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Canada Managing the Government of Canada’s Grey Information: Progress and Challenges Special Libraries Association 9 June 2004 Fay Hjartarson Library and Archives Canada
Canada
Managing the Government of Canada’s
Grey Information: Progress and Challenges
Special Libraries Association
9 June 2004
Fay Hjartarson
Library and Archives Canada
Canada
Outline
A brief historyProgressChallengesOpportunitiesQuestions?
Canada
The Status Quo?
“Everyone is in agreement…that there is a crisis in information management in the federal government, as well as in every jurisdiction we have studied.” (Access to Information Review Task Force Report, 2002)
Canada
National Library Collection Management
Grey Literature
“documents and ephemeral material in all media issued in limited amounts outside the formal channels of publication and distribution”
Canada
National Library Collection Management
NL acquires materials in all formats by legal deposit, published by or for federal government institutions and may acquire “copies of unpublished documents...if they support or provide historical context to institutional policies and programs; complement other published material; or are intended for general distribution and can be made available to the public” (MGIH 1989)
Canada
National Archives Act Section 5 (1): “no record under the control of
a government institution and no ministerial record…shall be destroyed or disposed of without the consent of the Archivist.”
Section 6 (1): “records that …are of historic or archival importance shall be transferred to the care and control of the Archivist…in accordance with agreements…”
Canada
“Uncontested Terrain?”What is the relationship between the
National Library, the National Archives, records offices, and federal government libraries with respect to grey information?
Who is responsible for what?Who collects what?
Canada
Progress Government Online / GOL Metadata Working
Group Access to Information Review Communications Policy Management of Government Information Policy Information Management Capacity Check Library and Archives of Canada: a new institution
Canada
Government Online Key Concepts:
Client-centered services Business Service Transformation Horizontal delivery of services – across branches within a
given department, across departments, and across governments
Benefits to Canadians: Better service, government, stimulating e-commerce
Commitment to: Choice, Privacy, Accessibility
Canada
Government Online Metadata Working GroupEnsure government information
resources are effectively managed for access purposes
Treasury Board Information Technology Standards on Metadata Five Dublin Core Elements Controlled Vocabularies Registry
Canada
Communications Policy, 2002
All Government of Canada Web sites must comply with relevant policies of the Official Languages Act
Publishing information in both official languages is nothing new, the use of electronic media calls for additional consideration of the linguistic aspects associated with Web technology and software interfaces.
Canada
Access to Information Review
Task Force, 2002 Mandate: To review the federal access to
information regime Controversial with respect to some aspects Applauded with regard to non-legislative
proposals: education, resources, best-practices, leadership from the top
Canada
Access to Information Review
Task Force Report, 2002 Institutions were asked to post summaries on
websites and deposit hard copies of full documents in reading rooms (virtual?)
Not centrally organized but institutionally undertaken
All institutions asked to disseminate, informally and proactively, information of interest to the public
Canada
Management of Government Information
Policy 2003Recognizes that: Information is a valuable asset that the Government
of Canada must manage as a public trust on behalf of Canadians
All employees are responsible for the management of information under their control and custody
Federal government institutions use electronic systems as the preferred means of creating, using, and managing information
Canada
Management of Government Information
Implementation Funds set aside to enable federal institutions to set
up innovative projects and activities to ensure effective management of government information is a priority in their organizations, ’04/’06
Criteria: leadership/accountability; communication/awareness; skills/development; life-cycle approach; e-record approach; collect once for multiple re-use horizontally; preservation of the historical record
Canada
Information Management Capacity Check
Goal to improve information management (IM) within the federal government of Canada
Defines a set of best practices against which institutions can benchmark IM capacities
Establishes priorities and an action plan Provides key information with which to build a
business case Raises awareness within the organization
Canada
Library and Archives of Canada Mandate, May
2004 To preserve the documentary heritage of Canada for the
benefit of present and future generations To be a source of enduring knowledge accessible to all,
contributing to the cultural, social and economic advancement of Canada
To facilitate in Canada cooperation among communities involved in the acquisition, preservation and diffusion of knowledge
To serve as the continuing memory of the government of Canada and its institutions
Canada
ChallengesElectronic publishing has been widely
adopted out of sync with our knowledge and ability to manage electronic information
All GoC websites are organized slightly differently
The Canada Site focus is “publications”
Canada
Opportunities
Horizontal partnerships both across government and within departments are recognized as part of the solution
Change is the new status quo
Canada
Opportunities Library and Archives Canada is newly created and
has many exciting and sometimes conflicting demands
Electronic information is creating new ways of addressing traditional issues related to grey information
Silos and stovepipes within departments and agencies have to be broken down through horizontal initiatives to ensure that all information professionals contribute
Canada
Conclusion
Library and Archives Canada, the new knowledge institution, as a whole has to clearly assume responsibilities for all forms of government information, published or grey
Canada
Thank You!
Fay Hjartarson
Library and Archives Canada
www.collectionscanada.ca
