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Report to Depository Services Program Canadian Government Publishing Public Works and Government Services Canada
Electronic Access to Canadian Federal Government Information: How Prepared are the Depository Libraries?
as required by Contract No. 66245-6-1025/01-CP 7 August 1996
Prepared by Elizabeth Dolan and Liwen Vaughan Faculty of Communications and Open Learning University of Western Ontario
August 1997 Canada's Depository Services Program (DSP) has been operating for seventy years providing a vital link between Canadian citizens and their federal government through the free distribution of official publications to full and selective depository libraries. The recent rapid expansion of electronic publication and dissemination of federal government information in Canada has led the DSP to fund the first extensive examination of the state of readiness of depository libraries to adopt the new technologies.
In the fall of 1996 researchers at the Graduate School of Library and Information Science, University of Western Ontario undertook a project to investigate the technological capabilities and related services required by depository libraries to provide permanent public access to Canadian federal government information in electronic form. A self-administered questionnaire was sent to all full and selective depositories in Canada and abroad in order to collect both quantitative and qualitative data. Results are based on the analysis of data from 450 completed questionnaires (representing a 50% return rate). The return rate for Canadian depository libraries is approximately 57%.
The major conclusion of the study are summarized as follows:
Importance of government publications: Canadian federal publications fill a prominent place in collections of official documents maintained by the depositories and government publications themselves are considered to be "very important" or "essential" by a majority of libraries though compared to public libraries a significantly larger percentage of academic libraries rated them as "essential."
Arrangement of collections: The majority of depositories provide a mixed arrangement, some materials are shelved with the main collection, some are housed in separate areas; over the past ten years there has been a move by 16.1% of libraries to integrate their documents with the main collections.
Facilities for electronic access: A large majority of depositories are equipped with online catalogues and of these just over half have dial in access. Throughout the depositories there is a strikingly uneven distribution of personal computers for public use. Academic libraries have 2 public service PCs per 1000 people served while public libraries have only .15 for every 1000 people they are mandated to serve. These figures do not indicate how many PCs are needed per 1000 people served but it is reasonable to predict that public libraries will not be able to satisfy increased demand for electronic access to government information. Results also show that academic libraries operate a higher percentage of public access PCs with random access memory in excess of eight megabytes, an indicator of the type of software they are capable of running. There is wide variability in the number of public service CD-ROM drives available, and the most common type of public service printer is the dot matrix, remarkable for its slow speed. Windows 3.1 and Windows95 operating systems are available in the majority of public service PCs but the 20% of depositories equipped with MS-DOS only will have difficulty accessing information on the World Wide Web via a graphical interface. A large majority of libraries are networked and of those that are not, almost 60% have plans to install a network. Again, a large majority (89%) have access to the Internet and most of the rest have plans for a connection. Public libraries generally have lower bandwidth connections to the Internet. The dominant Web browser is Netscape Navigator.
Fees for service: In most cases (89%) depositories do not charge their patrons for Internet access, though 65% impose fees for printing, a fact that will no doubt result in higher Internet costs for patrons.
Current use and staff preparedness: Electronic formats are used much less frequently compared with print. Many respondents provided observations - a recurrent theme is the lack of computer equipment and staff time to assist users, along with absence of public awareness, the lack of staff time to promote the use of electronic sources, and limited collections in these areas. Most frequently, patrons who use electronic sources ask for help with software. Depositories appear to be short of trained personnel needed to assist with electronic access. Many respondents complain about the absence of funding, the dearth of training programs, and the lack of time available for increasing expertise.
Physical facilities and financial support: Most respondents rated the adequacy of physical facilities as satisfactory or better although analysis shows that public libraries were more likely to rate facilities as being poor or worse. The same is true for adequacy of financial support; most respondents rated their funding as "satisfactory" or better but public libraries were more likely to rate their funding "poor" or "very poor."
Perceived change in use: Respondents were evenly divided in speculating whether or not the shift to electronic government information would lead to increased use, decreased use, or unchanged use of their resources.
In their written comments respondents acknowledged the potential of the Internet for timely access but expressed reservations in the following areas: inadequate bibliographic control and archiving; the threat of inequitable access if fees for service are imposed; the transfer of publishing costs from the government to libraries if they are expected to download and print government information available only on the Internet; and the demands of staff training and costs of maintaining and replacing equipment.
TABLE OF CONTENTS Executive Summary TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. Introduction 2. Methodology 4.1 Library Profile 4.1.1 Geographical Distribution and Type of Depository Library 4.2 Facilities for Electronic Access 4.2.1 Hardware Facilities 4.2.2 Software Facilities 4.2.3 Network Facilities 4.3 Support and Preparedness for Electronic Access 4.3.1 Current Use 4.3.2 Types of help sought 4.3.3 Staff Preparedness 4.3.4 Goals and Policies for Electronic Access 4.3.5 Perceived Change in Use 5. Conclusions 6. References Report to Depository Services Program - Canadian Government Publishing Public Works and Government Services Canada
Electronic Access to Canadian Federal Government Information: How Prepared are the Depository Libraries?
For seventy years the Depository Services Program (DSP) has provided a vital link between Canadian citizens and their federal government. The Program was formally inaugurated by an Order-in-council in 1927 although the practice of making government pu blications freely available to the public through members of Parliament and the Queen's Printer was established long before Confederation in 1867. The DSP is currently administered by Canadian Government Publishing - Public Works and Government Services Canada (PWGSC) and distributes federal official publications free of charge to 949 public, academic, and government libraries in Canada and abroad where they are housed, organized, and used to provide reference service for the public, other governments, b usinesses, and universities.
All Canadian federal government departments and agencies subject to the Treasury Board Communications Policy are responsible for participating in the Program; they provide copies of their publications to the DSP for distribution. The Program absorbs a ll costs of operation and manages the distribution of priced publications to government depositories. Participating libraries are responsible for all subsequent costs of housing and making the information available to the public.
Full depository libraries, of which there are 48 in Canada and four abroad, automatically receive shipments of all publications listed in the Weekly Checklist of Canadian government publications. Selective depositories (754 Canadian, 143 forei gn) use the Weekly Checklist to choose items they wish to order for their collections. The Weekly Checklist is produced in print and electronic versions.
Recently there has been a rapid expansion of electronic publication and dissemination of federal government information in Canada; many federal departments and agencies are planning and developing initiatives in converting their print publications to e lectronic formats. And while these developments present significant opportunities for improving public access to official documents, libraries are facing major challenges in adopting the new technologies, developing new methods of handling information pr oducts in electronic form, and meeting the associated costs.
The increasing emphasis on the widening range of dissemination options is readily evident: · The Secretary of Treasury Board has stated that the federal government "…want[s] to use electronic commerce as our preferred way of doing business with other governments, the private sector, and Canadians by 1998." (Harder) · The National Library of Canada has completed its electronic publications pilot project in response to the explosion in electronic publishing and networked information and is "continuing to build [its] collection of electronic publications and to devis e stronger systems support for that collection." (National Library News, p.4) · Representatives of 20 Canadian libraries have formed the Canadian Initiative on Digital Libraries (CIDL) to work together to improve access to digital resources. The alliance was proposed at an invitational consultation meeting held at the National Libra ry of Canada in March 1997. (National Library of Canada) · The prospects of bringing government information into the mainstream of library service are affected by ". . . the formats of government information. . . . [T]here is an inherent obligation upon libraries to provide modes of access to all fairly commo n formats some of which cannot be simply dealt with by the human eye and the human intellect. At this point those non-standard forms would seem to be microforms, cartographic materials, CD-ROMs, computer tapes and Internet-delivered information." (MacDonald) [emphasis added]
Recent efforts have examined various policy issues concerning the federal government and Canada’s Electronic Information Industry (Morton, 1995), the prospects for the Canadian depository system and electronic publishing (Monty, 1996) and the possibili ty of remodelling the DSP (Partners, 1991). And of course there have been intense interest and initiatives in the United States where an anticipated date of 1998 has been set for the implementation of an "an electronic depository library program.& quot; The U.S. Government Printing Office has completed a study to identify measures for a successful transition to an electronic Federal Depository Library Program. (USGPO 1996). Two special issues of the Journal of Government Information have been devoted to the challenges facing depository libraries in their efforts to ensure that the move from print to electronic resources will ensure that the benefits of electronic resources will be enjoyed without the loss of traditional services.
Proposed shifts to electronic forms of government information are based on the assumption that many benefits will accrue, including more timely and broader availability of official information and no doubt an increase in cost-effectiveness. Libraries are essential sources and providers of official publications and if they are not fully equipped and prepared for the change a negative rather than positive impact on access to government information may be the result. Systematic investigations into the c onditions that will promote effective integration of electronic materials into library collections need to be undertaken so that the expected demands of users for digital library services may be met. The full and selective depository libraries that const itute the network of the Depository Services Program in Canada make an ideal subject for such an inquiry.
In the fall of 1996 researchers at the Graduate School of Library and Information Science, University of Western Ontario undertook a project funded by the Depository Services Program to investigate the technological capabilities and related services required by full and selective depository libraries in Canada and abroad to provide permanent public access to Canadian federal government information in electronic form. This is the first extensive examination of the state of readiness of Canadian depos itory libraries during a time of significant challenge for both libraries and the DSP itself. 2. Methodology The methodology of the project reported on here is a study of all full and selective Canadian federal depository libraries in Canada and abroad. The research instrument is a self-administered questionnaire which was developed in various pha ses over several months in the fall of 1996. The initial version was revised after having been tested in four libraries: two public, one college, and one university. Consultations followed with members of the Depository Services Program and the Statisti cs Canada Library resulting in further improvements. The instrument was sent to Statistics Canada to be vetted by an expert in questionnaire design, revised again, and translated into French. The outcome of all these efforts is a comprehensive quest ionnaire in four parts extending to fifty questions and available in English or French (Attachment C); it covers a library profile, facilities for electronic access to government information, support and preparedness for electronic access, and user nee ds and services. Packages including the questionnaire, covering letters from the researchers and from the DSP (Attachments A and B), and postage-paid return envelopes were mailed to all depositories in December 1996. Both quantitative and qualitative d ata were collected. The former were collected to provide factual information about the physical and human resources of the depository libraries while the latter were sought to help understand and interpret the factual data. The main research questions u nder investigation are as follows:
· Do depository libraries have the necessary technological capabilities to provide effective access to official information products in electronic form? · What is the actual state and nature of their physical resources? · Are the libraries adequately equipped with computers? · Are they networked? · Do they have sufficient (and adequately trained) staff to meet perceived increases in demands for government information in electronic form? · Have the depositories policies in place for the management of electronic services? · Are plans for future services being developed? · What are the most pressing difficulties facing depository libraries in their efforts to serve as local providers of government information products in electronic form? · What measures need to be taken to overcome difficulties and solve problems? · And what can the DSP do to assist in all this?
Data were entered into an electronic file (Microsoft Excel, Version 5.0) and analysis undertaken using statistical software SPSS for Windows, Version 6.1.3. Data from 450 completed questionnaires (representing a 50% return rate) were analyzed. The return rate for Canadian depository libraries is approximately 57%. 3. Limitations of the Study Completed questionnaires were slow to be returned , no doubt because of the detailed nature of the questions and the necessity of distributing the instrument so close to the holiday season. Discrepancies between mailing label information and current names and addresses may also have been a factor here. To encourage wide participation in the study two follow up messages were sent by the DSP in February and March 1997 to those libraries that had not responded. Questionnaires continued to be received and new data were added to the data file after 19 March 1997. This means that different depository libraries completed questionnaires during different periods, beginning from December 1996 to June 1997, a time span of seven months. Because of rapid development in the computer industry and the consequent frequent changes in library computer resources (as reflected in some written comments) it is foreseeable that those resources might change significantly over the seven month time period. This poses a problem in research methodology: questionnaires returned at the beginning of the period are not comparable to those returned at the end of the time span. To solve this problem data analysis has been carried out on the 450 questionnaires received by 19 March 1997. By August 1, 1997, a total of 532 questionnaires had been received. To ensure that the 450 which were analyzed were representative of all questionnaires received, the distribution of types of libraries (public, academic, etc.) in this 450 was compared to the distribution for all 532 questionnaires. The distributions were found to be identical when rounded to the nearest whole number. Please refer to section 4.1.1 of this report for a discussion of the distribution of types of libraries. |
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