Paperback
978-1-77212-406-4Size: 6" x 9"
Pages: 376
Pages: 360
Government Information in Canada
Access and Stewardship
Edited by Amanda Wakaruk and Sam-chin Li
Public access to government information forms the foundation of a healthy liberal democracy. Because this information can be precarious, it needs stewardship. Government Information in Canada provides analysis about the state of Canadian government information publishing. Experts from across the country draw on decades of experience to offer a broad, well-founded survey of history, procedures, and emerging issues—particularly the challenges faced by practitioners during the transition of government information from print to digital access.
This is an indispensable book for librarians, archivists, researchers, journalists, and everyone who uses government information and wants to know more about its publication, circulation, and retention.
Contributors: Graeme Campbell, Talia Chung, Sandra Craig, Peter Ellinger, Darlene Fichter, Michelle Lake, Sam-chin Li, Steve Marks, Maureen Martyn, Catherine McGoveran, Martha Murphy, Dani J. Pahulje, Susan Paterson , Carol Perry, Caron Rollins, Gregory Salmers, Tom J. Smyth, Brian Tobin, Amanda Wakaruk, Nicholas Worby
Book details
Publication date: April 2019Features: 3 figures, 10 tables, 3 appendices, notes, bibliography, index
Keywords: library, archive & information management, Library & Information Science, digital & online resources, IT, internet & electronic resources in libraries, knowledge management, government information, special libraries, data
Subject(s): LANGUAGE ARTS & DISCIPLINES / Library & Information Science / Archives & Special Libraries, Law & Legal Studies, Law & Society, Law & Legal Studies, Canadian Law, Political Science, Canadian Politics, Government Information / Data, LANGUAGE ARTS & DISCIPLINES / Library & Information Science / Digital & Online Resources, BUSINESS & ECONOMICS / Information Management, IT, Internet & electronic resources in libraries, Political Science, library, archive & information management, Library & Information Science, digital & online resources, IT, internet & electronic resources in libraries, knowledge management, government information, special libraries, data, Knowledge management, Humanities
Publisher(s): The University of Alberta Press
Book details
Publication date: April 2019Features: 3 figures, 10 tables, 3 appendices, notes, bibliography, index
Keywords: library, archive & information management, Library & Information Science, digital & online resources, IT, internet & electronic resources in libraries, knowledge management, government information, special libraries, data
Subject(s): LANGUAGE ARTS & DISCIPLINES / Library & Information Science / Archives & Special Libraries, Law & Legal Studies, Law & Society, Law & Legal Studies, Canadian Law, Political Science, Canadian Politics, Government Information / Data, LANGUAGE ARTS & DISCIPLINES / Library & Information Science / Digital & Online Resources, BUSINESS & ECONOMICS / Information Management, IT, Internet & electronic resources in libraries, Political Science, library, archive & information management, Library & Information Science, digital & online resources, IT, internet & electronic resources in libraries, knowledge management, government information, special libraries, data, Knowledge management, Humanities
Publisher(s): The University of Alberta Press
“In a democracy, publicly accessible information is not a want, it is a necessity…. Because of the real-life experiences and observations in this book, it is a must read for anyone interested in government information in Canada, particularly its dissemination, access, and preservation…. [The book] presents some real problems, as well as possible solutions, that exist in our current situation…. Simply put, government information is in crisis.”
"Government information policies and practices are very important and rapidly changing. By presenting challenges and pointing to necessary improvements, Government Information in Canada makes an important contribution to the field, particularly in view of the dilemmas raised by accessing and preserving (often elusive) digital information."
"Librarians, like hoarders, save everything because you never know what is needed in the future, and governments like to change the record as they go along.... Though record-keeping has never been cheaper and easier, it has also never been more haphazard. Government Information makes this point beautifully.... 'Crisis' is not too strong a word. Vanishing records are only noticed once they’re gone. As authors put it, 'The half-life of government web content is notoriously short.'" [Full review at https://www.blacklocks.ca/book-review-the-big-govt-eraser/]
Hugh Lawford Award for Excellence in Legal Publishing, Canada
Short-listed
2020
Margaret T. Lane / Virginia F. Saunders Memorial Research Award (to Amanda Wakaruk and Sam-chin Li, co-editors), United States
Winner
2021
Amanda Wakaruk and Sam-chin Li
I Historical Overviews
1 Government Publication Deposit Programs: The Canadian Federal, Provincial, and Territorial Landscapes
Graeme Campbell, Michelle Lake, and Catherine McGoveran
2 Official Publications and Select Digital Library Collections at Library and Archives Canada, 1923 to the Present
Tom J. Smyth
3 Parliamentary Information in Canada: Form and Function
Talia Chung and Maureen Martyn
4 Commissions and Tribunals
Caron Rollins
II Provincial Landscape
5 Alberta Government Publishing
Dani J. Pahulje
6 Saskatchewan Government Publications Deposit in the Legislative Library
Gregory Salmers
7 Inside Track: Challenges of Collecting, Accessing, and Preserving Ontario Government Publications
Sandra Craig and Martha Murphy
8 Digitization of Government Publications: A Review of the Ontario Digitization Initiative
Carol Perry, Brian Tobin, and Sam-chin Li
III Looking Forward: Collaborative Stewardship
9 GALLOP Portal: Making Government Publications in Legislative Libraries Findable
Peter Ellinger
10 The Canadian Government Information Digital Preservation Network: A Collective Response to a National Crisis
Amanda Wakaruk and Steve Marks
11 Web Harvesting and Reporting Fugitive Government Materials: Collaborative Stewardship of At-Risk Documents
Susan Paterson, Nicholas Worby, and Darlene Fichter
Contributors
Index
“In a democracy, publicly accessible information is not a want, it is a necessity…. Because of the real-life experiences and observations in this book, it is a must read for anyone interested in government information in Canada, particularly its dissemination, access, and preservation…. [The book] presents some real problems, as well as possible solutions, that exist in our current situation…. Simply put, government information is in crisis.”
"Government information policies and practices are very important and rapidly changing. By presenting challenges and pointing to necessary improvements, Government Information in Canada makes an important contribution to the field, particularly in view of the dilemmas raised by accessing and preserving (often elusive) digital information."
"Librarians, like hoarders, save everything because you never know what is needed in the future, and governments like to change the record as they go along.... Though record-keeping has never been cheaper and easier, it has also never been more haphazard. Government Information makes this point beautifully.... 'Crisis' is not too strong a word. Vanishing records are only noticed once they’re gone. As authors put it, 'The half-life of government web content is notoriously short.'" [Full review at https://www.blacklocks.ca/book-review-the-big-govt-eraser/]
Hugh Lawford Award for Excellence in Legal Publishing, Canada
Short-listed
2020
Margaret T. Lane / Virginia F. Saunders Memorial Research Award (to Amanda Wakaruk and Sam-chin Li, co-editors), United States
Winner
2021
Amanda Wakaruk and Sam-chin Li
I Historical Overviews
1 Government Publication Deposit Programs: The Canadian Federal, Provincial, and Territorial Landscapes
Graeme Campbell, Michelle Lake, and Catherine McGoveran
2 Official Publications and Select Digital Library Collections at Library and Archives Canada, 1923 to the Present
Tom J. Smyth
3 Parliamentary Information in Canada: Form and Function
Talia Chung and Maureen Martyn
4 Commissions and Tribunals
Caron Rollins
II Provincial Landscape
5 Alberta Government Publishing
Dani J. Pahulje
6 Saskatchewan Government Publications Deposit in the Legislative Library
Gregory Salmers
7 Inside Track: Challenges of Collecting, Accessing, and Preserving Ontario Government Publications
Sandra Craig and Martha Murphy
8 Digitization of Government Publications: A Review of the Ontario Digitization Initiative
Carol Perry, Brian Tobin, and Sam-chin Li
III Looking Forward: Collaborative Stewardship
9 GALLOP Portal: Making Government Publications in Legislative Libraries Findable
Peter Ellinger
10 The Canadian Government Information Digital Preservation Network: A Collective Response to a National Crisis
Amanda Wakaruk and Steve Marks
11 Web Harvesting and Reporting Fugitive Government Materials: Collaborative Stewardship of At-Risk Documents
Susan Paterson, Nicholas Worby, and Darlene Fichter
Contributors
Index
