Directions for Change

Section 1:
What will Library and Archives Canada be?

1.5 A lead institution in government information management

The effective and efficient management of government of Canada information is in the interest of all Canadians-as citizens, taxpayers, and beneficiaries of government programs and services. Information and knowledge management will play a key role in enabling the success of the government of Canada and Canadian society.

LAC has specific legislated roles with respect to government information management (IM). One is to facilitate the government's effective management of the range and massive volume of information that it both generates and acquires. In addition, LAC is to be the permanent repository of government publications and of ministerial and government records that are of historical or archival value. And finally, LAC is mandated to provide coordination and leadership to the network of federal libraries, helping to assure that the information resources and IM expertise required by government to function effectively are available to it.

Strategic approaches to our mandate with government information

To be successful in these roles, LAC must work in close partnership with the Treasury Board Secretariat and Public Works and Government Services which have complementary mandates for IM in the government of Canada and adopt a strategic approach to government information management, providing assistance throughout all stages of the information life cycle. This, in turn, advances Government of Canada objectives such as service to citizens, informed decision-making, accountability and cost-efficiency, and transparency.

LAC is expected to provide IM leadership and guidance to government on life cycle stages including planning; creation, collection, and capture; organization; access, use and dissemination; maintenance, protection and preservation; disposition; and evaluation. We must therefore both nurture and share our expertise in areas such as metadata, records management, content management, long-term access and preservation, and information access technologies.

Increased capacity to provide guidance in digital information management

Information management challenges are compounded by the transition to a digital environment. LAC will focus on providing strategic leadership and solutions in all aspects of the management of digital information through policy and research capacity, technical expertise, identifying and adopting best practices, and providing new IM tools.

Effective information management facilitates knowledge management, which pertains to the drawing of meaning from information and assuring that such understanding is shared with others. Library, archival and records management disciplines have traditionally considered themselves custodians of information and codified knowledge, but less so as facilitators or transfer agents of knowledge. LAC will work with federal librarians, records managers and others in the IM community to explore ways that information professionals might contribute to knowledge gain within government that in turn will further Canada's development as a knowledge society.

While the primary focus of our IM role is federal government information, the expertise, standards, systems and tools, processes, and partnerships that we put in place could also assist other levels of government to better manage their information assets. Further, building greater IM capacity will strengthen LAC's ability to manage its own huge information resources, and allow LAC to assist other libraries and archives across the country, as well as other professionals in this burgeoning field, to benefit from emerging best practices in knowledge and information management.

Previous | Table of Contents