What's New

What's New

Reaching out: a fascinating look into the libraries of Canada and Quebec

Québec – August 6, 2008 – As part of an unprecedented partnership, Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec (BAnQ) and Library and Archives Canada (LAC) are launching a book that illustrates the creativity and exceptional sense of innovation of libraries throughout the country. Titled Reaching out – Innovations in Canadian libraries, this book will be offered to some 4,000 librarians and documentalists from all corners of the world who will be in the City of Québec to attend the 74^th conference of the International federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA) taking place August 10^th to 14^th.

Reaching out – Innovations in Canadian libraries is the result of a call for contributions made in September 2006 to all the country's libraries by Ms Lise Bissonnette, chief executive officer of Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec, and Mr Ian E. Wilson, Librarian and Archivist of Canada. The 40 projects, selected from the 150 entries, come from all kinds of libraries. They highlight how these libraries attract new users, respond to the specific needs of the communities they serve, develop their virtual offer and multiply remote services or set up user-friendly premises to make users want to take advantage of their library. Grouped in a single book, these texts draw a meaningful picture of the role of the library in the citizen life.

This publication is part of the program proposed by LAC and BAnQ, as host institutions of the IFLA, to the conventioneers who will be in the City of Québec next week around the theme Libraries without borders: Navigating towards global understanding. The Reaching out book will certainly provide food for thought to these thousands of colleagues whose mission is to promote access to the documentary heritage and culture.

Reaching out – Innovations in Canadian libraries (128 pages), published with the cooperation of the Presses de l'Université Laval, is for sale for $29.95 at the Boutique de la Grande Bibliothèque (boutique@banq.qc.ca - Montreal area: 514 873-1101, extension 3424 - toll-free from elsewhere in Québec: 1 800 363-9028, extension 3424). The book is also for sale at Library and Archives Canada through the Friends of Library and Archives Canada (georgia.ellis@lac-bac.gc.ca or 613 943-1544) and in bookstores. It is also published in French under the title Rayonner et partager : L'innovation dans les bibliothèques canadiennes.

About the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions
The International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA) is the main organization representing the interests of libraries, information services and their users. Founded in Edinburgh in 1927, this independent, international, non-governmental and not for profit organization is comprised today of over 1,700 institutional members in 155 countries. The IFLA has the objective of promoting the quality of documentary services and to make the general public and the governmental bodies aware of the importance of libraries in society.

About Library and Archives Canada
One of the most recent and innovative national institutions, Library and Archives Canada (LAC) is mandated to preserve the documentary heritage for present and future generations and to facilitate in Canada a joint action of the various sectors interested in the acquisition, preservation and dissemination of knowledge. It is a permanent source of knowledge which is accessible to all and which contributes to the cultural, social and economic development of the free and democratic society of Canada. It is also the permanent memory of the federal administration and its institutions.

About Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec
Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec is a cultural institution that has the mission of acquiring, preserving and disseminating the published, archived and filmographic documentary heritage of or about Quebec. It also offers all Quebecers — on the premises, through the Internet or by interlibrary loans — free access to vast universal collections and to the services of a large public library. The BAnQ encompasses the Grande Bibliothèque, the Centre de conservation and nine archival centers in Montreal, Québec, Gatineau, Rimouski, Rouyn-Noranda, Saguenay, Sept-Îles, Sherbrooke and Trois-Rivières.

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