BACKGROUND

Program Description

The Depository Services Program (DSP) is managed by the Canadian Government Publishing Centre (CGPC) and operates in partnership with an approved network of depository libraries, Parliamentarians and agencies. The DSP exists to identify, distribute and provide public access to Parliamentary, departmental and Statistics Canada publications. Both priced and non-priced publications are made available through the DSP at no charge to participating depositories. In addition, the DSP acts as a controlled, cost-effective and efficient vehicle to inform government organizations. The federal government bears the cost of identifying, providing and distributing the documents and the libraries are responsible for all subsequent costs of housing and making the information available to the public. The current mandate of the program is set out in Chapter 335 of the Treasury Board's Administrative Policy Manual.

The DSP was developed to ensure that Canadians had access to information gathered with public funds and that government organizations had efficient access to information, while at the same time reducing wasteful distribution of publications by departments. The DSP is a cost-effective form of access for several reasons. Strict distribution controls ensure that only approved depositories receive documents free of charge and then only those documents which meet the needs of their users. As well, the identification and documentation process within the program allows documents to be located and accessed. The additional services which depository libraries provide result in users having access to government information at the least possible cost to the taxpayer.

In Canada, there are about 700 public, college and university depository libraries. At the present time, in addition to these depository libraries, the DSP includes all Parliamentarians, libraries of provincial legislatures, selected Canadian embassy libraries, a number of foreign universities supporting Canadian studies programs, headquarters of major political parties in Canada, the central libraries of 50 federal departments, some media libraries and the Governor-General. In total there are 1371 depositories. (See Figure 1.)

Figure 1
BREAKDOWN OF DEPOSITORIES
SELECTIVES IN CANADA
Governor General	1
Members of Parliament	292
Senators	94
Central Libraries of the Federal Government Departments	50
Legislative Libraries	2
Resource Libraries	23
Public Libraries	413
Educational Institutions (Universities & Community Colleges)	221
Press	73
Total Selective	1,169
SELECTIVE FOREIGN
TOTAL - All Categories	150
TOTAL SELECTIVE - CANADA & FOREIGN	1,319
FULL IN CANADA
Universities	29
Public Libraries	7
Legislative & Territorial Government Libraries	9
Resource Library	1
National Library of Canada and the Library of Parliament	2
Total	48
FULL FOREIGN
TOTAL - All Categories	4
TOTAL FULL - CANADA & FOREIGN	52
TOTAL DEPOSITORIES	1,371

History

The current Depository Services Program is an amalgam of tradition, necessity and practicality. It evolved from efforts to streamline and rationalize the distribution of government documents and from official exchange agreements in support of Parliament's information needs. In 1927, an Order-in-council established the basic pattern of full and selective depositories that is characteristic of the program today. Even then, a major emphasis was on cost-effective and controlled distribution to the public and government itself. The last major review of the DSP was in 1977 when all depositories were examined and the number of depositories was reduced. Those depositories remaining were required to sign a general agreement with the CGPC. The proposed reduction in the program created a political storm among those served by it. The structure that emerged has remained in place since.

Criteria for depositories

Full depository libraries are selected by a committee of representatives of the CGPC and the National Library of Canada. The status is granted as either English, French, or bilingual, depending on the clientele of the library in question.

Selective depository status is granted to Canadian libraries which are open to the public at least twenty hours a week and have at least one full time employee. Public libraries must serve a population of 2,000 in the town or city. Universities must have an academic population of 1,500, including teaching staff and full and part-time students, while colleges and Cegeps must have an academic population of 1,000. Applications for depository status are received at the Canadian Government Publishing Centre and are verified against these criteria before a library is accepted or rejected.

Foreign depositories and embassy libraries may be recommended by the National Library of Canada, External Affairs, the Library of Parliament and CGPC. The central library of federal government departments listed in Schedules I and II of the FAA are also eligible for depository status. Media libraries have been traditionally included in the DSP, as well, although there are no formal criteria for this category of depository.

Program delivery

The key tool in delivering the program is the Weekly Checklist of Canadian Government Publications and its cumulations. The Checklist describes all Parliamentary and Statistics Canada publications as well as priced and non-priced departmental publications which are available to depositories. The Checklist also functions as a selection and a distribution mechanism. The Special List is a monthly supplement listing materials which are not included in the depository program. These may be reprints, publications of Crown corporations and other agencies, some scientific and technical publications which are printed in limited runs as well as unusual or costly titles. The Quarterly Catalogue of Government of Canada Publications and its annual index provide several access points to identify specific documents or topics.

Current structure

At present, fifty full depository libraries automatically receive all documents listed on the Weekly Checklist. In addition, because of their special information mandates, the National Library and the Library of Parliament receive multiple copies of each publication.

Depository libraries in post-secondary educational institutions range from large university libraries with major research collections supporting post-graduate research to small community college libraries. There are no elementary or high school libraries with depository status. Although some large public libraries serving urban populations of more than 200,000 are full depositories, the majority of public library depositories are medium or small libraries. In many small communities the depository collection is the only source of federal information. The vast majority of these depository libraries are selective and choose publications that meet the needs of their clients.

In order to function, the DSP requires the co-operation of many different organizations. Major players in the depository program are the CGPC, the National Library, Library of Parliament, Statistics Canada, External Affairs, the House of Commons, Treasury Board, other federal government departments and the Library Advisory Committee (LAC) of the CGPC. The LAC consists of representatives of L'Association pour l'avancement des sciences et des techniques de la documentation, the Canadian Library Association, the Canadian Association of Research Libraries, and key players.

Purpose of the Depository Review

In January 1987, the Treasury Board (TB) approved a request for Supplementary Estimates of $4,300,000 for the DSP. TB directed the Department of Supply and Services (SSC) in consultation with Statistics Canada (STC) to prepare a plan to ensure that the program would be managed in future years within its main resource levels. In December 1987, a plan submitted by SSC was approved on the understanding that SSC would investigate possible economy measures such as the elimination of some depositories and reducing the number of publications sent to each depository.

This request was seen by the CGPC as an opportunity to examine the program in detail. Economic, social and technological changes had created needs, problems and possibilities that were not in evidence during the last major restructuring of the DSP.

Consultation and methodology

In order to ensure that the needs and realities of libraries were given due consideration in the course of the review, the LAC was involved from very early stages. The CGPC was conscious of the important role played by the library community in making accessible federal government publications. The Task Group on Depository Program Review, consisting of LAC members and CGPC staff, spent more than a year gathering, compiling and analyzing opinions and information about the DSP. In the course of this, briefs were requested from all national library associations in Canada, as well as from provincial and regional library associations. In addition, a detailed survey about the program was sent to all depository libraries. Of the 930 questionnaires, 378 responses were received. The survey not only identified major strengths and weaknesses but also provided detailed feedback on important issues. The information obtained as a result of the survey was tabulated using dBASE III and used by the Task Group as the basis for analysis of the current program and its possible future directions. A summary tabulation of the results is contained in Appendix A.

As well, round tables with government documents librarians were held in four different regions. At these sessions, participants reacted to current issues and outlined their own key needs and constraints. The Task Group considered feedback from regional round table sessions as well.

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