Highlights from The Future Now: Canada’s Libraries, Archives, and Public Memory

November 13, 2014

The full report [PDF] is available from the Royal Society of Canada website.

Executive Summary

Purpose

In Spring 2013 the Royal Society of Canada (RSC) struck this Expert Panel on the status and future of Canada’s libraries and archive institutions. Our mandate acknowledged the allied obligation of libraries and archives. “They collect, preserve, and disseminate knowledge, and provide access to information and intellectual resources for civic engagement.”

Recognizing that these institutions are “actively meeting the challenges of unfolding digital technologies, changing cultural practices, and society’s expectations,” RSC charged the Panel:

• To investigate what services Canadians, including Aboriginal Canadians and new Canadians, are receiving from libraries and archives;
• To explore what Canadian society expects of libraries and archives in the 21st century;
• To identify the necessary changes in resources, structures, and competencies to ensure libraries and archives serve the public good in the 21st century;
• To listen to and consult the multiple voices that contribute to community building and memory building;
• To demonstrate how deeply the knowledge universe has been and will continue to be revolutionized by digital technology; and
• To conceptualize the integration of the physical and the digital in library and archive spaces.

Our remit is large and inherently double-edged. The air of crisis acknowledged repeatedly by researchers concerned about vanishing and undervalued national, cultural resources coincides with a time of re-imagining and re-locating libraries and archive institutions as centres of community, human experience, and possibility. Conveying and responding to this duality fuel the urgency and spirit of our work: we heard both despair and excitement.

Methodology

As the first expert panel of Academy I (Arts and Humanities) of the RSC, we shared a commitment to the variety of expressions of the culture of the mind and the rooted nature of memories. We agreed on the unassailable importance of their preservation. We also agreed that listening to Canadians from different backgrounds and in various locations was paramount. The public consultations we have held across the country – in Yellowknife, Vancouver, Ottawa, Winnipeg, Montréal, Calgary, Edmonton, Halifax, Regina, Toronto, and Québec – and the passionate defences of libraries and archive institutions we heard from hundreds of Canadians and received as over 125 online submissions have guided and structured
our deliberations. We have reported on each consultation on our blog: http://librariesarchivescanada.wordpress.com.

We have collected all submissions in their entirety and in searchable form at this portal (http://cwrc.ca/rsc-src/submissions/).

We participated, moreover, in The Canadian Archives Summit: Towards a New Blueprint for Canada’s Recorded Memory, held at the Munk School of Global Affairs at the University of Toronto. We joined in conversations with archivists, key partners, and students and directors of graduate programs in archival studies to discuss ways of growing and maintaining the record of Canada and advancing public recognition of our documentary heritage.

Why do we care about libraries and archives? In a networked knowledge society, with an increasingly diverse population, the expectations attached to these resources are complex and sometimes contradictory. In our panel discussions, we examined spoken and unspoken assumptions and looked at evolving technologies. In our public hearings, we heard what users and providers want from and offer to our knowledge institutions. This Report illustrates how these values play out in today’s institutions and in the ones we might want tomorrow.

The Report combines an examination of critical literature and analyses of trends and specific challenges with remarks from participants at consultations and photographs of stunning new buildings in Canada. Artists’ prints and paintings also illuminate the new world of knowledge. Voices and visuals reinforce our findings. Again relying on the power of the visual and the flexibility of new media, we illustrate the national scope of the development and breadth of our libraries and archives through the digital mediascape of our specially created “Mapping and Timeline Application: A Visualization of Canada’s Libraries and Archives.” This appendix supplies a dynamic and expandable conceptualization of what is on offer in Canada.

Outcomes

We want to share the excitement we have felt in our conversations about libraries and archives; we want to emphasize Canadians’ profound trust in and continuous reliance on these institutions and their services. We explore issues of inequitable access, organizational restructuring, leadership roles, and the need for continuous professional development among librarians and archivists. Yet throughout this exercise, we have been impressed by the resourcefulness, daring, and responsiveness of these institutions to accelerated public expectations.

Our title boldly asserts that the future must be acknowledged. We are not assuming the role of prophets, but rather of alert communicators. The library and archive sector needs institutional reform to improve efficiencies, foster more effective collaboration, and provide clearer, more reliable leadership. The Report synthesizes what we have heard and learned from Canadians. It conveys verbal and visual snapshots of transformative, energetic, forceful cultural institutions, either already flourishing or in planning stages. It also underlines the urgency of the present moment when disregard or neglect must be challenged and countered.

First and foremost, in the digital era, libraries and archives are as vital as ever to Canadian society, and they require additional resources to meet the wide variety of services they are expected to deliver. Equitable societies remove barriers between citizens and the material they need to enrich, inform, and improve their lives.

Second, while librarians and archivists must work more concertedly in nation-wide partnerships to continue to preserve our print heritage and to develop and maintain digital access, institutions and different levels of government must invest in digital infrastructure to advance these projects.

Third, a national digitization program, in coordination with memory institutions across the country, must be planned and funded to bring Canada’s cultural and scientific heritage into the digital era to ensure that we continue to understand the past and document the present as guides to future action.

Reflecting these important fundamentals we offer this selected digest of recommendations, which are expanded and justified in the pages that follow. While our expertise as panelists is diverse, we have all considered and endorse the recommendations.

That Library and Archives Canada

• develop and communicate a five-year strategic plan, including plans for periodic evaluation of progress, no later than Fall 2015;
• assume its place on national and international associations and councils;
• establish a task force of key members within library and archival communities to assist in addressing morale issues and harmonized cultures and to assess progress;
• facilitate the development of a national TDR collaboration including cloud storage;
• constitute a pan-Canadian committee of peers to establish standards for a network of regional preservation/storage facilities;
• re-establish its role as mediator working on behalf of print-disabled Canadians;
• start a joint project with CHIN to explore building tools for coordinated searching of existing databases;
• invest in the enterprise-level basics necessary to facilitate the whole-of-government, integrated library model piloted as the Federal Science Library;
• establish, with the support of the federal government, a Libraries and Archives Collaboration Fund, administered jointly by LAC, CARL, and CCA, to fund innovative collaborative projects.

That the Canadian Council of Archives

• coordinate, in association with ACA/AAQ, a national awareness campaign;
• review the accountability structures of the Canadian archival system to ensure compliance with national and international policy and the security of the national patrimony;
• in collaboration with the First Nations University, ACA, AAQ, and LAC, draft an introductory program of Indigenous Archival Studies to be offered in communities and reserves;
• expand its membership to include representation of major stakeholders in the public and private sectors engaged in the preservation of and access to Canada’s documentary heritage;
• pursue communication with Indspire, in collaboration with the above partners, to establish a volunteer mentoring program involving archivists and Aboriginal youth.

That the Canadian Library Association

• focus its activities on program accreditation, market research, a national awareness campaign, engagement in public policy, and international representation;
• strengthen its collaboration with literacy councils;
• reconceive itself as a federation;
• develop ebook cooperatives, in alliance with LAC and ministries of provincial and territorial governments.

That Canadian Urban Libraries Council and Canadian Association of Research Libraries

• work more closely with publishers and vendors to provide Canadians access to needed content, electronic databases, and unified collections;
• make full use of their users’ rights to fair dealing;
• prioritize greater institutional cooperation on licensing and hosting to equalize access to resources by cloud services;
• participate in the growth of open educational resources.

That Provincial and Territorial Ministries

• gather in their regions to coordinate resourcing of collaborative activity;
• enact a policy on information management and record-keeping roles;
• review and update the legislation and regulation of archives;
• review founding principles to ensure that necessary resources are available to archives for their continued participation in and reporting to ARCHIVESCANADA.ca;
• collect and advertise best practices of inter-institutional and inter-professional collaboration;
• develop programs of financial aid to allow communities to take charge of the preservation, treatment, and availability of their archives;
• support the public library systems in forming larger units with adequate technological services;
• develop provincial/territorial standards to direct the development of a school-house public library model.

That Provosts of U15 Canadian Research Universities

• work collaboratively in developing shared print collections through sustainable resourcing for three to five regional preservation/storage facilities
• those hosting library or ischools, embark on a system-wide review of programs in partnership with professionals in practice and employers.

That Faculties of Education and Faculties of Library, Archival and Information Science

• include a course in community development;
• increase the number of graduates with competencies to manage the new school library/learning commons.

That the Council of Ministers of Education Canada

• commission a pan-Canadian panel to determine the most appropriate model for school libraries/learning commons
• provide sustainable funding for such developments.

Our hope is that this Report provides an informed national and international perspective on where our primary cultural institutions are and where they might be.

Recommendations

Library and Archives Canada

The Panel recommends that the Librarian and Archivist of Canada:

1. develop by July 1, 2015 or earlier, a five-year strategic plan, in consultation with all relevant stakeholders, to provide a clear path to meeting the goals articulated in Section 7 of the Library and Archives Act. Inter alia this plan must define the scope of the “documentary heritage” that LAC would commit to acquire and preserve, and would establish measurable benchmarks for LAC to “support the development of the library and archival communities.” Such a plan would also include plans for periodic evaluation of progress toward meeting these goals.

2. participate actively on the boards/councils of those associations in which LAC has membership – e.g. CARL, CULC, ACA/CCA/AAQ, etc. In addition, he should develop a schedule of initial engagement with all provincial and territorial associations/councils.

3. use whatever organizational means possible, including expert outside consultants on systemic human resource policies, to deal with the morale issues within LAC.

4. establish a special task force of key members within the library and archival communities, as well as key stakeholder communities such as the Canadian Historical Association (CHA), to assess, over a two-year period, the progress made in harmonizing cultures in LAC. At the end of the two years the task force will submit a report, with recommendations, to the Minister of Canadian Heritage and Official Languages relating to the continuation of a merged institution.

5. participate actively in and reassert Canada’s presence, with full support of the Minister of Canadian Heritage and Official Languages, in the international community of libraries and archives.

6. engage the Minister of Canadian Heritage and Official Languages, as well as officials in Canadian Heritage, Treasury Board of Canada, and other federal agencies as required to review and revise if necessary the enabling policies and protocols that inhibit the fulfillment of the LAC mandate as expressed in the Library and Archives Act (2004), and which seems to prevent LAC from performing at a level in keeping with the expectations of Canadians and the best practices of similarly situated national libraries and archives.

Library and Archival Associations

Archival Associations

The Panel recommends that:

7. CCA initiate a dialogue with all the component organizations, including the ACA/AAQ, to discuss the ways and means to enhance the resources available for a vibrant, national awareness campaign intended to remind Canadians repeatedly of the importance and essential utility of archives in the life of the nation.

8. CCA review the accountability structures of the various elements of the archival system to ensure that on relevant national and international policy issues and particularly matters relating to the security of the national patrimony all components of the archival system are aligned and have no discordant voices.

9. the provincial ministries charged with responsibility for their provincial archives and by extension the provincial archival network review funding for the provincial network council/association to ensure that the necessary resources are in place to continue participation and reporting to ARCHIVESCANADA.ca.

Library Associations

The Panel recommends that:

10. CLA focus its activities in five areas: (1) continue to perform MLIS program accreditation as well as professional qualification adjudication in conjunction with the American Library Association; (2) undertake practice-focused, evidence-based market research (both self-initiated and contracted); (3) create a vibrant, national awareness campaign intended to alert and remind Canadians about the importance and essential utility of such capacities in the everyday life of the nation; (4) engage in federal government relations and the development of public policy; and, (5) promote and represent Canadian libraries and librarians internationally within the global community of libraries.

11. CLA reconceive itself as a federation of national provincial/territorial and other national associations (not unlike the network structure of the Canadian archival community). The Association would be guided by a defined Council which would have properties such as: ex officio status for all provincial/ territorial associations or an agreed-upon rotating subset of these associations; ex officio status for ASTED, CULC, CARL, and the Provincial and Territorial Public Library Council (PTPL) and observer status for such organizations as the ACA and the Canadian Museums Association (CMA).

12. the current Executive Council of CLA prepare an inaugural business plan to initiate the negotiation of a funding model leading to the approval of the above constituent associations, with the intention of introducing a compulsory and contractual levy to underwrite the work of CLA, that approval not to be denied by the constituent associations for reasons other than an assessment of effective delivery of service in the five defined areas. CLA will not engage in activities in competition with its federated constituents. Each subsequent year the outcomes of the business plan will be reviewed by the reconstituted Board and a renewed plan adjudicated, and ultimately approved and funded.

Library Consortia

The Panel recommends that:

13. provincial ministries charged with post-secondary education in the Western region (British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba) and the Atlantic region (Newfoundland & Labrador, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, and Nova Scotia) gather together in their regions to discuss ways and means of coordinating or identifying a pathway for the resourcing of collaborative activity amongst COPPUL institutions and CAUL institutions and thus fostering innovation and cost savings in the respective regions.

14. all consortia focus on their services to members, and through their members to the clientele of those institutions utilizing the member’s services and collections. They should be measured in their relations with governments focusing only on matters associated with their primary services; and, in other matters they are encouraged to partner with relevant national or provincial/territorial associations to coordinate advocacy activities.

15. all consortia, but particularly those with significant financial exposure by constituent members (e.g. CKRN, OCUL, COPPUL, CAUL, etc.), commit to external assessment regularly to determine whether the original value proposition that prompted their establishment is still valid.

The Canadian Archival System

The Panel recommends that:

16. CCA expand its membership to include representation of major stakeholders in the public and private sectors engaged in the preservation of and access to Canada’s documentary heritage.

17. CCA sponsor the process by which provincial/territorial archives councils, AAC and AAQ redefine the archivist’s relationship with individuals and communities, helping them to preserve and nurture their own documentary heritage, for their benefit and for the benefit of society as a whole.

Libraries and Archives Collaborating for Canada’s Documentary Heritage

The Panel recommends that:

18. provincial, territorial, and municipal governments enact a policy on information management that defines information management and recordkeeping roles and responsibilities, comparable to the Treasury Board Secretariat’s Policy on Information Management (http://www.tbs-sct.gc.ca/pol/doc-eng.aspx?id=12742).

19. provincial, territorial, and municipal governments review and update the legislation and regulation of archives, reflecting the principles of the Universal Declaration on Archives adopted by the General Conference of UNESCO, 10 November 2011 and the digital requirements which have transformed society in general and the world of information in particular.

20. provincial and territorial archive councils and provincial archives in collaboration with the Canadian Council of Archives (CCA) and LAC undertake to gather and publish current and comprehensive statistics about holdings and users.

21. the Provincial and Territorial Public Library Council (PTPLC), the Canadian Council of Archives (CCA), and the Canadian Heritage Information Network (CHIN) in partnership collect, develop, and advertise best practices of inter-institutional and inter-professional (galleries, libraries, archives, museums, and others) collaboration within a province/territory and across all provinces/territories.

22. the Federal Government establish a Libraries and Archives Collaboration Fund, to be administered jointly by LAC, CARL, CLA, and CCA to stimulate collaboration within the library and archives communities and from which innovative collaborative projects of libraries together with archives, libraries with libraries, and archives with archives, are funded.

23. LAC facilitate and receive funding for the development of a strategy for national TDR collaboration while extending such a strategy to cloud storage, in consultation with relevant stakeholders from the library and archives communities and beyond. Special attention should be given to advance the business case for institutional archives whose primary mandate is the management of their parent institution’s records and archives.

24. LAC and CHIN start a joint project to explore the possibilities of building tools for coordinated searching of the existing descriptive databases.

25. library and archival institutions, associations, councils, and other bodies look for alliances, if appropriate, with other organizations in the cultural and cultural heritage sectors.

Archives and Communities

The Panel recommends that:

26. provincial and territorial ministries responsible for libraries and archives develop programs of financial aid that will allow communities to take charge of the preservation, treatment, and availability of archives and other components of their documentary heritage, thus ensuring the necessary integration between archives and the communities where they were created.

27. provincial and territorial governments, recognizing that small communities rarely have sufficient budgets to equip themselves with permanent resources for the preservation of their documentary heritage, put in place means that allow these small communities to profit from professional expertise in archival science and especially in the domain of digital archives.

Academic Libraries

Analogue Cultural Patrimony

The Panel recommends that:

28. the Librarian and Archivist of Canada create a pan-Canadian committee of peers, consisting of appropriate stakeholder leadership from the library community, such as, but not limited to, CARL, CULC, NRC-KM, and APLIC, to discuss the standards and protocols that would underpin a network of regional preservation/storage facilities for both print and digital materials.

29. libraries work collaboratively in developing shared print collections. To pursue this end, it is recommended that Provosts of the U15 Canadian Research Universities establish and seek sustainable resourcing for three to five regional preservation/ storage facilities as last copy repositories, open to all repositories, to ensure the preservation of the entirety of the Canadian analogue heritage patrimony.

30. the Auditor-General of Canada (AGC), who has oversight accountability for the well-being of the Canadian patrimony as a legacy to future generations of Canadians, review the decisions made with regard to the actions taken relating to federal departmental libraries, and conduct a cost/benefit analysis of the decisions, the process undertaken to operationalize the decisions, the expected efficacy of the outcomes, and assess whether there was understanding that the national patrimony required consideration in the decision and the implementation process.

Strategies for Building Digital Spaces

The Panel recommends that:

31. libraries and archives work collaboratively on establishing shared digital infrastructure for acquiring, disseminating, and preserving digital content.

Public Libraries

The Panel recommends that:

32. public libraries make their work visible by posting evidence-based studies and economic impact studies on library websites for the benefit of the entire library community.

33. public libraries continue to share statistical data freely with CULC and other similar organizations.

34. library associations and organizations undertake and publish research into common issues facing the public library community.

35. faculties of library and information studies introduce a course on community development to better prepare graduates to fulfill changing roles in public libraries and meet the needs of a diverse community.

36. public libraries regularly inventory their programs, services, policies, and physical spaces to detect and remove barriers.

37. that public libraries engage in meaningful community consultations to ensure the relevance and inclusiveness of their institutions.

38. that public libraries pursue and strengthen their collaborations with literacy councils to expand and improve their English Language Learning programs and services.

39. provincial and territorial governments recognize, through legislation, the need for urban and rural libraries to provide digital services.

40. the federal government, namely Industry Canada, adopt the need for better rural bandwidth as a higher national priority. We make this recommendation fully recognizing that the federal government has increased its spending on rural broadband initiatives but aware, as well, that these initiatives are not part of a formal, national strategy. There is no commitment to meet specific standards in rural areas. Realistic timelines for the delivery of acceptable bandwidth into all Canadian communities are needed.

41. LAC re-establish its role as mediator working on behalf of print-disabled Canadians, and in the first instance bring all competing service providers together, including non-aligned representation from the print-disabled community itself, for the purpose of seeking a single, sustainable, and effective service model that is welcomed by the print-disabled as the best in service of their interests. It is recommended that in the absence of a mediated settlement, LAC will seek to craft a governmental/political solution to achieve a similar purpose.

42. provincial and territorial governments work with the federal government to ensure that Aboriginal Canadians receive fair and equitable access to public library services.

43. where necessary, ministries of provincial and territorial governments with a responsibility for the delivery of public library services support Canadian public library systems in forming larger units of service in order to provide adequate technologically-driven services, to mandate the provision of these services, and to promote the purchase of ebook material through consortia.

44. each province and territory review its InterLibrary loan policies in order to ensure that these policies mesh across sectors and place an emphasis on the research needs of Canadians and not on everyday library reading needs. Other mechanisms, such as ebook cooperatives, should be developed to meet everyday needs of customers. Responsibility lies with the various provincial and territorial library associations plus CLA, working in alliance with LAC as a partner. Provincial and territorial government ministries should be involved, since changes may involve regulations and policies. Since college, university, school and public libraries often report to multiple ministries, it is impractical for government to act
as the lead.

45. libraries and publishers work more closely together with an understanding that they are part of the same ecosystem and need each other to be successful and to provide Canadians with access to the content they need. Since public libraries deal more with trade publishers, responsibility for public libraries lies with the Canadian Urban Libraries Council. CULC libraries produce almost 90% of all Canadian public library circulation and CULC is designed to act quickly and to help libraries as organizations. Since academic libraries deal more with academic publishing, responsibility lies with the Canadian Association of Research Libraries. For products used by all sectors, such as electronic databases, both CULC and CARL should work together.

46. CULC and CARL, in conjunction with BiblioPresto and international library associations, support libraries and vendors to work in closer collaboration, allowing libraries to obtain content that can be merged into unified collections emphasizing the nature of the content itself and not the name of the vendor who provides that content.

Federal Libraries

The Panel recommends that:

47. the Federal Science Library (FSL) be used as a pilot to demonstrate the concept of an integrated library model. This initiative is well advanced and represents a demonstration of a cost-effective and scalable service delivery model. The goal of the 8 departments and agencies involved is to provide increased visibility and access by Canadians to GoC print and electronic library collections. Responsibility lies with the National Research Council Knowledge Management (NRC-KM) and Agriculture and Agrifood Canada (AAFC), supported by LAC and TBS.

48. LAC use the pilot findings to determine a realistic and informed strategy for scaling to a whole of government approach that provides a platform for search and discovery, management of library resources, document sharing, and consortial acquisitions. Resources saved over time can be re-invested in licensing more electronic information, digitization of print-only materials, and ensuring librarians’ expertise is available for training, in-depth reference, and supporting open publication and open data requirements within their agencies.

49. LAC, with financial investment from finance and the individual departments, invest in the enterprise-level basics necessary to ensure success of the proposed model changes. Many department libraries and IM groups lack the resources and capacity to manage change while coping with significant continuing re-organization. This initial investment will result in lower costs and better service over time.

50. LAC promote the value of federal libraries, to reflect that they are integral to government knowledge workers and informed decision-making. It is also recommended to promote the value of library professionals to the fields of archives, libraries, and records and data management.

51. individual departments and agencies invest in the information resources and library expertise necessary and appropriate to serve their clientele, and support their continued professional development.

School Libraries and Learning Commons

The Panel recommends that:

52. the Council of Ministers of Education Canada (CMEC) commission a pan-Canadian assessment engaging the full range of stakeholders, to bring forward a clear and prescriptive set of directives to frame a national policy consensus on the most appropriate model for school libraries/learning commons to maximize their contribution to the K-12 experience and its learning outcomes.

53. Ministries of Education work with Boards of Education and their respective schools to provide the sustainable funding necessary to realize the development of school libraries/learning commons.

54. Faculties of Education in universities with teacher-librarian programs or library and information studies (LIS) programs be funded to increase the number of graduates who would have the proper competencies to manage the new school library/learning commons.

55. provincial and territorial ministers responsible for public libraries and ministers of education join together to develop provincial standards that would direct the development of a school-house public library model drawing inspiration from the best practices and successes of those currently in operation.

Cultural Spaces and Voice

The Panel recommends that:

56. the librarians and archivists in the First Nations and Aboriginal Heritage divisions of LAC in collaboration with ACA, CAA, and AAQ engage in plans with the First Nations University of Canada to draft an introductory program of Indigenous Archival Studies to be offered in communities and reserves across Canada.

57. LAC in collaboration with ACA, CCA, and AAQ and the charitable program Indspire establish a volunteer mentoring program involving archivists and Aboriginal youth to promote the creation of family archives.

Education of Librarians and Archivists and Professional Development

The Panel recommends that:

58. provosts and deans of Library and Archive programs embark upon a system-wide review of their programs in partnership with professionals in practice, and particularly employers, to refine mandates, reduce unnecessary program overlaps, exploit technology to achieve efficiencies and, assess the efficacy of program outcomes by way of a thorough review of course syllabi.

59. deans and directors of graduate library schools, ischools, and archival programs, working with the appropriate provincial associations conceive and implement systematic library and archival pan-Canadian mid-career certification programs to ensure that all Canadians are served by the most knowledgeable and current library and archival practitioners.

60. provincial/territorial library and archival associations/councils develop their professional development curricula by way of engagement with their respective audiences – both practitioners and employers.

61. while practitioners must recognize their responsibility for their own development, employers must invest significantly more financial resources in the development of their staff.

62. library and archival institutions and professional communities identify their emerging leaders and make sure they have access to leadership development programs.

Copyright and Canadian Libraries and Archives in the Digital Environment

The Panel recommends that:

63. libraries and archives make full use of their users’ rights of fair dealing and the additional specific exceptions and limitations to copyright to engage in productive initiatives such as digitization of collections in analogue media, providing private study copies to patrons, and otherwise using the flexibility provided by the law as appropriate.

64. libraries and archives continue to participate in proceedings before the Copyright Board to ensure that their positions are well represented.

65. library licensing practices for electronic resources be revised. From a user’s perspective, the Internet enables equal access to digital information wherever there is a connection. But, access to licensed electronic resources, including ebooks, varies greatly across Canada because licensing is still done at the local, or sometimes at the consortial, level. Greater institutional cooperation on licensing and hosting should be given high priority to equalize access to the resources by using cloud services or other shared Internet infrastructure.

66. in discussions of how to adapt to the digital environment, concerns about increasing access are balanced with concerns about ensuring that creators of literary and artistic works are adequately compensated for their contribution to Canada’s cultural legacy.

Libraries, Open Access, and Open Educational Resources

The Panel recommends that:

67. librarians continue to educate faculty about managing their copyrights in scholarly articles and monographs to maximize the impact of their work by broadening access to it.

68. leaders of university administrations, libraries, and presses intensify efforts to rationalize the allocation of resources and realign incentives to ensure that scholarly publishing on campus is being done as efficiently and effectively as possible. Moreover, these leaders should explore more robust institutional cooperation to share the resources necessary to support vibrant and sustainable scholarly publishing. Particular regard should be given to supporting publishing in the social sciences and humanities, which do not receive as much government and private research support as the natural sciences for research and publication.

69. librarians with an interest in education, formal and informal, explore opportunities to participate in the growth of open educational resources by producing, or supporting faculty who produce, open course materials and open textbooks and by helping time-pressed educators or selflearners find high quality, relevant OER by building collections or discovery tools.

Royal Society of Canada Oversight

The Panel recommends that:

70. within 24 months, the Royal Society of Canada secure resources to re-commission the Panel to investigate and report on the changes in disciplinary and government organizations and institutions.