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SERVICE AND SUPPORT ISSUES
The effectiveness of the depository service program
depends on the quality of communication between the government
and the library community, the program and the depositories, as
well as the provision of training, manuals, awareness materials,
realistic collection and retention guidelines based on on-going
consultation with the community.
Library Advisory Committee
Since 1981, with the creation of the Library Advisory
Committee (LAC), co-operation between the partners in this
venture has increased. The LAC is a valuable tool for communicating
the real needs of the information community to government and for
conveying the government's viewpoint to depositories. Through the LAC,
all players have a cost-effective vehicle in place to find creative approaches
to the challenging task of ensuring access to government information. The
committee could play an even greater role in the on-going definition, evaluation
and review of the DSP. The role of the LAC would be enhanced if there were
broader regional representation on the committee.
Recommendations
- (25) The role of the Library Advisory Committee should be expanded to include participation in evaluating depository library performance, periodic review of retention guidelines and criteria for depositories.
- (26) Regional round tables should be established to support small and medium-sized depositories in each region. Full depository libraries must play a leadership role in these round tables.
Training and support
Until recently, beyond providing depositories with
an information officer, the CGPC has made little assistance
available to depositories in terms of training, written manuals
and communication vehicles. Recent efforts at training sessions
and the introduction of a newsletter are a good start to improve support.
Given the complexity of this type of material, the complicated procedures
and the scarce resources in many small libraries, the CGPC must consider
its responsibility to ensure frequent training sessions in all regions and to
provide all depositories with a detailed up-to-date manual. There is also a
need to develop regional support systems among depositories.
Recommendation
- (27) The CGPC should ensure that partner
libraries are provided with training, manuals and on-going
communications about policy changes, new products, in addition
to maintaining the position of depository information officer.
Awareness
Since the DSP facilitates access to information
of value to the economic, social or cultural welfare of Canadians,
an essential element for the success of the program is an awareness
by the public that this information is available for use through depositories.
Little effort has been made to publicize the availability of this information program.
It is crucial that CGPC and libraries work together to achieve this public
awareness. There is a parallel need for on-going awareness activities for
author departments.
Recommendation
- (28) The DSP should coordinate, with partner libraries, on-going and effective awareness activities to maximize public use of the resources.
Core collections
Many selective depository libraries do not select even
the most basic documents available to them. For example, when
the Revised Statutes of Canada 1985 was released, nearly half the
libraries failed to request this vital publication within the allowed time period.
This situation creates a serious loss of information for the communities
served by these libraries. Libraries which are identified as depositories and
have inadequate or non-existent collections of government publications undermine
the credibility of the DSP. A Core collection of federal government documents
geared towards each type of depository would greatly increase access in many
instances. This raises the question of whether Core collections should be
recommended or required. In addition, there is question of who should identify
Core items - the CGPC or depositories.
Recommendation
- (29) Selective depositories must provide a minimum level of service in order to maintain their status. Core collections as established by the DSP should form the minimum collection required. Core collections should be developed by the CGPC in consultation with the LAC and knowledgeable members of the library community.
Retention guidelines
A common requirement of depository libraries has
been that libraries retain all the publications made available to
them through the depository program. Many libraries have extensive
collections dating back to the last century and choose to maintain these
collections in excellent condition. However, small and medium-sized
libraries and those serving clients who are not engaged in historical
research, encounter grave problems in housing thousands of old, little-used
documents. Most libraries have retention and weeding policies for non-depository
documents that emphasize keeping an up-to-date and useful current
collection and which are not consistent with the depository retention policies.
The space and staff constraints faced by libraries must be balanced with the
need to provide access in each region to all depository documents regardless
of the date of receipt.
Recommendations
- (30) All depositories should be subjected to
reasonable and appropriate retention and weeding guidelines and,
with the exception of Core items and ephemeral publications,
selectives should be permitted to discard most documents after
five years, following agreed on procedures.
- (31) Full depositories in each region should cooperate to pool resources to ensure that all documents continue to be available for research purposes in each region..
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