Discussion with Ingrid Parent, Director General of Acquisitions and Bibliographic Services Branch, National Library of Canada

Discussion Summary, Prepared by Mary Jackson

142nd ARL Membership Meeting
Concurrent Discussions Session
May 16, 2003

In October 2002 the Canadian government announced its intention to form the Library and Archives of Canada. Legislation was introduced last week, and it is expected to pass by the fall. Although the name may suggest a merger, the process of bringing two separate organizations together is a transformation. The Library and Archives currently share the same headquarters building, so the general public perception is that the two organizations are one. A governmental study four years ago and the appointment of new heads of the Library and Archives enabled the concept to be advanced.

With the aid of an Assistant Deputy Minister for Transformation, the staff of the Library and Archives are establishing a vision. When the vision has been articulated, then the structure for the new organization will be determined. A two-day meeting was held and the Library and Archives were closed so that all staff could attend. Close to fifty working groups were established to address such varied topics as reference services, career mobility, and consistent charging for services. Reports of the working groups proposals are being made available on the Library and Archives' intranet. Consolidation of the vision will be done in June and over the summer attention will turn to the structure of the new organization.

The following themes emerged from discussions to-date:

• Both institutions are leaders as heritage institutions;
• Collections will be more comprehensive, with a focus on Canada; and
• Collections will be described and preserved; backlogs are a challenge.

A major transformation effort will take place in the services area. The focus will be on the user. The vision of easy access to quality information suggests that the new organization needs to be more visible and relevant to users. The organization will need partners to provide such user-centered expertise. Emphasis will be given to specific clientele such as print disabled, multicultural, and aboriginal.

The National Library has been active in Virtual Reference Canada, which now has over 180 members to provide 24/7 reference service. Digitizing on demand is another area of current focus.

A number of issues have emerged during the process. First is the human side of change. Although there is much cooperation at the senior level, library and archive staff do not always speak the same language. The librarian and archivist professional roles will remain distinct. This is not a cost-cutting exercise.

A second issue is that of service delivery. Discussions center on how similar services could and should be delivered, and what new services should be developed.

A third issue is the desire to know the user better. The new organization needs to assess user needs better. The tag line on a slip from an ATM machine recently used by Ingrid is quite appropriate: we listen, we understand, we make it work.

The final issue is communication. This includes internal, external, with the unions, and with the staff.

Ingrid serves as a member of the eight-member transformation team. The process will take about a year to complete. Ingrid feels this could be a model for other national institutions to replicate. She is aware of only one other country - Bolivia - in which the national library and archives are one organization.

After Ingrid's presentation, the participants made a number of comments and observations:

• The key word in Ingrid's presentation was transformation.
• The two communities have evolved with different service philosophies.
• Some of the same issues are emerging in discussions in the ARL Special Collections Task Force, including the articulation of the differences and unique features of libraries and archives.
• The transformation will necessitate redoing existing spaces and perhaps getting a new facility.
• It is not cost effective to treat archival materials at the same level as library materials.
• The focus is the Canadian population, not only researchers.
• This change will present an opportunity to align the library and archival standards for bibliographic description and to present one service point to users for all its major functions.
• Involving citizen groups is essential.
• The definition of and focus on the professional nature of the tasks being performed and the changing roles will be at the heart of the Library and Archives of Canada's transformation.

Attendees: Meredith Butler, University at Albany - SUNY; Cynthia Carter, New York Public; Nancy Eaton, Pennsylvania State University; Fran Groen, McGill University; Mark Haslett, University of Waterloo; Erland Nielsen, LIBER; Ingrid Parent, National Library of Canada; Jennifer Younger, University of Notre Dame; and Julia Blixrud, Jaia Barrett, and Mary Jackson, ARL.