Disappearing Digital Government Publications: will there be a tomorrow?

1. Disappearing Digital Government Publications: will there be a tomorrow? Fay Hjartarson, National Library of Canada CALL, Victoria 28 May 2002

2. Overview • Vision statement • Federal government context • Challenges • National Library initiatives • Conclusions

3. Vision • Ensure long-term access to and preservation of Canada’s digital heritage for current and future generations

4. The Federal Government Context National Library Act • Receive on legal deposit two copies of all Canadian publications within one week of their release • Create and maintain a national bibliography • Develop a national union catalogue • Coordinate federal library services

5. The Federal Government Context MGI and Communications Policies: NL Role • Preserve the published heritage of the nation and of the Government of Canada; • Receive on deposit all newly published information, in all formats, from federal government institutions and monitor its deposit with the institution’s library; • Assist federal government institutions to ensure all of their published information is easily accessible to decision-makers and available to the public; • Monitor the management of published information produced by federal government institutions, and report and advise on its long-term access and preservation.

6. The Federal Government Context Access to Information Review • Deposit of publications: mechanism to provide access to federal government information through an established network of libraries, worldwide • AMICUS Web – federal government information available to all

7. The Federal Government Context • Canadian government committed to be fully online by December 2005 • In a recent survey, 49% of respondents report that electronic publications are not managed as effectively as are other publication formats

8. The Value of Federal Government Information • “Information is an integral part of service delivery that must be managed as a strategic business resource and as a public trust on behalf of Canadians”--TBS • “Few policies, standards and guidelines are in place for current and emerging environments” -- TBS

9. Challenges • Average life span of digital “publications” is between 44 days and 2 years “The speed at which the digital world moves has upturned the order of all established preservation practices.” UNESCO, Preservation of the Digital Heritage, February 2002

10. Challenges • Technology for preserving digital materials requires substantial investments in R&D • Such investments are negligible compared to the resources invested in creating the information initially, or the cost to Canada if the information is lost

11. In the Interim? • Creators must be encouraged to use open standards and provide adequate documentation of their files “The first line of defense against loss…rests with the creators, providers and owners of digital information.” – UNESCO, 2002

12. NL Initiatives to Develop Best Practices for E-Publishing • Consultation on Online Publications with the Canadian publishing community, 2000 • Identify practical solutions, 2000-2001 • Select and communicate best practices, 2001-

13. Best Practices are… • Recognized by peers • Applicable to a cross-section of organizations • Compliant with ethical, legal and moral requirements

14. Electronic Publishing: Guide to Best Practices for Canadian Publishers • Written by stakeholders: The Commons Group and members of the academic and publishing communities • Written for writers and publishers, both new or experienced in electronic publishing

15. Best Practice on Open Standards • Use open standards (HTML, ASCII, JPEG, PNG, XML, etc.) • Makes information available to the widest possible audience • Facilitates archiving and storage • Facilitates server-to-server transfer, even for the host publisher • Reduces the burden on heritage institutions

16. Best Practice on Metadata • Apply metadata to ensure information about the document is available to end-users • The starting point: TBITS 39.1 and 39.2 ensure federal government publishers use a common, internationally recognized metadata standard

17. Best Practice on Assistive Technologies • Ensure accessibility for people using assistive technologies and thereby deliver content to an even wider audience

18. Best Practice on Storage and Backup • Establish regular backup cycles of publications on stable, mass storage media, and engage a second party, the National Library, to provide reliable long-term archiving and storage “Digital media is notoriously fragile.”

19. Electronic Federal Publications at the National Library: a viable model • Mandate to acquire and preserve Canadiana • NL Act to be updated for electronic environment • In line with international developments • Over 6000 e-titles, 80% of which are federal government publications • Formal agreements with 37 federal government e-publishers

20. Atlantic Canada Opportunity Agency  Bank of Canada Canada Council for the Arts Canada Deposit Insurance Corporation Canada Lands Company Canadian Artists and Producers Professional Relations Tribunal Canadian Centre for Management Development Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse Canadian Coast Guard College  Canadian Grain Commission Canadian Heritage, Games of la francophonie Canadian International Trade Tribunal Canadian Polar Commission Canadian Police College Communication Canada Canadian Government Publishing Depository Services Program Communications Security Establishment Partners in Access

21. Canadian Space Agency Criminal Intelligence Service Canada Elections Canada Environment Canada Department of Finance Canada Federal Bridge Corporation Limited (Canada) Health Canada House of Commons Human Resources Development Canada, Workplace Equity Indian and Northern Affairs Canada Industry Canada Canada’s Digital Collections Canadian Intellectual Property Office Competition Bureau Council of Science and Technology Advisors Intellectual Property Policy Directorate Micro-Economic Policy Analysis Information Management Forum International Development Research Centre Partners in Access, cont’d

22. Law Commission of Canada Millennium Bureau of Canada NAFTA Secretariat NRC: Canada Institute for Scientific and Technical Information NRC Research Press NRCan: Geological Survey of Canada Mineral and Metal Sector Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions Office of the Prime Minister Public Works and Government Services Canada: Translation Bureau Receiver General for Canada Statistics Canada Status of Women Canada Supreme Court of Canada Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat Partners in Access, cont’d

23. Other NLC Initiatives • Continuous improvement of the Electronic Collection: additional subject access, active pursuit of partnerships • AMICUS Web free for all Canadians • Canadian Information by Subject, > 5000 links to Canadian Internet resources • Controlled vocabularies web page and registry

24. Other NLC Initiatives in Progress • Management of Government Publications Survey, 2002 • Persistent Locators for Federal Government Publications, 2002 • Federal Publication Locator Service on AMICUS, 2002 • Revision of the NL Act, in progress

25. Conclusions • NLC has established best practices with stakeholders • NLC has a track record for managing federal government publications in electronic format • NLC is developing a growing network of partnerships

26. National Library of Canada Resource Links • Amicus Web:amicus.nlc-bnc.ca/aaweb/amilogine.htm • Canadian Information by Subject:www.nlc-bnc.ca/caninfo/ecaninfo.htm • Electronic Collection:collection.nlc-bnc.ca/e-coll-e/index-e.htm • Electronic Publishing: Guide to Best Practices for Canadian Publishers:www.nlc-bnc.ca/9/13/index-e.html • Thesauri and controlled vocabularies:www.nlc-bnc.ca/8/4/r4-280-e.html

27. Thank you! Fay Hjartarson Strategic Policy and Planning National Library 613-947-5887 Fay.Hjartarson@nlc-bnc.ca