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About Former National Library of Canada

National Library Activities and Projects:Semi-Annual Update
May 2001

CONTENTS

Access to Knowledge About Canada

• Free AMICUS
• Digital Library of Canada Task Force
  • NLC Web Site Redevelopment
• Government On-Line (GOL) at the National Library
  • Collaborative Digital Reference Service
  • New Books Service for Canadians
  • Canadiana E-books Pilot Project
  • NLC  -  Depository Services Program Collaborative Projects
  • Enhancements to NLC's Canadian Information by Subject Service
• Task Force on Access to Information for Print-Disabled Canadians
• Theses Canada
• National Bibliography
  • Canadiana CD-ROM, December 2000 Published
  • Additions to the AMICUS Union Catalogue
  • Cataloguing in Publication (CIP)
  • RVM on the Web
• Guide to NLC's Literary Manuscripts Collection
• Canadian Book Exchange Centre
• Canadian Library Gateway
• Z39.50: Bath Profile
  

Protect and Preserve the National Collection

• National Library Accommodations
• Funding for Preservation
• Move of NLC Preservation Collection to the National Archives' Gatineau Preservation Centre

Strengthen and Enrich the National Collection

• Working Group on Collection Policies
• Acquisition of Electronic Publications
• Noteworthy Recent Acquisitions
• The Jacob M. Lowy Collection

Promote National Library Expertise, Collections and Services

• Canadian Initiative on Digital Libraries (CIDL)
• Library Statistics
• Library Book Rate
• Exhibitions
• World Poetry Day
• Canadian Children's Literature
• Literary Manuscripts Collection
• Lowy Collection: Outreach
• Scholarly Publication by a Member of the Staff
• Council of Federal Libraries
• Aboriginal Library Science Trainee Program
• RCAA2

Access to Knowledge About Canada

Free AMICUS

National Librarian Roch Carrier is committed to eliminating user fees for the Library's AMICUS bibliographic database services, so that Canadians may have free access to over 20 million bibliographic records, 500 000 authority records, and 35 million holdings from 500 Canadian libraries. The National Library has confirmed with the federal government's Treasury Board that there will be no adverse revenue or policy implications resulting from of a cessation of charges for access to AMICUS services. In addition, the Library has upgraded its computing and telecommunications infrastructure to accommodate higher system usage levels as a result of providing de facto free use of AMICUS to registered users, and has planned for future infrastructure expansion as part of ongoing enhancements to NLC's online services. The Library and A-G Canada, Ltd. have recently reached an agreement on the terms of a revised contract regarding conditions of the Library's purchase and load into AMICUS of a large file of records from A-G in 1997.

The National Librarian is currently seeking complete and final regulatory approval from the Minister of Canadian Heritage for Canadians to have access without charge to their national bibliographic database.

Digital Library of Canada Task Force

The period May 2000  -  March 2001 was the start-up year for the Digital Library of Canada Task Force and for the Digital Library of Canada program that it develops and manages. In Year 1, the program generated a wide range of digital collections, educational sites, and exhibitions. These projects, all available through the National Library Web site at www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/index-e.html include:

• Oscar Peterson: A Jazz Sensation
• Celebrating Women's Achievements 2000: Women in Sport
• Read Up On It! 2000: A Symphony of Words
• The Virtual Gramophone (Phase II): First World War-Era historical sound recordings
• Sheet Music from Canada's Past (Phase I): First World War-Era music
• Sheet Music from Canada's Past (Phase II): Pre-Confederation music
• From Colony to Country: A Reader's Guide to Military History
• Canadian Illustrated News: Images
• First Among Equals: Canadian Prime Ministers (sites for general audience and young people)
• Page by Page: Creating a Children's Book (Zoom Upstream and École)
• Canadian Confederation (Phase I  -  site for young readers)
• Encyclopedia of Music in Canada on the Web
• Susanna Moodie and Catharine Parr Traill (Phase I)
• Guardians of the North: Canadian Superheroes
• The Jesuit Relations/Les Relations des jésuites

Approximately 30 learning resources, developed by qualified teachers, were created for many of the above projects.

The National Library also initiated a collaborative project with other Canadian cultural institutions called imagesCanada.ca, which aims to provide a gateway to online collections of Canadian images. Its development will continue in Year 2.

NLC Web Site Redevelopment

The Task Force has restructured the National Library of Canada Web site to give more prominence to its important and diverse cultural content. The Web site has also been recoded and restructured to incorporate the Government of Canada's Common Look & Feel standards.

Government On-Line (GOL) at the National Library

Collaborative Digital Reference Service

The National Library of Canada  -  in cooperation with libraries in Australia, the Netherlands, Germany, Hong Kong, the U.K., and the U.S.  -  is participating in the Collaborative Digital Reference Service (CDRS) pilot project initiated and hosted by the Library of Congress. CDRS will evolve into a global electronic reference service, providing professional reference support to researchers any time, anywhere through an international digital network.

In the first phase of CDRS, which began in February 2000, 16 participating members (both individual libraries and consortia) asked and answered questions, and a database of member profiles was developed. Phase Two ran from June to September 2000, during which a number of new member libraries were added, the number of questions per week was scaled up, and work on defining member service level agreements began.

Phase Three began in November 2000 and will continue until December 2001. Currently, close to 100 members are testing real questions being answered in real time. A number of administrative requirements  -  such as staff training, service level agreements and economic models  -  are being further refined in this phase, and links to services beyond the reference area (such as requests to automated interlibrary loan networks and online library catalogues) are being explored.

In January 2001, an agreement between the Library of Congress (representing CDRS members) and OCLC was announced, whereby OCLC will provide research and development for two key CDRS components, member profiles and the knowledge database, and will also contribute marketing support. Other agencies and vendors involved in digital reference services or product development have also expressed interest in forwarding the CDRS initiative.

The National Library of Canada is assisting Canadian institutions interested in joining the CDRS pilot by providing information and discussing requirements. Several Canadian libraries have already joined CDRS as members (including Natural Resources Canada, CISTI, Agriculture Canada, National Gallery of Canada), and many more have expressed interest in the project.

Press coverage of CDRS may be found at:

• the CDRS Website:
  www.loc.gov/rr/digiref/digital-ref.html
• a November 2000 Associated Press article:
  www.detnews.com/2000/technews/0011/20/a06-151058.htm
• an article from the Wired online news service:
  www.wired.com/news/culture/0,1284,40308,00.html
• a Library Journal announcement of the LC/OCLC/CDRS collaboration:
  www.libraryjournal.com/articles/news/thisweek/20010115_17248.asp

New Books Service for Canadians

In December 2000 the National Library of Canada began to investigate the feasibility of developing a New Books Service for Canadians. The overall aim of the proposed New Books Service is to improve NLC's services to publishers, booksellers, and Canadian libraries as well as to individual researchers and readers. The Library's Government On-Line Task Force established an inter-branch team that is currently investigating requirements, analyzing implementation issues and planning promotion of the Service.

Building on the current Cataloguing in Publication (CIP) program, the National Library intends to establish new working relationships with publishers using Internet-based technology. During 2001-2002, an interactive Web form is being developed to permit publishers to submit information about their new books to the National Library via the Internet, including the submission of graphics for cover art, table of contents, book reviews, etc. As is now the case, this information is stored and made available to the general public in our AMICUS database; however, in order to facilitate access by Canadians to this information, a distinct, virtual Web-accessible New Books Collection will be created within the AMICUS database.

In addition, hypertext links from the AMICUS new books records will permit clients, libraries, and others to navigate back to the publishers' Web sites. Authenticated bibliographic data that NLC creates for each new book title will be returned via the Internet to the publishers for inclusion in their upcoming publications. Depending on available funding, the images for cover art, tables of contents, etc. received from publishers will be stored in an online digital repository at NLC.

During 2002-2003, the New Books project plans to develop links to the Web sites of online booksellers. Canadians who find a title of interest in the AMICUS New Books Collection would be able to click on a link to access booksellers' sites, and order the book through an e-commerce transaction. Links would also be established to the National Library's Public Programs calendar: for example, if an author is scheduled to give a reading at the NLC Auditorium, a link will be created from the author's new books record in AMICUS to the notice about the reading in the calendar. Links to other cultural events in Canada could also be made.

Pending the receipt of additional funding, links to Canadian libraries will be established during 2003-2004. From a new books record in AMICUS, Canadians would be able to access the Web site of their local library to place a reserve or make an interlibrary loan request for the new book title. A New Books Alert Service would also be developed: corporate clients (the Government of Canada and private industry) as well as individual researchers would receive online notifications about new books titles, based on their subject interest profile stored at the National Library.

The launch of Phase 1 of the New Books Service for Canadians is scheduled to take place at the BookExpo Conference in Toronto in June 2001.

Canadiana E-books Pilot Project

This project involves the selection, acquisition, cataloguing, and on-site circulation of selected Canadiana electronic books, that is, digital books downloaded to a handheld reading device. The purpose of the project is to expose National Library staff and work processes to the new media, and to record the impact of new media on NLC operations and policies. The Library has purchased eight handheld e-book reading devices and accessories, and staff selectors are currently reviewing e-books for acquisition. The pilot project ran from February to April 2001, and a brief report describing NLC's experience and client feedback is being prepared.

NLC  -  Depository Services Program Collaborative Projects

The National Library of Canada and the Depository Services Program of Public Works and Government Services Canada have entered into a multi-year joint project that is being funded by the DSP. Projects identified to date include:

• Federal Government Publications Locator Service, the first step in the development of a national locator system for federal government publications, that will allow clients to find the most convenient location to consult or borrow Government of Canada publications;
• a Persistent Locator Service for government publications  -  this project will make recommendations to the DSP and the NLC on steps to take to implement persistent URLs in federal government publishing.

Enhancements to NLC's Canadian Information by Subject Service

The National Library's CIBS Web site provides reliable links to information about Canada from Internet resources around the world, classified into broad subject categories to facilitate user searching. By August 2000, the number of links to relevant Web sites had grown to over 6 000. This project will implement enhancements to CIBS that will better meet the expanding information needs of Canadians.

Task Force on Access to Information for Print-Disabled Canadians

The Task Force on Access to Information for Print Disabled Canadians delivered its report on schedule on October 31, 2000. The report made 26 recommendations based on its consultations in Winnipeg, Halifax, Vancouver, Toronto, Montreal and Ottawa and many written briefs. The report is available through the NLC Web site at: www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/accessinfo/index-e.html .

In February 2001, National Librarian Roch Carrier announced the establishment of a Council on Access to Information for Print Disabled Canadians to address the implementation of the Task Force recommendations. Members have been chosen from the library, publishing, consumer groups, alternate-format producers and providers and public sector communities, and Paul Whitney, Chief Librarian of Burnaby Public Library, chairs the Council. The mandate, membership and workplan of the Council can be found at www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/accessinfo/index-e.html . Any questions or submissions on the work of the Council should be sent to the Secretariat at email address: accessinfo@bac-lac.gc.ca. There will be a session on the work of the Task Force and the Council at the Canadian Library Association conference in June 2001.

Theses Canada

Following the controversy in the year 2000 resulting from the appearance for sale of Canadian students' theses on Contentville.com, a consultation session on electronic theses and the future of the national program was held at the National Library of Canada on December 4, 2000. Moderated by John Lennox, Dean of Graduate Studies, York University, the event was co-sponsored by the Canadian Initiative on Digital Libraries, the Canadian Association of Research Libraries, the Canadian Association for Graduate Studies and the National Library of Canada. An advisory committee was recommended to work out the details of a revamped national program. The committee was convened for its first meeting on April 9, 2001 and will prepare a proposal for changes for tabling at the October 2001 meeting of the Canadian Association for Graduate Studies.

National Bibliography

Canadiana CD-ROM, December 2000 Published

The December 2000 issue of Canadiana, the National Bibliography on CD-ROM, was released in March 2001. This latest edition brings the national bibliography up to date to the end of December 2000. The Canadiana CD-ROM allows users access via the Web to the National Library's AMICUS database for up-to-the-minute records, as well as to Canadian cataloguing tools such as Canadian Subject Headings, l'Université Laval's Répertoire de vedettes-matière, and National Library of Canada rule interpretations for the Anglo-American Cataloguing Rules.

Additions to the AMICUS Union Catalogue

Since January 2001, the National Library has loaded into AMICUS a number of significant bibliographic databases, including:

• the Bibliothèque nationale du Québec (BNQ) database, comprising 456 000 records for monographs, serials, maps, and other materials;
• the Vancouver Public Library database, estimated at 600 000 records including monographs, serials, talking books, and Braille; and
• files from Regis College and Victoria University, Toronto.

Cataloguing in Publication (CIP)

A number of major changes have recently taken place in the Canadian CIP program, one of the National Library's well-established services to Canadian publishers and libraries. The Library said farewell to three of its long-time CIP partners, Dalhousie University, the University of Manitoba and the University of Toronto, in the fall and winter of 2000-2001. National Library staff have taken on the publisher liaison and cataloguing work previously performed by agent libraries responsible for the Atlantic provinces and Ontario. The University of British Columbia is now responsible for an expanded Western region. These changes were brought about by the need to contain the costs of delivering the program and concurrent advances in telecommunications technology, which make the need for regional presence less important than 25 years ago when the program was set up on a decentralized model.

The name of the program has also been changed from Canadian Cataloguing in Publication Program to National Library of Canada Cataloguing in Publication Program.

RVM on the Web

The National Library assisted in carrying out behind-the-scenes improvements in the fall of 2000 to the search features used in this Web service. New search techniques and indexing were implemented to provide better access to the subject headings in the Répertoire de vedettes-matière database, including a Boolean search capability and refinements of other searching techniques.

Also, a cumulative six-months file of changes made to the RVM topical and geographical name headings is now available from the RVM service home page. These two cumulative files are available free of charge.

Guide to NLC's Literary Manuscripts Collection

Literary Manuscripts: A Guide to the Literary Fonds at the National Library of Canada was published in a new edition with full-page illustrations. This catalogue and a pamphlet on the collection are available from the National Library to researchers and libraries across the country.

Canadian Book Exchange Centre

The Canadian Book Exchange Centre (CBEC) redistributed 262 503 surplus items to Canadian libraries and 51 349 items to foreign libraries in 2000/2001. The latter figure includes 41 774 legal items sent to the Zagreb Law School in war-torn Croatia. Smaller donations were also made to Ethiopia and Costa Rica.

CBEC staff have been working with Digital Library Task Force staff to make CBEC distribution lists available on the Web; it is expected that official publications lists will be available to interested libraries by summer 2001. Libraries will be able to make their selections online and return them electronically or print the distribution list and proceed as they do at present.

Canadian Library Gateway

The gateway into the shared resources of Canadian libraries continues to grow significantly. Since the survey conducted in the summer of 2000, the National Library has added a large number of links to libraries, catalogues and library directory information into the Canadian Library Gateway www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/gateway/index-e.html, with one result being that users can now access over 1 600 Canadian library homepages. Updates are ongoing, and the National Library always appreciates receiving any reports of new information or changes to the directory data. NLC has also been adding new catalogues into the Virtual Canadian Union Catalogue (vCuc) www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/8/6/index-e.html (discontinued effective May 9, 2006) ; there are now 27 individual and grouped Z39.50 catalogues in the vCuc, and the number continues to grow.

Z39.50: Bath Profile

The Bath Profile, an international Z39.50 specification for library applications and resource discovery, is being adopted by library consortia and provincial groups as the basis for the development of virtual catalogues within their regional networks. National Library of Canada staff have worked with the Saskatchewan Provincial Library, the Saskatchewan Institute of Applied Science and Technology, the Library sub-committee of CREPUQ (Conférence des Recteurs Et des Principaux des Universités du Québec), the SmartLibrary Project in Ottawa, involving Ottawa Public Library, University of Ottawa, Carleton University, CISTI and NLC and the libraries within the Council of Federal Libraries, to assist them with training and with planning, analysis and implementation of the protocol. Several meetings have been held to discuss the further development of the profile, focusing on issues surrounding the search and retrieval of holdings information. The National Library has participated on a US National Information Standards Organization (NISO) committee to develop a national profile for the United States, which will be based on the Bath Profile.

Protect and Preserve the National Collection

National Library Accommodations

In collaboration with the National Archives of Canada, the Department of Canadian Heritage, and Public Works and Government Services Canada, the National Library has been developing plans and strategies for new facilities for its collections. There are a number of critical short-term objectives for the Library to house its collections in facilities that will extend the life of collection materials, rather than contributing to their deterioration. The need to address these urgent requirements is being supported by a number of organizations from the Canadian library community: CLA, CARL and the Writers Union of Canada have all made written statements on the National Library's behalf.

In addition, given the ongoing problems with water leaks and inadequate temperature and humidity controls in its headquarters facility on Wellington Street in Ottawa, the National Library, with its partners, has begun investigating options for the replacement or renovation of its main building.

Funding for Preservation

In March 2001, the National Library received supplementary funding of $2 million from the Treasury Board to help secure the Library's Preservation Collection of Canadiana. This funding is intended to provide better protection of collection materials in the event of further incidents of water leaks in NLC collection storage facilities -- since 1993, over 25 000 items in National Library collections have been damaged by water.

The Library is using this funding in several ways. First, Preservation Collection materials located in those areas of NLC storage facilities that are at high risk of water leaks are being moved to four vaults that the National Archives of Canada has made available at its Gatineau Preservation Centre. Second, the Library is identifying and separating from its general collections the preservation copies of materials acquired before 1988, and moving these copies to a separate storage area. Other projects include:

• the installation of large freezers, in order to deal more efficiently with future water incidents that cause widespread damage;
• a shelving blitz to clear a backlog of Preservation Collection items acquired in recent months, that had been stored temporarily in boxes due to a lack of space and human resources to process these items. As of the end of March 2001, some 50 000 items had been shelved;
• the purchase of long-needed preservation supplies;
• the commercial binding of a series of parish registers, which will be placed in the Reading Room where they are available for self-serve use by clients.

Move of NLC Preservation Collection to the National Archives' Gatineau Preservation Centre

In an agreement between Public Works and Government Services Canada, the National Archives and the National Library, the Library will have temporary use of four vaults at the Gatineau Preservation Centre, in order to house part of NLC's Preservation Collection of Canadiana. The Gatineau vaults provide an environment that conforms to the temperature and humidity requirements for the long-term storage of print materials. The National Library began to occupy the first vault in March 2001, moving some provincial government publications. Preparations are underway for the move of the Canadian Federal Publications and General Monographs collections. This action will safeguard a major component of a key heritage collection from further risk of damage.

Strengthen and Enrich the National Collection

Working Group on Collection Policies

The Working Group has finished its initial review of current collection policy at the National Library, and is now in the process of developing new ideas and approaches to collecting in certain strategic areas of interest to NLC clients and partners. An interim report outlining preliminary findings and recommendations was presented to the National Librarian in November 2000.

In December, a draft proposal was developed for an Initiative on Aboriginal Resources whose goal is to develop, promote and facilitate access to Aboriginal resources within Canada both through the National Library and in partnership with Aboriginal communities and associations, Native culture and study centers, and libraries and resource centers. The draft Initiative is being used as a focus point for a series of ongoing consultations with representatives of First Nations, Métis, and Inuit communities, Native studies researchers, and librarians. The objective is to determine the information needs and priorities in the area of Aboriginal resources, and to solicit ideas on the best approaches to the collection and provision of access to these resources on a national level.

Other initiatives and proposals are also under development. The Working Group will continue until September 30, 2001, at which time a final report will be submitted.

Acquisition of Electronic Publications

The National Library's collection of electronic publications has grown to 3 365 titles. During fiscal year 2000-2001, a total of 403 new titles were added. New publishers, such as le Conseil du statut de la femme, Brent Friedenberg Associates Ltd., Centre de développement du porc du Québec, Canadian Enerdata Ltd., and GNAAK Enterprises have added their publications, both priced and free, to NLC's archive of Canadian electronic publications.

The Library has bolstered its efforts to maintain a comprehensive collection of Canadian electronic publications through contact with a small sample of commercial publishers engaged in the first steps of e-publishing. These contacts have demonstrated the challenges that publishers face on a commercial as well as technical level. This initiative with commercial publishers is being expanded upon in the current fiscal year 2001-2002. The National Library is currently also in the process of developing a "best practices" guide to assist publishers to produce a more standardized electronic product. Further, NLC has undertaken initial steps (gathering proposals, consulting policy and legal advisors, setting the legislative change process in action) towards amending the National Library Act and the National Library Book Deposit Regulations, 1995, to accommodate electronic publications. Consultations with national agencies in other countries who are contemplating similar expansions are also underway.

Noteworthy Recent Acquisitions

• Six original editions of Jesuit Relations.
• A nearly complete collection of books published by House of Anansi.
• A third accession of the Ronald I. Cohen Lucy Maud Montgomery collection, consisting of over 40 books and other materials. Highlights include:
  • the rare U.S. first edition of Montgomery' only book of verse, The Watchman and other poems.
  • the 1911 U.K. first edition of The Story Girl, which is very scarce.
  • the first edition (Stokes 1921) of Rilla of Ingleside in the original dust jacket, also very scarce.

• Rare items were acquired through funding by the Friends of the National Library:
  • Agnes Strickland and Susanna Strickland (Moodie). To the King's Most Excellent Majesty, William IV. These patriotic songs. Written by Agnes and Susanna Strickland, and Composed by J. Green. [London, J. Green, ca.1830]. Original paper-covered green boards. Expertly rebacked. Apparently the only copy known.
  • The Freeman's Advocate. Lockport, N.Y. One bound volume, September 1838-March 1839.
  • Le Jeune, R.P. Paul. Relation de ce qui s'est passé en la Nouvelle-France, en l'année 1634. Paris, Sébastien Croimoizy, 1635. Contemporary vellum. First edition of the third Jesuit Relation.

• Donation of 108 artistic bindings by Odette Drapeau, Montreal bookbinder.
• Two major Arctic items:
  • A Prayer to be used on the departure of the sledges (London, 1852). Used on the Belcher expedition in the search for Franklin.
  • Arctic expedition in search of Sir John Franklin. Notice printed on board the ship Plover in July 1853.

• The National Library acquired needed second copies of some major microform holdings of Canadian official publications from Princeton Microfilm Corporation:
  • Canada. Parliament. Sessional papers 1860-66, 1867-1925. 330 reels
  • Canada. Parliament. Journals, Debates, 1841-1972. 257 reels

Literary Manuscripts Collection:

• new fonds from Normand Chaurette, Gail Anderson-Dargatz, and Frances Itani
• new installments of existing fonds from Audrey Thomas, Robert Bringhurst, Rachel Wyatt, Jacques Poulin, and Marie-Claire Blais.

Canadian Children's Literature:

• 2nd acquisition of the fonds of Marie-Louise Gay
• 9 children's books featuring the illustrations of Marie-Louise Gay: Willy Nilly, Fat Charlie's Circus, Mademoiselle Moon, Rabbit Blue, Ca suffit Sophie!, Sophie est en danger, Sophie part en voyage, Ça va mal pour Sophie, Sophie lance et compte

Old Canadian Newspapers:

• Upper Canada Gazette. Toronto, December 28, 1837.
• The Observer. York, Ont., August 30, 1830.
• The Niagara Gleaner. Vol. XIII, August 30 and October 2, 1830.

Gifts:

• Livre d'artiste - book donated by Linda Cronin, artist:
  • Beyond Boundaries: Intercultural Sculpture Symposium (1994: Ottawa, Ontario).
    Text: Carol Bretzloff. Cover Image: Lynda Cronin. /Nepean, Ontario: Inuit Art Foundation, 1994. Copy #11 of 25 copies. This work will be added to the Reserve Collection.

• Some valuable books received as a gift from Dr. J. Guy Sylvestre, former National Librarian of Canada:
  • The Rise and Fall of John Law, 1716-1720. From original contemporary manuscripts collected and edited by Lawrence M. Lande. Montreal: Lawrence Lande Foundation for Canadian Historical Research, McLennan Library, McGill University, Montreal, 1982.
    -- This book was made by Alfred R. Van Peteghem for Lawrence M. Lande, who edited its production in a limited edition of two hundred signed copies.
  • The Early Illustrated Book: Essays in Honor of Lessing J. Rosenwald. Edited by Sandra Hindman. Washington: Library of Congress, 1982.
    -- This copy has been "presented to Jean Guy Sylvestre (special coffret) by The Library of Congress in appreciation for furthering cooperation between The National Library of Canada and The Library of Congress, May 12, 1983."
  • Poems, by A.M. Klein. Philadelphia: The Jewish Publication Society of America, 1944. (Presented to J. Guy Sylvestre with the compliments of the author.)
  • Débats parlementaires sur la question de la Confédération des provinces de l'Amérique britannique du Nord. Québec: Hunter, Rose et Lemieux, Imprimeurs parlementaires, 1865.
    -- Document signé par Louis Stephen Saint-Laurent, 12^e Premier Ministre du Canada (15 novembre 1948-juin 1957).
  • Le crépuscule de la civilisation, par Jacques Maritain. Montréal : Éditions de l'arbre, 1941.
    -- Cet ouvrage a été dédicacé à Monsieur Sylvestre par Jacques Maritain, philosophe et essayiste français. Il porte l'inscription suivante: "Pour Guy Sylvestre dont l'amitié fut à l'origine de la publication de ce petit livre. Bien affectueusement, Jacques Maritain".

The Jacob M. Lowy Collection

The Lowy Collection absorbed about one hundred rarer and older items of 19th- and 20th- century literature from the collection of the Winnipeg Jewish Public Library. This acquisition included popular Yiddish literature from late 19th-century Warsaw, mid-19th century religious texts from the Hasidic centres of Slavuta and Zhitomir, and scholarship from Vilna, Leipzig and St. Petersburg. There are books finely printed and illustrated in Weimar Frankfurt contrasting with simple volumes produced during the interwar period in Hungary and Romania. The 19-volume Talmud printed in Munich-Heidelberg in 1948 towers next to the miniature Seder sefirat ha-Omer from Warsaw, 1869. One item of Canadiana, among many selected for National Library collections, is an illustrated Hebrew translation of Ernest Thompson Seton's story, The Fox (Vilna, 1921). Deputy Prime Minister Herb Gray visited the Lowy Room on January 15 with National Librarian Roch Carrier to view a selection of these books.

Other acquisitions include two limited-edition facsimiles of medieval manuscripts. The Barcelona Haggadah is a spectacular addition to the more than eighty Haggadah texts already in the Lowy Collection. Manuscript facsimiles of this caliber are called upon in a variety of contexts. In addition to their research value, the detailed illustrations serve as eloquent bridges across linguistic and cultural barriers for a broad spectrum of the public who visit the Lowy Collection. The Parma Psalter is a richly illuminated, northern Italian Hebrew manuscript of Psalms, with commentary by 12th-century Spaniard Abraham ibn Ezra. Transcribed about 120 years after ibn Ezra's death, the Parma text is an important early version of this still central commentary. Both books are outstanding examples of fine, contemporary book production, and each is accompanied by a volume of scholarly essays.

Promote National Library Expertise, Collections and Services

Canadian Initiative on Digital Libraries (CIDL)

The National Library provides the Secretariat for CIDL, which currently has 60 members across the country. An open meeting of CIDL members took place on October 2, 2000, to develop an action plan for CIDL's future activities. CIDL has been active in organizing training sessions on metadata and hosted, in collaboration with the National Library and the Canadian Association of Research Libraries, a national consultation on Electronic Theses and Dissertations on December 8. CIDL has coordinated the discussion of collaborative digital projects that will be eligible for funding from the Department of Canadian Heritage under the Partnership Program of its Canadian Cultural Digital Content Strategy. Additional information on CIDL is available at the Initiative's Website:

http://epe.lac-bac.gc.ca/100/206/301/lac-bac/cidl-ef/index.html

Library Statistics

The National Core Library Statistics Program has collected core data for 1994, 1995 and 1996 for all types of libraries except those situated in elementary and secondary schools. A fourth survey has been initiated for the 1999 year. Data has been collected from the National Library of Canada's library association partners who collect statistical information, as well as from the provincial and territorial agencies responsible for public libraries, and a direct survey conducted in special and college libraries. The data was compiled into a database by the end of March 2001, and the National Library expects that an analysis of the data for all years will be prepared by the summer of 2001. The Library is also investigating possible scenarios for integrating school libraries into the Program. In early 2001, the National Library commissioned same data mining from existing Statistics Canada surveys. The Library intends to share these results with the library community and is anxious to make the case for research that identifies the performance and impact of libraries on various sectors of Canadian society. Partnerships and strategic questions to address gaps will be necessary.

Conversations on how best to coordinate the purchase and application of statistical software have also been initiated.

Library Book Rate

The National Library held a meeting with staff of the Publications Assistance Program, in the Cultural Industries Policy sector of the Department of Canadian Heritage, to discuss the library book rate program. The Library is pursuing the feasibility of developing a 'one-way' library rate  -  which would be used to return materials when the lending library forgets to include a library rate label, or if the material has been borrowed directly by the patron but is being returned by the library  -  and the inclusion of non-book materials in the program.

Exhibitions

A Character So Entirely Their Own: this celebration of the centenary of the Australian Federation was mounted jointly by the National Library and the Australian High Commission. The exhibition, tracing some of Australia's early history, displayed rare books and prints from NLC's Rare Book Collection and illustrated the connections between the two countries.

In the Battle Silences, curated by Kevin Joynt, presented the writings of 11 decorated Canadian soldiers.

World Poetry Day

On Wednesday, March 21, the National Library hosted an event to mark World Poetry Day which involved the cooperation of 26 countries from the Americas, each of whom had selected a poem to be read. The Department of Canadian Heritage and UNESCO were also involved in planning this event, which drew 400 people for the readings and a reception.

Canadian Children's Literature

On December 7, 2000, the National Library hosted the presentation by IBBY-Canada, the national section of the International Board on Books for Young People, in presenting the Elizabeth Mrazik-Cleaver Award for the best illustrated children's picture book of 1999 to author Michèle Lemieux. The award is presented annually in recognition of outstanding artistic talent in a Canadian picture book published in English or French.

The National Library of Canada, in collaboration with IBBY-Canada, will celebrated International Children's Book Day on April 2 through an exhibition of the books on the IBBY 2000 Honour List, along with a retrospective of the Canadian titles that were on the IBBY Honour List between 1980 and 2000. The Honour List is a biennial selection of outstanding books for young people from IBBY member countries. This is the first travelling exhibition of its kind, and includes 188 books from 44 countries in 37 different languages. The exhibition was presented for the first time in Cartagena, Colombia, in September 2000 and will travel through Canada before continuing on to the United States and Europe. The retrospective exhibition presented 58 Canadian children's books that have been included on the Honour List over the past 20 years.

Literary Manuscripts Collection

A Web site focusing on the life of Susanna Moodie and Catharine Parr Traill exhibits items from the National Library's Literary Manuscripts Collection. This joint project of the Library and National Archives of Canada is located at:

www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/moodie-traill/index-e.html

At the Library, the collection was exhibited in a display on the theme of writers and travel and in commemorative displays for Hugh Hood and Louis Dudek. The Literary Manuscripts Collection also lent material from the Daphne Marlatt fonds to PhotoGraphic Encounters, an exhibition at the Kamloops Art Gallery.

Lowy Collection: Outreach

Cheryl Jaffee, Curator of the Jacob M. Lowy Collection, acted as a consultant to the Board of the Winnipeg Jewish Public Library, which closed its doors, and its 20 000-title collection, to the public in November 2000. A successful effort was made to keep the most important aspects of the collection in Winnipeg and elsewhere in Canada. Approximately 6 000 Yiddish titles were selected and transferred to Winnipeg's Asper Jewish Community Campus. Hundreds of other titles were selected and integrated into the collections of the University of Manitoba, transferred to local synagogues, or given to Winnipeg educators. Duplicate Yiddish materials were picked up by the National Yiddish Book Centre in Amherst, MA. Over a hundred boxes were shipped to the Jewish Public Library in Montreal and to the National Library of Canada.

The Hon. Senator Jerry Grafstein, Q.C., the Council of the Jacob M. Lowy Collection and the National Library hosted Rabbi Gunther Plaut, one of Canada's best-known rabbis and authors on November 1, 2000. In his lecture "Lights and Shadows of a Long Life," Rabbi Plaut shared reminiscences of his youth, family and studies in his native Germany, and also introduced his latest book, The Price and Privilege of Growing Old (New York, 2000). A display of over a dozen of Rabbi Plaut's books highlighted the versatility of the man as biblical commentator, historian and novelist.

What Shall the Children Learn? 1919-1945, an exhibit on display at NLC from March 15 to May 30, 2001, presented 14 Hebrew and Yiddish children's primers and readers, covering an array of subjects ranging from poetry to geometry, natural sciences, art, history, language and grammar. Selected almost entirely from the children's literature section of the Winnipeg Jewish Public Library, these books offer a glimpse of what European Jews and Canadian Jewish immigrants owned, read and taught to their children. The books were printed in places as diverse as Beltsi (Moldavian A.S.S.R.), Boston, Kiev, Frankfurt, Warsaw and Tel Aviv.

The Council completed its fifth year of supportive work on behalf of the Lowy Collection. The story of the Council's beginnings and subsequent joint ventures with the Collection and its curator - from the 1996 exhibition on Jerusalem to the rabbis' panel The Written Word in February 2000 - is printed in A Note Among Friends, the newsletter of the Friends of the National Library, Summer 2000. The Council continues to meet monthly, planning cultural and fundraising events.

The National Library and the Lowy Collection got a popular boost with a listing in Laura Byrne Paquet's delightful guidebook, Secret Ottawa: The Unique Guidebook to Ottawa's Hidden Sites, Sounds, & Tastes. (Toronto: ECW Press, c2000.)

Scholarly publication by a member of the staff

Elaine Hoag's "Caxtons of the North: Mid-Nineteenth Century Arctic Shipboard Printing" has been accepted for publication in Book History v. 4 (2001), the SHARP annual publication. The text is based on a presentation given by Elaine in Germany in the summer of 2000.

Council of Federal Libraries

The Council of Federal Libraries has been working on a strategic plan that identifies four priorities: the renewal of the community; the Government On-Line and Digital Library agendas; marketing of expertise, collections and services; and Information Management. In March, the Consortium of the Council purchased 462 e-books from NetLibrary for access by public servants in 37 federal departments and agencies. Two departmental libraries bought e- books in their areas of specialization that are also available to employees in all the consortium members' departments. Julia Goodman from Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada has come on secondment to the National Library to replace Katherine Miller-Gatenby as Library Development Officer, while Katherine is working on NLC's Government On-Line task force.

Aboriginal Library Science Trainee Program

The National Librarian has renewed the Aboriginal LS Trainee Program. Working with its Aboriginal staff members and graduates of the program, the National Library has updated the program documentation and distributed it to universities, Native Friendship Centres, the Public Service Commission, and lists of graduates. Applications for the next competition are due by May 15, 2001.

RCAA2

The National Library staff contributed to the review of the new edition of the RCAA2, Révision 1998, which was published by ASTED in early 2001. National Library staff expertise, as well as personnel from la Bibliothèque nationale du Québec and ASTED, collaborated in this new edition of a standard working tool for Canadian libraries.