|
ACCESS ISSUES
The DSP is a program that has
traditionally ensured access both at the public and at the government level.
This dual role has been inadequately recognized and under-supported.
Most of the concerns expressed in the course of the review focus on who
should be a depository and what kinds of information should depositories
receive. In this context, the DSP needs to examine how to determine the best
delivery vehicle, to capture a larger share of free departmental publications,
how to improve bibliographic access to federal government publications, how
to make publications available to all Canadians regardless of region, how to
address the requirements of print-handicapped people and of both official
language groups, and how to ensure that information in electronic format does
not become inaccessible.
Fugitive publications
The proliferation of desk-top publishing combined with tight
publications budgets and a lack of understanding of the value of the
depository system exacerbates the long-standing problem of departmental
publications escaping the program. While there is no difficulty in obtaining
publications which are priced and available through the CGPC, about fifty
per-cent of other publications which are appropriate for the program are
not distributed through it. Many of these unpriced publications are free
because the department wants to make its message widely available.
However, because of low budgets, lack of co-operation, or lack of awareness
of the value or existence of the DSP, these same publications escape the very
mechanism which will ensure their cost-effective availability and accessibility to
the public. In addition, a number of these publications are seen to be of limited
interest by the author department. Tracking down such publications represents
a substantial drain on the resources of many libraries. In fact, some libraries
report that a full person-year is devoted to finding publications which escape
the program. This situation also represents a drain on the taxpayer who funded
the publication in the first place and subsequently has little chance of locating it.
Ironically, the DSP, a program originally developed to reduce departmental
waste, still faces resistance to a rational system to distribute information.
.Privatization
Further losses of information occur because of the transfer to
the private sector of publications which had been publicly available through
the program. The issue here is not privatization but rather the loss of information
distributed to the public through the DSP. Some of the titles which have been
privatized recently are North (Indian and Northern Affairs) and
Inukitut (Indian and Northern Affairs).
Recommendations:
- (7) CGPC should work closely with the National Library in its
role of monitoring Management of Government Information Holdings to
ensure publishing departments and agencies are providing their
publications to the DSP regardless of their format.
- (8) Resources should be made available to ensure the procurement
of suitable departmental publications which are not produced in sufficient quantities.
- (9) The DSP should host an annual conference for author departments,
librarians and other key players in order to ensure a cooperative and informed
approach to access issues.
- (10) DSP should consider contractual mechanisms, such as negotiated
discounts for depositories, in order to offset the loss of information to the public
resulting from privatization. Tax credits or other creative incentives should be
examined to encourage the private sector to provide depository access to
privatized government information.
Bibliographic access
If a document has not been identified,
it cannot be located and, as far as the information-seeker is concerned,
it may as well not exist. The library community is concerned about the
level of bibliographic access in the DSP, the timeliness of the Quarterly
Catalogues, and the need for better subject access as well as the need
for timely on-line access to a database of federal government publications.
The recent push for Cataloguing-in-publication (CIP) for federal
government documents has proved very useful to depository libraries.
Librarians feel that CIP should be required for all federal government
monographs because it allows them to make these documents available
more quickly and cost-effectively.
Recommendations
- (11) CIP data is important in ensuring public access to government information. The DSP should have the mandate, authority and funding to exercise a central coordinating role in the provision of CIP for federal government documents.
- (12) CIP should be included in all federal titles.
- (13) The Weekly Checklist of Canadian Government Publications should be made available on-line in order to increase subject access to documents, permit searching, speed delivery time and allow electronic ordering of publications. Backfiles should be made available on CD-ROM. Print versions of the DSP tools must still be made available.
- (14) All federal titles should be included in BiblioDisc with information on availability.
Regional access
Government information must continue to be accessible in
every region in the country and in small communities throughout. A fair
and equitably structured program requires the mechanisms to permit this.
While major urban areas are well-served by full and selective libraries, those
Canadians who live in small communities often have little or no access to federal
government publications. To be truly effective, the DSP structure must minimize
this problem.
Recommendations
- (15) A network of resource libraries should be developed to ensure coverage outside of major urban areas. Additional copies of documents should be provided to the resource libraries in order to serve communities which are too small to qualify for depository library service.
- (16) The geographical distribution of full and selective depositories should be examined by the DSP to ensure regions are equitably served. Where inequities exist, adjustments should be made to ensure coverage.
Access to information in electronic formats
New technologies have changed the way information is gathered,
manipulated, stored and distributed. The migration of many print publications
to new formats, such as diskettes, CD-ROM, magnetic tape and on-line databases,
creates access problems because the current structure is not designed to
accommodate and distribute such formats. As depository libraries range from the
technologically advanced to the disadvantaged, they cannot all be treated in the
same manner. In addition, electronic formats can be expensive and have specific
hardware and expertise requirements. Nonetheless, they are an important and
growing vehicle for government information and must have a place within the DSP.
Without a considered, viable and practical approach to the role of such products
in the depository, the gulf between the information rich and the information poor will
continue to widen. This will be especially important as government moves toward
user charges for individual requests.
Recommendations
- (17) Depository libraries must have access to non-print materials available in tangible formats such as magnetic tapes, CD-ROM, diskettes.
- (18) The DSP structure should be modified to incorporate some depositories which will be responsible for providing the hardware, software and expertise necessary to ensure public access to sophisticated data products.
- (19) The DSP and producers of government information should examine the implications, including those of a financial nature, of providing public access to on-line data bases.
.Access in both official languages
As a federally funded program, governed by the
Official Languages Act, the DSP has an obligation to ensure
that Canadians can find assistance in locating depository materials
in both official languages. However, as the majority of depository
libraries fall under provincial jurisdiction, the libraries themselves are
not subject to the Official Languages Act. They may have neither the
resources nor the ability to provide bilingual service. About 74% of
federal government publications are bilingual. For the remainder of
the publications, there is the potential for a problem with connecting
the would-be user with the required information in the language of choice.
Recommendations
- (20) In keeping with the spirit of the Act, depository libraries should be required to provide users with information about publications in both official languages. In turn, the DSP must provide libraries with information brochures listing the sources of these documents in each region.
- (21) Depositories should be encouraged to provide services in both official languages, whenever possible.
Access for print-handicapped people
It is estimated that 353,000 Canadians cannot read because
of impaired vision or other physical disabilities. We are increasingly aware
that links must be found with the depository system to ensure that print-handicapped
people have access to required government information. Criteria must be put in
place to assist in the identification of publications or types of publications which are
suitable for publishing in alternative formats. Many depositories have been actively
serving print-handicapped users for years; others have no facilities at all for them.
Recent tests of alternative formats listed on the Weekly Checklist indicate that about
10% of depositories have been selecting these formats. The responsibilities of the
Depository Program in serving this community needs to be established.
.Recommendations:
- (22) The CGPC should develop in consultation with other stakeholders criteria to assist in the identification of publications or types of publications which are suitable for publishing in alternative formats.
- (23) The DSP should ensure that print-handicapped people have access to relevant government publications through the establishment of designated depositories to receive, copy and distribute these publications. These depositories would be either libraries which take an active role in providing service to the print-handicapped or non-library organizations which are equipped to provide the service.
Table of Contents
Next Section
|
