Leslie Weir appointed as Librarian and Archivist of Canada

May 27, 2019

Pablo Rodriguez, Minister of Canadian Heritage and Multiculturalism, announced today announced the appointment of Leslie Weir as Librarian and Archivist of Canada for a four-year term, effective August 30, 2019. She succeeds Guy Berthiaume who has served in the role since June 2014.

Minister Rodriguez Announces Appointment to Library and Archives Canada

As the new Librarian and Archivist of Canada, and the first woman to take this role, Leslie Weir will help to acquire, preserve and encourage access to documents that tell our collective history.

GATINEAU, QC, May 27, 2019 The Honourable Pablo Rodriguez, Minister of Canadian Heritage and Multiculturalism, announced today the appointment of Ms. Leslie Weir as Librarian and Archivist of Canada for a term of four-year term, effective August 30, 2019. Ms. Weir will be the first woman to become Librarian and Archivist of Canada since the merging of these two institutions.

Ms. Weir was the university librarian at the University of Ottawa from 2003 to 2018. Prior to her tenure at the university, she held positions at the National Library of Canada and the Statistics Canada Library.

Over the course of her career, she has demonstrated vision, dedication, and outstanding service by encouraging connections both within and outside of the world of librarianship. She guided many transformative moments at the Canadian Research Knowledge Network and research libraries in Canada. Ms. Weir is one of the founding architects of Scholars Portal, the state-of-the-art research infrastructure in Ontario universities, that brings together information resources and services in support of research and learning. She served as President of Canadian.org, where she oversaw the introduction of the Heritage Project, in collaboration with Library and Archives Canada, to digitize and make openly accessible some 60 million Heritage archival images. Ms. Weir was also president of the Canadian Association of Research Libraries from 2007 to 2009. She earned a Masters in Library Science from McGill University and a Bachelor of Arts (Canadian History) from Concordia University.

Library and Archives Canada is an innovative knowledge institution responsible for acquiring and preserving Canada’s documentary heritage in all its forms and for providing all Canadians with easy access to the photographs and other documents that reflect the country’s cultural, social and political development. Library and Archives Canada is also responsible for the Portrait Gallery of Canada program, the largest collection of Canadian documentary art in the world.

This appointment was made under the Government of Canada’s new approach to Governor in Council appointments. This approach supports open, transparent and merit-based selection processes that strive for gender parity, reflect Canada’s diversity and support ministers in making appointment recommendations for positions within their portfolio by providing them with information and referrals.

Quotes

“Throughout her career, Ms. Weir has had exceptional success in making information more accessible to the public. I am confident that as the first woman to be Librarian and Archivist of Canada, she will continue her efforts in education and accessibility, to give Canadians an awareness of their heritage, and the rich self-knowledge that it provides.

—The Honourable Pablo Rodriguez, Minister of Canadian Heritage and Multiculturalism

Quick Facts

Library and Archives Canada was established in 2004 to join the responsibilities, collections, services and expertise of the former National Archives of Canada and the former National Library of Canada.

As head of Library and Archives Canada, the Librarian and Archivist of Canada is responsible for providing corporate leadership for the management of the agency’s resources and assets and for the effectiveness and efficiency of its operations in meeting its mandated objectives.

(Via Canadian Heritage)