traditional LAC roles, the program activity involves a range of contributions as shown below.

Acquisition

  • LAC is the steward of a collection of published and unpublished materials in a variety of formats acquired through legal deposit, agreements with government institutions, and selected private materials purchased or received by donation.
  • Our acquisition activities extend to items such as personal and political documents of national importance, theses from Canadian universities and portraits for the Portrait Gallery of Canada program.
  • Acquisition strategies seek to build a relevant collection that includes items reflecting many social, economic, political, and other aspects of life in a country with significant linguistic and cultural diversity.

Preservation

  • We manage materials entering the collection to ensure their long-term preservation and accessibility through policies, procedures, and programs including storage, conservation, restoration, and copying.
  • Our preservation activities are tailored to the needs and priorities arising from a diverse collection in formats such as motion pictures, sound recordings, books, manuscripts, maps, philatelic items, documentary art, and photographs.
  • We represent a centre of preservation expertise and advice in Canada, backed up by operation of critical infrastructure needed for preservation of an extremely varied collection.

Description

  • Effective description of items in the collection enables us to enhance Canadians' access to and understanding of those items, in ways that meet their needs and preferences.
  • This program activity includes key functions such as description, organization, and indexing. Our products, such as databases and catalogues, are tools that enable people to find what they want in the collection, whether they are searching in person or online.
  • Our description responsibilities include the creation of standard bibliographic and metadata descriptions and standardized archival classifications and descriptions that we and other Canadian memory institutions, such as specialized libraries and provincial archives, use.

Program Activity: Managing the documentary heritage of interest to Canada.
Human Resources (FTEs) and Planned Spending ($ thousands)
2010-11 2011-12 2012-13
FTEs Planned Spending FTEs Planned Spending FTEs Planned Spending
492 64,370.2 492 62,286.0 492 44,058.7
Note: Please refer to the Expenditure Profile for explanations on spending trends.




Program Activity Expected Results Performance Indicators Targets
The management of the LAC collection is improved to enhance long-term access and to better reflect the Canadian experience. Effectiveness of the Collection Management Strategy as measured by: the extent of development and implementation of a more strategic approach to our acquisition. 100 % of the acquisitions excluding legislated acquisitions
Indicators and targets are being modernized to focus on acquisition goals, (such as the volume of documentary heritage acquired), on preservation goals, (such as the percentage of the collection in acceptable storage conditions or at risk) and on resource discovery goals, (such as the percentage of the collection with adequate descriptions and the extent to which clients are able to find what they want.)

Canada's Economic Action Plan (CEAP)
Canada's Economic Action Plan allocated $3 million to Library and Archives Canada ($1.4 million in 2009-2010; and $1.6 million in 2010-2011). This funding is supporting renovations and improvements to LAC preservation and processing laboratories.

LAC Preservation Centre

Renovations are taking place to several preservation and digitization laboratories in our Preservation Centre to respond to the preservation needs of digital media as well as to address our analogue media preservation needs. The improvements range from the replacement of air conditioning systems to updating the electrical system. An improved telecommunications system is being installed to meet digital media requirements. Other modifications are enabling us to make better structure use of existing laboratories and to consolidate space. The work will enhance laboratory spaces for multiple preservation purposes allowing for increased flexibility and efficiencies to position us to deal with new opportunities with partners and to adapt to future requirements and needs.

Place de la Cité

We are adapting several archival processing laboratories in our Place de la Cité facility to improve their mechanical and security systems. The modernization of these laboratories includes modifying the heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems in order to maintain the environmental levels required under international archival standards. The security systems will be enhanced so that top-secret level government records can be received and processed. To date, LAC has been unable to accept top-secret level records for permanent storage resulting in a backlog.

Planning Highlights

Operational Priorities

  • Implement the Documentary Heritage Management Framework

While ongoing activities continue during 2010-2011, we will further define and implement the directions set out in the Documentary Heritage Management Framework as they relate to this program activity. In particular, the program activity will be modernized through the creation of a model that ensures the acquisition of the most relevant materials, that guarantees the preservation of both digital and analogue documents, and that helps to make our continuing memory accessible, both now and in the future. Modernization acknowledges that these three business lines are interconnected, and that all program activities must be integrated in order to achieve their optimum potential.

  • Acquisition is largely about finding the most meaningful documentary heritage in a world of abundant information. Modernization will take on the challenge by developing an acquisition strategy that allows the institution to develop an integrated, representative, and collaborative collection of documentary heritage. The strategy will be based on the four guiding principles described in Section I: significance, sufficiency, sustainability, and society. It will ask the following questions: Does the material best represent the development of Canadian society and its identities, cultures, values, and experiences? Does the material allow LAC to fulfill its mandate by contributing to the adequate quantity and quality of a collection? Does LAC have the capacity to preserve it and make it accessible over time? And does the material reflect, serve, and benefit Canadian society?
  • Library and Archives Canada holds a vast collection of materials in a wide variety of formats. The combination of legacy materials in traditional formats as well as new and emerging media has put acute pressure on LAC's existing capacity to preserve it. It challenges our current organizational model, our skills, and our infrastructure. The development of the Documentary Heritage Management Framework ensures that preservation is a key element in acquisition decisions, it supports digitization as a standard preservation practice, and it enables LAC to play a key role in preservation at the national level, in consultation with stakeholders. Modernization will ensure the sustainability of Canada's documentary heritage.
  • Citizens now expect to find information easily, immediately, and autonomously. Their behaviour and expectations reflect the prominence and reach of increasingly sophisticated and democratic search engines and social networks. With so many users tagging and describing their own material, it is vital that LAC improves the visibility and usability of its resources on the Web by focusing on user-generated descriptions as well as traditional ones. Through Modernization, the descriptive aspect of resource discovery will increase the presence, visibility, and relevance of LAC's collection. The access side of resource discovery is discussed in Program Activity 1.3.

During 2010-2011, much of our work will draw on the results of a set of "Pathfinder projects" implemented in 2009-2010. Those projects test the practical application of the four guiding principles for documentary heritage decision making at LAC (significance, sufficiency, sustainability, and society).

For example, one Pathfinder explores the use of digital technology to preserve and improve access to archived newspapers. Another Pathfinder considers the development of an integrated collection development/management plan for all Aboriginal information resources across all acquisition streams. A third Pathfinder involves work with stakeholders to improve the completeness, accuracy, and currency of National Union Catalogues for library and archival materials. The results of these and other initiatives will guide us in moving forward. The Pathfinder projects also serve as mitigation measures to avoid risks that Modernization may raise over time.

  • The new acquisition orientation instrument will guide acquisition strategies and decisions beginning in 2010-2011 in line with the four guiding principles of significance, sufficiency, sustainability, and society.
  • A new preservation orientation instrument will guide strategies and decisions related to all preservation functions during 2010-2011. It also will support improved resource discovery.

Another element of work under this program activity will be our continued emphasis on building the digital capacity for preservation and access. We will also continue some infrastructure initiatives that will enhance our preservation capacity.

  • With the launch of the first phase of LAC's Trusted Digital Repository (TDR), as described under Program Activity 1.1, publishers will be able to submit electronic material to LAC online for long-term preservation and access to that material. We also will consult with stakeholders on plans for future TDR phases.
  • Our ongoing commitment to digitizing items in our collection will continue. For example, the second year of a five-year audio-visual strategy will bring us closer to our goal of copying up to 130,000 hours of audio and video material in the collection from obsolete audio-visual formats to digital file formats.
  • A new Collection Storage Facility will house the preservation collection and the newspaper collection in the environmental conditions these fragile items require and enable us to use modern storage practices. The new facility will improve our efficiency as we vacate five different buildings.
  • Completion of our Nitrate Preservation Facility will provide a safe and specialized preservation environment required for nitrate-based films and photo negatives, as recommended by the Auditor General.

Benefits for Canadians

  • As we define and implement the Documentary Heritage Management Framework and pursue the key strategies and initiatives described under this program activity, the collection will increasingly reflect the diverse Canadian experience and respond to Canadians' broad variety of interests and needs in terms of documentary heritage.
  • Canadians will enjoy online access to an expanded amount of items in the collection; whether those are items we have digitized or are new digital items that we acquire.
  • Canada's audio-visual heritage will be better preserved and more accessible to Canadians.
  • Acquisition and preservation of Canadian documentary heritage will be better integrated and managed more efficiently with clear strategies to identify and address the highest priorities facing that heritage.

Program Activity 1.3 - Making the documentary heritage known and accessible for use

Graphic presentation of Program Activity 1.3

[D]

Everything in the LAC collection is intended for use by those interested in Canada, whether onsite, through collaboration with partners, or online through LAC's website [www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/collection/index-e.html]. Activities under this program seek to meet the needs of users who want to find information easily, quickly, and autonomously. It includes a diverse range of functions.

  • Based on the needs of a diverse clientele, including researchers and other memory institutions across Canada and internationally, LAC offers information and consultation services, research services, and lends items from the collection. These services are accessible onsite or by telephone, mail, e-mail, and Internet. One of the largest such areas of support relates to genealogical research by Canadians and people with family roots in Canada.
  • LAC makes archival documents of the Government of Canada accessible to clients for research purposes. LAC also meets clients' needs under the Access to Information Act and the Privacy Act.
  • LAC develops and offers public programs to provide insights into and context for items in the collection, enabling a deeper understanding of Canada and its stories. The programs include exhibitions and publications, as well as the work of the Portrait Gallery of Canada program. These programs encourage understanding, learning, creativity, and they are a celebration of Canadian history and cultural expression through Canada's documentary heritage.
  • LAC coordinates the library services in federal departments and agencies and facilitates access to information. LAC encourages the use of consistent and government-wide solutions to the operational challenges facing libraries.
  • LAC also provides financial support to Canadian archives and related organizations to build their preservation and resource discovery capacities through the National Archives Development Program (NADP).

Program Activity: Making the documentary heritage known and accessible for use.
Human Resources (FTEs) and Planned Spending ($ thousands)
2010-11 2011-12 2012-13
FTEs Planned Spending FTEs Planned Spending FTEs Planned Spending
225 19,483.0 225 19,432.4 225 19,432.4
Note: Please refer to the Expenditure Profile for explanations on spending trends.




Program Activity Expected Results Performance Indicators Targets
Canadians are aware of LAC as an authoritative and innovative source for content and expertise related to Canada's documentary heritage.
  • Level of client satisfaction with responses to their inquiries
  • Percentage of clients who report being able to find what they are looking for
75-80 % of clients who contact us online, by mail or through exhibitions are satisfied with their responses.

Website 55-60 %
Indicators and targets are being modernized to focus on resource discovery goals as demonstrated through the revised performance indicators

Planning Highlights

Operational Priorities

  • Implement the Documentary Heritage Management Framework

While ongoing activities continue during 2010-2011, we will further define and implement the directions set out in the Documentary Heritage Management Framework as they relate to this program activity. In particular, modernization will update both the descriptive aspect of resource discovery, and access itself, by increasing the presence, visibility, and relevance of Canada's documentary heritage to current and potential clients. While resource discovery lies at the core of this program activity, both acquisition and preservation strategies are also integrated into the modernized approach to "making known."

  • Client focus is the key to this program activity, making resource discovery a vital function in modernizing LAC. We will develop a framework for resource discovery that includes a new approach to description (described under Program Activity 1.2), as well as a number of interdependent projects designed to improve the visibility of our resources and facilitate effective service delivery.
  • Building on the new approach to description under modernization described under Program Activity 1.2, we will move LAC descriptions (known technically as "metadata") from paper to the Web, expose data to search engines and better understand and engage user communities.
  • LAC will gain an enhanced capacity to share our holdings with Canadians and improve their access to documentary heritage materials about Canada by modernizing our approach to public programming, information and consultation services, research resources, digitization, federal library services, and those activities that support the resource discovery capacities of other memory institutions. Taken together, they will encourage understanding and learning of Canada's realities, history, diversity, and cultural expression as mirrored in our documentary heritage.

During 2010-2011, we will make progress on Modernization or through actions consistent with it under this program activity in many ways.

  • We will begin to implement a resource discovery framework during 2010-2011 with the aim of delivering client-centred services. Work will include a review of our service delivery model, enhanced national reach for LAC through innovative use of new media and increased delivery of services through collaboration and partnering.
  • A new service strategy and related components will be implemented, and over a multi-year schedule, services will be redesigned based on the direction set out in the Documentary Heritage Management Framework, ensuring appropriate tracking and reporting on service results and outcomes.
  • In 2010-2011, Library and Archives Canada will pursue implementation of the Portrait Gallery of Canada program's three-year planning strategy, with the objective to bring the national portrait collection to Canadians across the country through travelling exhibitions and online and public programming activities. Key initiatives will include two travelling exhibitions to national venues (Karsh: Image Maker developed in partnership with Canada Science and Technology Museum and Beyond Likeness: Contemporary Canadian Portraits), two Portraits in the Street installations, and an exhibition of the Four Indian Kings-the earliest known oil portraits of Aboriginal people in North America, marking the tercentennial of their historic visit to London in 1710.
  • An Assistant Deputy Minister Task Force on the Future of Federal Library Service will support the development of a pan-government approach to managing published information in support of departmental and government objectives.

Benefits for Canadians

  • More Canadians will have improved access to our collection, whether online, through other digital delivery forms or through LAC collaboration with partners.
  • Canadians will receive services that are aligned with their identified needs and that are cost effective.
  • Analysis of client feedback will enable us to improve service and responsiveness to client needs.

Program Activity 1.4 - Internal Services

Graphic presentation of program activity 1.4

[D]

Internal services make fundamental contributions to the achievement of the three LAC business lines set out in Section I and through all three program activities described previously in this section. They ensure compliance with Government of Canada legislation, regulations, and policies. In 2009, LAC was reorganized to support Modernization with impacts on internal services. Key internal service organizations now are:

  • The Office of the Librarian and Archivist of Canada (including Internal Audit and the Chief Financial Officer)
  • Corporate Management (including Finance and Accommodations, Human Resources and Organizational Innovation, Information Technology, and the Strategic Office)
  • Office of the Corporate Secretary (including Corporate Security Services)
  • Communications Office
  • Web Services

Program Activity: Internal Services.
Human Resources (FTEs) and Planned Spending ($ thousands)
2010-11 2011-12 2012-13
FTEs Planned Spending FTEs Planned Spending FTEs Planned Spending
230 29,516.4 230 29,460.2 230 29,460.2
Note: Please refer to the Expenditure Profile for explanations on spending trends.

Planning Highlights

Management Priorities

  • Manage the change within LAC needed to support our modernization through the Documentary Heritage Management Framework.

Internal services groups such as human resources, information technology and Web services, infrastructure, communications and other corporate support functions are specifically identified as "enablers" or as "enabling sectors." They ensure that LAC has the people, infrastructure, technologies, and supports for progress under the other program activities.

While the ongoing activities of the enabling sectors will continue during 2010-2011, this program activity will be the focal point for the development and implementation of strategies to support Modernization of enabling activities. This will include:

  • Better coordination of internal services roles with LAC programs and the use of service standards and service agreements will support Modernization. This will lead to initiatives such as a long-term capital plan for LAC and the most effective use of information technology and Web service resources.
  • We will develop and pursue talent management strategies to ensure that we have the skilled expertise needed to carry out our responsibilities in workplaces that are likely to evolve with Modernization.
  • We intend to ensure that we meet government-wide commitments and standards for accountability in areas such as finance, planning, and reporting through enhanced corporate approaches to critical processes, development of tools for LAC managers to use to meet their accountability obligations and the identification of ways to gain economies of scale in LAC operations.

Benefits for Canadians

  • Facilitation of programs and services that meet the needs and interests of Canadians.
  • Effective, efficient management of LAC activities.


Section III: Supplementary Information

Supplementary Information Tables

Green Procurement
Internal Audits
Sources of Respendable and Non-Respendable Revenue
Summary of Capital Spending by Program Activity

All electronic supplementary information tables found in the 2010-11 Report on Plans and Priorities can be found on the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat's website at www.tbs-sct.gc.ca/rpp/2010-2011/info/info-eng.asp.