|
National Library News |
by André Paul,
Acquisitions and Bibliographic Services
The Library promotes Canadian works in a number of ways: in Canadiana, The National Bibliography; on its Web site; through its exhibitions; and with lectures and presentations by Canadian authors. The electronic collection is another way for the Library to promote and provide direct access to Canadian works.
In initiating the collection of electronic publications in April 1997, the National Library’s objectives were to archive and preserve for posterity, electronic documents which risked being lost forever, and to promote Canadian electronic publications and make them directly accessible to users.
Internet technology makes it possible to aspire to and achieve these goals. The electronic collection is of particular interest to the Library because it offers opportunities to increase awareness of Canadian works.
When one considers the countless searches conducted daily on search engines around the world, it is clear that access to electronic publications is greatly expanded on the Web. A few clicks and original works can be viewed directly from home, school or workplace.
Some of the more avant-garde Canadian electronic commercial publishers deposit their publications in the Library's electronic collection. They include Canadian Policy Research Networks, Coach House Books, CorpoMedia, Spirafilm, Concertina and Huguette Bertrand, who self-publishes original electronic publications.
When the Library learns of an electronic publication, it contacts the publisher to request that a copy of the work be deposited in the electronic collection. In some instances, the publisher makes the first approach. We are indebted to all these publishers, particularly those who initiate the process of contributing to the preservation of Canada’s published heritage in electronic form and enrich this electronic collection.
It includes some 18 percent of publications issued by commercial publishers (approximately 330 of 1800 titles, as of February 1999). The commercial sector needs further development compared to the government publishing sector, which constitutes the major portion of the collection at the moment. Items in the collection may be located by title, subject or keyword.
Researchers consulting the Library's resAnet Web catalogue
<www.nlc-bnc.ca/amicus/ecatalog.htm> for example, may locate a work published in Canada on a topic of interest to them. If a work has been published electronically and been deposited in the Library, the resAnet bibliographic record will contain one or even two dynamic URL address(es) which contain a hypertext link to the electronic version of the document: the Library site URL address and also, in the majority of cases, the publisher site URL address.
So for "window-shopping" fans, here is a good place to visit:
<collection.nlc-bnc.ca/e-coll-e/index-e.htm>