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National Library News |
Nancy Brodie,
Information Resource Management
Background
The National Library of Canada has given emphasis to federal government information as part of its strategic direction in the digital environment. An earlier article in the National Library News 1 concentrated on progress in dissemination and public access. This article will focus on developments related to preservation and long-term access.
The Problem
Government Internet sites and intranets are managed to meet short-term communications objectives with little consideration for long-term access and accountability. In some cases, documents are made widely available on the Internet, though only a single electronic copy exists. Government information is disappearing as departments’ organization and priorities change, old versions of documents are overwritten by new versions and portions of Web sites are removed. Even a change in a URL can render a document or an entire Web site inaccessible to many users. Information management practices must be applied to the Internet and intranet environment.
National Library Approach
The National Library of Canada (NLC) recognizes that decisions made at the stage of creating a digital object are very important for the object’s preservation. Working within the federal government, the National Library has the opportunity to guide and influence these decisions. The Library has been an active member of the Treasury Board Internet Advisory Committee since 1995 and has made substantial contributions to the Government of Canada Internet Guide <http://canada.gc.ca/programs/guide/index.html>. The National Library is working with the National Archives of Canada to clarify the roles of the two institutions to ensure that the government’s corporate memory is preserved, regardless of the means of recording or disseminating information. The National Library is an active member of the Information Management Forum which is chaired by the National Archives of Canada and was established in January 1977 to bring together government managers who share a common interest regarding the effective management of information. All these government organizations, as well as the library community, have expressed concern about preservation and long-term access to electronic government information. The purpose of the Information Management Forum is to identify information management issues common to government institutions and to develop practical solutions which have government-wide application.
Guidance
The Internet/Intranet Working Group of the Information Management Forum began work in the fall of 1998 to develop a set of guidelines for managing Web-based records and publications within departmental Internets and intranet sites. The Approach to Managing Internet and Intranet Information for Long Term Access and Accountability and its accompanying Implementation Guide <http://www.imforumgi.gc.ca/> provide combined guidance to librarians and records managers. The approach does not depend on a rigid distinction between publications and records on the Internet or intranets, but rather gives government departments a management framework within which to manage networked electronic information. This initiative is a major step forward in identifying the respective roles and responsibilities of federal libraries and records managers in the digital environment.
Government organizations are accountable for the information they create and disseminate. They must manage information that provides evidence of the conduct of government business (record keeping). And they must also manage information that has long-term value to the public, maintaining its accessibility. The task is huge and the resources are limited. Government departments are encouraged to use a risk management approach and assess the degree to which accountability is threatened. The guidelines outline processes and practices for mitigating existing levels of risk. The risk management model is based on work done for the U.S. government by Charles McClure and Timothy Sprehe. 2
Existing library procedures ensure that print and other publications in tangible formats remain available to the public. The guidelines explore these procedures and how they can be extended to Internet publications. The National Library, departmental libraries and depository libraries all have a responsibility to manage electronic publications for ongoing access. The guidelines are written for a government audience but may have applicability to depository libraries outside government.
Deposit with the National Library
The production of these guidelines has given the National Library an opportunity to clarify and communicate its requirements for deposit of networked electronic publications. The documents are consistent with NLC’s Networked Electronic Publications Policy and Guidelines, 1998 <http://www.nlc-bnc.ca/pubs/irm/eneppg.htm>. For these documents, the selection criteria in the Policy and Guidelines were refined by Acquisitions staff and tailored for a government audience. Technical requirements that ensure that documents are easy to transfer and will operate on other servers are also given. Both the selection criteria and technical requirements are evolving as NLC gains more experience in the acquisition of networked electronic publications.
The E-Library
The concept of the e-library of departmental publications managed by each departmental library was developed by federal librarians in a series of meetings facilitated by the National Library. The e-library is defined as an electronic repository that is managed by a departmental library and provides bibliographic and full-text access to electronic publications for departmental staff and the public. The e-library encompasses the functions of selection, bibliographic control, electronic storage, access, service and preservation. The proposed role for departmental libraries is consistent with the Management of Government Information Holdings (MGIH) Policy. Federal librarians are beginning to explore implementation of this concept.
Future Developments
The degree and complexity of use of the Internet by government is growing. It is anticipated that the guidance provided will evolve over time. In the meantime, the Approach and the Implementation Guide provide a broad framework for developing institution-specific solutions and helping the government as a whole effectively manage networked information for both long-term access and accountability.
In the Speech from the Throne on October 12, 1999, <http://www.pco-bcp.gc.ca/sft-ddt/>, the Government pledged to become a model user of information technology and the Internet. "By 2004, our goal is to be known around the world as the government most connected to its citizens, with Canadians able to access all government information and services on-line at the time and place of their choosing." Information managers from a variety of disciplines within government are working hard so that Canadians will be able to access today’s online government information whether they choose to do so in the near or distant future.
For more information, please contact
Nancy Brodie
Information Resource Management
National Library of Canada
395 Wellington Street
Ottawa, Ontario
K1A 0N4
Telephone: (613) 947-5887
Fax: (613) 996-3573
E-mail: nancy.brodie@nlc-bnc.ca
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Notes
1 "Electronic Dissemination of Government Information". National Library News. Vol. 30, no. 10 (October 1998) <http://www.nlc-bnc.ca/pubs/nl-news/1998/oct98e/3010-08e.htm>.
2 Charles R. McClure and J. Timothy Sprehe. Analysis and Development of Model Quality Guidelines for Electronic Records Management on State and Federal Websites. January 1998 <http://istweb.syr.edu/~mcclure/nhprc/nhprc_title.html>.