As usual, the program was informative, wide-ranging and well-attended.
Where available, the presentations are attached to the description
for each session in the order in which they were presented.
Thank you to those who presented and who attended.
A special thanks to our planning and technical teams.
Where available, the presentations are attached to the description
for each session in the order in which they were presented.
Thank you to those who presented and who attended.
A special thanks to our planning and technical teams.
TUESDAY, DECEMBER 12th
Canada’s Library of Parliament: Supporting an Informed Parliament
Melissa Fraser-Arnott, Senior Director of Current Awareness, Information Management and Description, Library of Parliament, Canada; Lane Lamb, Senior Director of Branches, Reference, Information and Engagement, Library of Parliament, Canada; Tim Yale, Manager, Integrated Library System (ILS), Library of Parliament, Canada
What role does Canada’s Library of Parliament play in supporting parliamentary democracy? This presentation will provide an overview of the Library of Parliament’s mandate and services in support of Parliament and the public, including building and maintaining the collection, managing branches, and responding to reference and information requests. Speakers will share insights into the daily work and special projects that their teams are undertaking to create, manage and deliver authoritative, reliable, and relevant information and knowledge for and about Parliament.
Melissa Fraser-Arnott, Senior Director of Current Awareness, Information Management and Description, Library of Parliament, Canada; Lane Lamb, Senior Director of Branches, Reference, Information and Engagement, Library of Parliament, Canada; Tim Yale, Manager, Integrated Library System (ILS), Library of Parliament, Canada
What role does Canada’s Library of Parliament play in supporting parliamentary democracy? This presentation will provide an overview of the Library of Parliament’s mandate and services in support of Parliament and the public, including building and maintaining the collection, managing branches, and responding to reference and information requests. Speakers will share insights into the daily work and special projects that their teams are undertaking to create, manage and deliver authoritative, reliable, and relevant information and knowledge for and about Parliament.
| government_info_days_2023_presentation_-_library_of_parliament.pdf |
APLIC's GALLOP Portal: An Update and Next Steps
Elizabeth Corbett-Nicholson, Digital Services Librarian, Legislative Assembly of Ontario
The GALLOP Portal is a collaborative effort from the Association of Parliamentary Libraries in Canada (APLIC) to enhance the discovery of government publications. It was created by drawing on the strengths of people in parliamentary libraries across Canada. Through collaboration, the portal has been redesigned and content moved to the new platform. Earlier this year, the beta version was officially launched. In this presentation, Elizabeth will provide an update on the portal and next steps.
Elizabeth Corbett-Nicholson, Digital Services Librarian, Legislative Assembly of Ontario
The GALLOP Portal is a collaborative effort from the Association of Parliamentary Libraries in Canada (APLIC) to enhance the discovery of government publications. It was created by drawing on the strengths of people in parliamentary libraries across Canada. Through collaboration, the portal has been redesigned and content moved to the new platform. Earlier this year, the beta version was officially launched. In this presentation, Elizabeth will provide an update on the portal and next steps.
| 20211212_govinfoday_gallop.pdf |
Preserving the Public Record at the Alberta Legislature Library
Jennifer Goodwin, Digital and Client Services Supervisor, Alberta Legislature Library; Alicia Odeen, Library Technician, Alberta Legislature Library
Since 2002 the Alberta Legislature Library has electronically archived Government of Alberta documents and made them available from the Library’s catalogue. In recent years, the Library has worked to digitize historic Alberta government and legislative documents held in the collection. This has allowed for the increased availability and accessibility of historical material about Alberta as well as the Legislative Assembly. The presentation will broadly discuss what has been electronically archived and digitized, how to find it in the catalogue, and highlight unique collections.
Jennifer Goodwin, Digital and Client Services Supervisor, Alberta Legislature Library; Alicia Odeen, Library Technician, Alberta Legislature Library
Since 2002 the Alberta Legislature Library has electronically archived Government of Alberta documents and made them available from the Library’s catalogue. In recent years, the Library has worked to digitize historic Alberta government and legislative documents held in the collection. This has allowed for the increased availability and accessibility of historical material about Alberta as well as the Legislative Assembly. The presentation will broadly discuss what has been electronically archived and digitized, how to find it in the catalogue, and highlight unique collections.
| government_information_days_2023__odeenalicia.pdf |
Uncovered Gems: An Overview of the Legislative Library's Collection Review
Eileen Lewis, Legislative Librarian and Director, Legislative Library, Legislative Assembly of Ontario
The Legislative Library is nearing the halfway mark of a comprehensive review of our print government documents collection. In the process, we have found an unexpected collection of gems from a pre-internet era of government information - some funny, some informative, some downright weird. This session will offer an overview of the review process - the rationale, the methodology, and the outcome - while sharing some of the more interesting titles that we have uncovered, as well as what these materials can tell us about government information and Ontario's history.
Eileen Lewis, Legislative Librarian and Director, Legislative Library, Legislative Assembly of Ontario
The Legislative Library is nearing the halfway mark of a comprehensive review of our print government documents collection. In the process, we have found an unexpected collection of gems from a pre-internet era of government information - some funny, some informative, some downright weird. This session will offer an overview of the review process - the rationale, the methodology, and the outcome - while sharing some of the more interesting titles that we have uncovered, as well as what these materials can tell us about government information and Ontario's history.
| govinfo_day_2023-_collection_gems.pdf |
New Advanced Hansard Search on the Legislative Assembly of Ontario's Website
Yasuko Enosawa, Metadata Services Librarian, Legislative Assembly of Ontario
The Information Services Branch at the Legislative Assembly of Ontario has been developing a new Advanced Hansard Search. Although a "lift and drop" project to replace the current search tool, this lightning talk will highlight some new bells and whistles before it is launched on ola.org.
Yasuko Enosawa, Metadata Services Librarian, Legislative Assembly of Ontario
The Information Services Branch at the Legislative Assembly of Ontario has been developing a new Advanced Hansard Search. Although a "lift and drop" project to replace the current search tool, this lightning talk will highlight some new bells and whistles before it is launched on ola.org.
| 2023_12_hansard_search_government_informtion_day_yasukoenosawa.pdf |
Updating Canada’s Online Sessional Papers: A Collaboration Between Internet Archive Canada and CRKN
Loren Fantin, Special Projects & Strategic Initiatives Lead, Internet Archive Canada; Beth Stover, Senior Digitization and Collections Advisor at CRKN.
As part of the Democracy's Library project, Internet Archive Canada and the Canadian Research Knowledge Network (CRKN) have begun a joint project to ensure that each organization’s collection of Canada’s sessional papers are comprehensive and available to all. Join us to learn more about the goals and challenges of this pilot project.
Loren Fantin, Special Projects & Strategic Initiatives Lead, Internet Archive Canada; Beth Stover, Senior Digitization and Collections Advisor at CRKN.
As part of the Democracy's Library project, Internet Archive Canada and the Canadian Research Knowledge Network (CRKN) have begun a joint project to ensure that each organization’s collection of Canada’s sessional papers are comprehensive and available to all. Join us to learn more about the goals and challenges of this pilot project.
Government Information in Evidence Synthesis: A Case Study of Space Resources
Elizabeth Sanders, Research, Engagement, and Learning Librarian, Mary & John Gray Library, Lamar University
Evidence synthesis, such as systematic reviews or meta-analyses, have long been common in health disciplines. They are increasingly growing in other fields, such as the life sciences and social sciences. Locating grey literature, including government information, is an expected component of evidence synthesis. However, discussions of how to locate government information, and potential challenges in doing so, are rare. In this lightening talk, participants will learn about the role of government information in evidence synthesis. They will also learn some of the challenges faced in gathering government information for evidence synthesis in the form of a mini-case study on a scoping review of space motion sickness in which the presenter participated.
Elizabeth Sanders, Research, Engagement, and Learning Librarian, Mary & John Gray Library, Lamar University
Evidence synthesis, such as systematic reviews or meta-analyses, have long been common in health disciplines. They are increasingly growing in other fields, such as the life sciences and social sciences. Locating grey literature, including government information, is an expected component of evidence synthesis. However, discussions of how to locate government information, and potential challenges in doing so, are rare. In this lightening talk, participants will learn about the role of government information in evidence synthesis. They will also learn some of the challenges faced in gathering government information for evidence synthesis in the form of a mini-case study on a scoping review of space motion sickness in which the presenter participated.
| govinfoevidencesynthesis_casestudy.pdf |
Government Information Citations in Canadian Public Policy and Public Administration Scholarly Literature
Graeme Campbell, Open Government Librarian, Queen’s University; Katharine Hall, Reference and Subject Librarian, Concordia University; Michelle Lake, Government Publications Librarian, Concordia University
We are examining the frequency of citations to official government publications in Canadian public policy and public administration journals across four, one-year periods: 2004, 2009, 2014 and 2019. We have finished coding the citations for 2004 and 2019 and have an initial analysis of the frequency of those citations over time. The next steps will include completing coding 2009 and 2014, and investigating the online availability and persistence of a random sample of the government information cited. We are interested to see if the frequency of government information citation has kept pace with the move to electronic publications and if those publications are still available.
Graeme Campbell, Open Government Librarian, Queen’s University; Katharine Hall, Reference and Subject Librarian, Concordia University; Michelle Lake, Government Publications Librarian, Concordia University
We are examining the frequency of citations to official government publications in Canadian public policy and public administration journals across four, one-year periods: 2004, 2009, 2014 and 2019. We have finished coding the citations for 2004 and 2019 and have an initial analysis of the frequency of those citations over time. The next steps will include completing coding 2009 and 2014, and investigating the online availability and persistence of a random sample of the government information cited. We are interested to see if the frequency of government information citation has kept pace with the move to electronic publications and if those publications are still available.
| campbell_lake_hall_gid2023_presentation.pdf |
Enhancing Access to Parliamentary Information in Ontario
Erica Anderson, Digital Design and Publishing Manager, Legislative Assembly of Ontario
Learn about recent enhancements to parliamentary information on the Legislative Assembly of Ontario's website including user experience and accessibility design considerations, new content, and data resources.
Erica Anderson, Digital Design and Publishing Manager, Legislative Assembly of Ontario
Learn about recent enhancements to parliamentary information on the Legislative Assembly of Ontario's website including user experience and accessibility design considerations, new content, and data resources.
| enhancing_access_to_parliamentary_information_in_ontario.pdf |
Government Information and Persons with Disabilities: Identifying, Removing and Preventing Barriers
Mark Weiler, Web & User Experience Librarian, Wilfrid Laurier UniversityThe Accessible Canada Act aims to make the federal government free from barriers for individuals by 2040. What does this mean for access to government information? In this presentation, Mark will examples of efforts he has engaged in as a librarian, researcher, and citizen to access government information for individuals with disabilities and their care providers. While acknowledging some successes, he will also provide examples that draw attention to numerous areas needing improvement. This presentation will encourage growth in this critical area.
Mark Weiler, Web & User Experience Librarian, Wilfrid Laurier UniversityThe Accessible Canada Act aims to make the federal government free from barriers for individuals by 2040. What does this mean for access to government information? In this presentation, Mark will examples of efforts he has engaged in as a librarian, researcher, and citizen to access government information for individuals with disabilities and their care providers. While acknowledging some successes, he will also provide examples that draw attention to numerous areas needing improvement. This presentation will encourage growth in this critical area.
| weiler_government_information_presentation__1_.pdf |
The Canadian Census Data Discovery Partnership - Project Update
Katie Cuyler, Open Publishing and Government Information Librarian, University of Alberta Library; Graeme Campbell, Open Government Librarian, Queen’s University
The Canadian Census Data Discovery Partnership (CCDDP) is a SSHRC-funded initiative to inventory publicly-available sources of Canadian census data and integrate table-level descriptions into a searchable, public-facing, web-based portal. This presentation will provide an overview of the need for such a resource, a history of the project, descriptions of existing and anticipated project outcomes, and objectives for future projects.
Katie Cuyler, Open Publishing and Government Information Librarian, University of Alberta Library; Graeme Campbell, Open Government Librarian, Queen’s University
The Canadian Census Data Discovery Partnership (CCDDP) is a SSHRC-funded initiative to inventory publicly-available sources of Canadian census data and integrate table-level descriptions into a searchable, public-facing, web-based portal. This presentation will provide an overview of the need for such a resource, a history of the project, descriptions of existing and anticipated project outcomes, and objectives for future projects.
| gov_info_days_-_dec_2023.pdf |
Historical Topographic Maps as Data: Research and the 1:50k NTS Collection at Scholars Portal
Alicia Urquidi Díaz, Metadata and Data Services Librarian, OCUL's Scholars Portal
As digital research methods, including GIS tools and techniques, continue to evolve and enable new research approaches, libraries have sought to make the data contained in topographic maps suitable for computational analysis. The 1:50 000 Historical Map Georeferencing and Access Project started as an ACMLA initiative to digitize a historical collection of National Topographic Series (NTS) maps that cover Canada at a scale of 1:50k. These maps, published by Natural Resources Canada (NRCan), provide detailed information about Canada’s changing physical and cultural landscape from 1948 to the present. The project reviewed an inventory of ca. 23 000 NTS map sheets held at McGill university, with some additions from UBC. Other project partners have included the university libraries at UofA, UCalgary, Lethbridge, McMaster, UofM and UofT, as well as Scholars Portal, with support and funding from McGill, UofT, Compute Ontario, and the Ontario Council of University Libraries (OCUL).
To date, almost 6,000 topographic maps can be openly viewed and downloaded on Scholars GeoPortal, including all Ontario sheets in the original inventory and 1st edition urban areas across Canada. With the third project phase--all remaining 1st editions across Canada-- expected to complete in 2024, Scholars GeoPortal is working on a new search and web mapping interface, with new geospatial tools to enhance the collection's discovery, access and reuse by the larger community.
After showcasing the spatial data products, formats and data derivatives available, the presentation will take a researcher's perspective to illustrate the value of this extensive dataset of digital topographic maps of Canada. This collection represents almost a century of topographic mapping with a consistent scale (1:50k), and a standard coordinate system and nomenclature. The presentation will refer to current research initiatives that use data obtained from historic maps to study change over time in the physical and human geography of Canada and other regions of the world. These initiatives also show some of the potential for further data extraction from these materials using digital processing tools and techniques, including text mining and AI-based pattern recognition.
Alicia Urquidi Díaz, Metadata and Data Services Librarian, OCUL's Scholars Portal
As digital research methods, including GIS tools and techniques, continue to evolve and enable new research approaches, libraries have sought to make the data contained in topographic maps suitable for computational analysis. The 1:50 000 Historical Map Georeferencing and Access Project started as an ACMLA initiative to digitize a historical collection of National Topographic Series (NTS) maps that cover Canada at a scale of 1:50k. These maps, published by Natural Resources Canada (NRCan), provide detailed information about Canada’s changing physical and cultural landscape from 1948 to the present. The project reviewed an inventory of ca. 23 000 NTS map sheets held at McGill university, with some additions from UBC. Other project partners have included the university libraries at UofA, UCalgary, Lethbridge, McMaster, UofM and UofT, as well as Scholars Portal, with support and funding from McGill, UofT, Compute Ontario, and the Ontario Council of University Libraries (OCUL).
To date, almost 6,000 topographic maps can be openly viewed and downloaded on Scholars GeoPortal, including all Ontario sheets in the original inventory and 1st edition urban areas across Canada. With the third project phase--all remaining 1st editions across Canada-- expected to complete in 2024, Scholars GeoPortal is working on a new search and web mapping interface, with new geospatial tools to enhance the collection's discovery, access and reuse by the larger community.
After showcasing the spatial data products, formats and data derivatives available, the presentation will take a researcher's perspective to illustrate the value of this extensive dataset of digital topographic maps of Canada. This collection represents almost a century of topographic mapping with a consistent scale (1:50k), and a standard coordinate system and nomenclature. The presentation will refer to current research initiatives that use data obtained from historic maps to study change over time in the physical and human geography of Canada and other regions of the world. These initiatives also show some of the potential for further data extraction from these materials using digital processing tools and techniques, including text mining and AI-based pattern recognition.
Harnessing the "Power From Data!"
Alparslan Ozturk, Data Support Specialist, MacOdrum Library, Carleton University
Understanding data can be intimidating. Yet data analysis is a vital component in the researcher's toolkit. It can also be difficult to decide, and easy to get lost, when determining where to start teaching data literacy. Thankfully, Statistics Canada has developed "Power From Data!" a guide to help get started in learning, understanding and teaching the fundamentals of data literacy, analysis and visualization. This lightning talk will describe what information is available on "Statistics: Power From Data!", and how it can be an effective resource for teaching and learning government data.
Alparslan Ozturk, Data Support Specialist, MacOdrum Library, Carleton University
Understanding data can be intimidating. Yet data analysis is a vital component in the researcher's toolkit. It can also be difficult to decide, and easy to get lost, when determining where to start teaching data literacy. Thankfully, Statistics Canada has developed "Power From Data!" a guide to help get started in learning, understanding and teaching the fundamentals of data literacy, analysis and visualization. This lightning talk will describe what information is available on "Statistics: Power From Data!", and how it can be an effective resource for teaching and learning government data.
| powerfromdata_ozturk_govinfo.pdf |
Update on the Canadian Government Information Network
Carla Graebner, Research Data Services Librarian and Librarian for Government Information at Simon Fraser University ; Michelle Lake, Government Publications Librarian, Concordia University
In May 2022, the Canadian Government Information Network was born as a place for those of us working with government information to collegiality share information, resources and support. We are a small but mighty group of colleagues representing academic, public and special libraries, and we meet regularly to learn and share together. Carla and Michelle will give some highlights of the Network’s activities and entice you to join our community!
Carla Graebner, Research Data Services Librarian and Librarian for Government Information at Simon Fraser University ; Michelle Lake, Government Publications Librarian, Concordia University
In May 2022, the Canadian Government Information Network was born as a place for those of us working with government information to collegiality share information, resources and support. We are a small but mighty group of colleagues representing academic, public and special libraries, and we meet regularly to learn and share together. Carla and Michelle will give some highlights of the Network’s activities and entice you to join our community!
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 13th
The New Government of Canada Web Archive and Launching the Royal Commissions and Commissions of Inquiry Web Archival Collection
Tom J. Smyth, Manager of the Web and Social Media Preservation Program, Library and Archives CanadaThe Government of Canada Web Archive (GCWA), Library and Archives Canada’s (LAC) discovery and access portal for its web archival collections, relaunched in August 2023. This talk will provide an overview of present and future collections in digital curation contexts, explore the portal’s new functionalities, showcase the new program website (a web archiving institutional policy is coming), and highlight the pending launch of the Federal Royal Commissions and Commissions of Inquiry Collection.
Tom J. Smyth, Manager of the Web and Social Media Preservation Program, Library and Archives CanadaThe Government of Canada Web Archive (GCWA), Library and Archives Canada’s (LAC) discovery and access portal for its web archival collections, relaunched in August 2023. This talk will provide an overview of present and future collections in digital curation contexts, explore the portal’s new functionalities, showcase the new program website (a web archiving institutional policy is coming), and highlight the pending launch of the Federal Royal Commissions and Commissions of Inquiry Collection.
| gid_smyth_gcwa_dec2023.pdf |
Exposing the Invisible: Resources for Investigators and Other Evidence Gatherers
Laura Ranca, Researcher, Tactical Tech
This session will make the case for the use of open/public web archives as a fundamental technique during online research and investigations. The talk will include an overview of cases, methods, tools and tips to find and retrieve historical information from websites, as well as to archive and preserve copies of webpages and other information for future reference and evidence that something existed online in the past. This session is based on a workshop developed at Tactical Tech, "Exposing the Invisible" (https://exposingtheinvisible.org/en/workshops/web-archiving-workshop), to encourage journalists, researchers and citizen investigators to search, save and protect valuable online information and evidence, using public web archives. It is suitable for anyone who needs to build a body of evidence from digital information, including librarians, journalists, and activists.
Laura Ranca, Researcher, Tactical Tech
This session will make the case for the use of open/public web archives as a fundamental technique during online research and investigations. The talk will include an overview of cases, methods, tools and tips to find and retrieve historical information from websites, as well as to archive and preserve copies of webpages and other information for future reference and evidence that something existed online in the past. This session is based on a workshop developed at Tactical Tech, "Exposing the Invisible" (https://exposingtheinvisible.org/en/workshops/web-archiving-workshop), to encourage journalists, researchers and citizen investigators to search, save and protect valuable online information and evidence, using public web archives. It is suitable for anyone who needs to build a body of evidence from digital information, including librarians, journalists, and activists.
| exposing-the-invisible-laurar-slides-13.12.2023.pdf |
CGI - DPN Update
Katie Cuyler, Open Publishing & Government Information Librarian, University of Alberta Library; Sheila Laroque, Liaison Librarian for Indigenous Studies and Government Information, University of Saskatchewan Library
This year the Canadian Government Information Digital Preservation Network (CGI-DPN) has focused on updating policies, focusing on our strengths and planning for the future. The governance, membership and collections policies have been updated. A pre-election web archiving toolkit was also created, which will allow us to begin working on end of term crawls of Government of Canada websites as soon as a federal election is called. This work provided us with the opportunity to re-assess the strengths of the network and to clarify our processes in order to facilitate continued focus on these strengths. Our goals continue to be ensuring the preservation of Canadian, provincial, and territorial government web content (not actively being preserved by a Canadian post-secondary institution), and preserving a back-up of the federal depository catalogue. We welcome input on our work and hope to reach some potential new members.
Katie Cuyler, Open Publishing & Government Information Librarian, University of Alberta Library; Sheila Laroque, Liaison Librarian for Indigenous Studies and Government Information, University of Saskatchewan Library
This year the Canadian Government Information Digital Preservation Network (CGI-DPN) has focused on updating policies, focusing on our strengths and planning for the future. The governance, membership and collections policies have been updated. A pre-election web archiving toolkit was also created, which will allow us to begin working on end of term crawls of Government of Canada websites as soon as a federal election is called. This work provided us with the opportunity to re-assess the strengths of the network and to clarify our processes in order to facilitate continued focus on these strengths. Our goals continue to be ensuring the preservation of Canadian, provincial, and territorial government web content (not actively being preserved by a Canadian post-secondary institution), and preserving a back-up of the federal depository catalogue. We welcome input on our work and hope to reach some potential new members.
| govinfo_day_-_cgi-dpn_update_-_dec_23.pdf |
Democracy’s Library Canada: One Year Update (What we’ve heard, what we’ve discovered, and what’s next!)
Loren Fantin, Special Projects & Strategic Initiatives Lead, Internet Archive Canada; Steve Marks, Digital Preservation Librarian, University of Toronto Libraries; Andrea Mills, Executive Director, Internet Archive Canada; Simone O'Byrne, Consultant for Democracy's Library Canada, Internet Archive Canada
Democracy’s Library is a collaborative initiative of the Internet Archive and Internet Archive Canada to aggregate and make freely and openly available the corpus of Canadian federal, provincial, territorial and municipal government publications in digital format. Launched October 2022, the focus of Democracy’s Library Canada this past year has been working with the govdocs community, discussing the issues that impact access and preservation, such as copyright, digitization, metadata, web archiving, and funding. We also have spent the past year conducting an environmental scan of digitized, born digital, web archived and open data sites and projects across Canada. In addition, we are integrating lessons learned from the biggest govdocs digitization project in Canada (digitizing all of the 5th floor of the Government Documents Collection at Robarts Library at University of Toronto), including leveraging artificial intelligence for optimizing metadata workflows. We’ll provide an update and also look forward to the opportunity for questions.
Loren Fantin, Special Projects & Strategic Initiatives Lead, Internet Archive Canada; Steve Marks, Digital Preservation Librarian, University of Toronto Libraries; Andrea Mills, Executive Director, Internet Archive Canada; Simone O'Byrne, Consultant for Democracy's Library Canada, Internet Archive Canada
Democracy’s Library is a collaborative initiative of the Internet Archive and Internet Archive Canada to aggregate and make freely and openly available the corpus of Canadian federal, provincial, territorial and municipal government publications in digital format. Launched October 2022, the focus of Democracy’s Library Canada this past year has been working with the govdocs community, discussing the issues that impact access and preservation, such as copyright, digitization, metadata, web archiving, and funding. We also have spent the past year conducting an environmental scan of digitized, born digital, web archived and open data sites and projects across Canada. In addition, we are integrating lessons learned from the biggest govdocs digitization project in Canada (digitizing all of the 5th floor of the Government Documents Collection at Robarts Library at University of Toronto), including leveraging artificial intelligence for optimizing metadata workflows. We’ll provide an update and also look forward to the opportunity for questions.
| govinfo2023_democracys_library.pdf |
Making Government Information from Around the World Easier to Find
Toby Green, Publisher, Policy Commons
For many years governments have been adding unique identifiers to their documents and publications to aid discovery and cite-ability. With the advent of the internet, some began to supplement print identifiers with permanent URLs - aka Persistent Identifiers (PIDs) - which, in theory, are never supposed to fail. However, this is being done piecemeal and governments tend to come up with their own PID solution. This contrasts with scholarly communications where publishers established a common PID system for outputs, the Digital Object Identifier (DOI). Indeed, the scholarly communications sector went further, creating PIDs for people, funding, and institutions too. There is even a proposal to start allocating PIDs to research projects. The benefits and efficiencies of using PIDs across institutions for information management, analysis and workflows is significant. Whereas it was straightforward for a critical mass of scholarly publishers to agree a standard set of PIDs it’s unlikely a critical mass of governments around the world will agree to do the same. So, should we start adding PIDs to government documents on their behalf?
Toby Green, Publisher, Policy Commons
For many years governments have been adding unique identifiers to their documents and publications to aid discovery and cite-ability. With the advent of the internet, some began to supplement print identifiers with permanent URLs - aka Persistent Identifiers (PIDs) - which, in theory, are never supposed to fail. However, this is being done piecemeal and governments tend to come up with their own PID solution. This contrasts with scholarly communications where publishers established a common PID system for outputs, the Digital Object Identifier (DOI). Indeed, the scholarly communications sector went further, creating PIDs for people, funding, and institutions too. There is even a proposal to start allocating PIDs to research projects. The benefits and efficiencies of using PIDs across institutions for information management, analysis and workflows is significant. Whereas it was straightforward for a critical mass of scholarly publishers to agree a standard set of PIDs it’s unlikely a critical mass of governments around the world will agree to do the same. So, should we start adding PIDs to government documents on their behalf?
| ocul_gov_info_days-1toby_green.pdf |
Using ParseHub to Structure Data, Select Resources and Bulk Catalogue
Vicky Luu, Data Services Technician, Legislative Assembly of Ontario
In this lightning talk, Vicky will go over how Data Management and Preservation at the Legislative Assembly of Ontario has been using ParseHub (a cloud-based tool that extracts data from websites using machine learning) to structure Hansard data for the Advanced Hansard Search modernization project, support the Library's selection of Orders in Council to be added to the collection, and perform bulk cataloguing.
Vicky Luu, Data Services Technician, Legislative Assembly of Ontario
In this lightning talk, Vicky will go over how Data Management and Preservation at the Legislative Assembly of Ontario has been using ParseHub (a cloud-based tool that extracts data from websites using machine learning) to structure Hansard data for the Advanced Hansard Search modernization project, support the Library's selection of Orders in Council to be added to the collection, and perform bulk cataloguing.
| parsehub-government_information_day_2023_vickyluu1.pdf |
Website Change Detection Applications: Update – Versionista
Vicky Luu, Data Services Technician, Legislative Assembly of Ontario
This is an update to a lighting talk presented during the 2021 Government Information Day(s) of the same title. In this update, Vicky will provide a quick summary of the team's experience using Versionista as a potential alternative to Website Watcher to track webpage changes and support ongoing monitoring.
Vicky Luu, Data Services Technician, Legislative Assembly of Ontario
This is an update to a lighting talk presented during the 2021 Government Information Day(s) of the same title. In this update, Vicky will provide a quick summary of the team's experience using Versionista as a potential alternative to Website Watcher to track webpage changes and support ongoing monitoring.
| website_change_detection_applications_-_phase_2_-_gov_info_day_2023_vickyluu2.pdf |
Approaches to Metadata and Description for Government of Canada Digital Archival Records
Kat Timms, Senior Analyst and Team Lead, Government Record Branch, Library and Archives Canada (LAC); Leah Sander, Lead Archivist, Government Record Branch, Library and Archives Canada (LAC); Brian Clarke, Senior Archivist, Government Record Branch, Library and Archives Canada (LAC)
This will be a three-part presentation on approaches to metadata and description for Government of Canada (GC) digital archival records. Included: Library and Archives Canada's (LAC's) operational standard on metadata, which identifies the minimum mandatory metadata required for the protection of archival records throughout their lifecycle, including at transfer; LAC's work to develop new methods for digital finding aids and description following transfer, to ensure that government records can continue to be discovered and accessed while they are preserved over time; overview of a recent transfer from the electronic documents and records management system (RDIMS) of the Department of National Defence (DND), which has been a test case for leveraging metadata and description to bring archival government records through to public access by Canadians.
Kat Timms, Senior Analyst and Team Lead, Government Record Branch, Library and Archives Canada (LAC); Leah Sander, Lead Archivist, Government Record Branch, Library and Archives Canada (LAC); Brian Clarke, Senior Archivist, Government Record Branch, Library and Archives Canada (LAC)
This will be a three-part presentation on approaches to metadata and description for Government of Canada (GC) digital archival records. Included: Library and Archives Canada's (LAC's) operational standard on metadata, which identifies the minimum mandatory metadata required for the protection of archival records throughout their lifecycle, including at transfer; LAC's work to develop new methods for digital finding aids and description following transfer, to ensure that government records can continue to be discovered and accessed while they are preserved over time; overview of a recent transfer from the electronic documents and records management system (RDIMS) of the Department of National Defence (DND), which has been a test case for leveraging metadata and description to bring archival government records through to public access by Canadians.
| timms_sander_clarke_-_govinfodays_2023.pdf |
Developing a Crown Copyright Code of Best Practices for Libraries
Amanda Wakaruk, Copyright and Scholarly Communications Librarian, University of Alberta; Jennifer Zerkee, Copyright Specialist, Simon Fraser University
Reproducing and sharing government publications shouldn’t cause legal chill, but we know that it does. What are your library’s legal rights and how should you navigate Crown copyright controls when embarking on digitization and web archiving projects? This session introduces an in-progress code of best practices focused on these types of stewardship activities.
Amanda Wakaruk, Copyright and Scholarly Communications Librarian, University of Alberta; Jennifer Zerkee, Copyright Specialist, Simon Fraser University
Reproducing and sharing government publications shouldn’t cause legal chill, but we know that it does. What are your library’s legal rights and how should you navigate Crown copyright controls when embarking on digitization and web archiving projects? This session introduces an in-progress code of best practices focused on these types of stewardship activities.
| crown_copyright_cobp_gid_2023_zerkee_wakaruk.pdf |
Mitigating Risks in Government Information Content Digitization at Academic Libraries and Beyond
Ravit H. David, MLIS, Ph.D. (She/her) Distinctive Collections Librarian, Scholars Portal (OCUL), University of Toronto Libraries; Ariel Katz, Associate Professor at the Faculty of Law, University of Toronto; Melissa Levine, Director, Copyright Office, University of Michigan Library; Geeta Thachil, Manager, Judicial Library Services at the Ontario Ministry of the Attorney General
Even when fully committed to providing access to government information, embarking on a government information digitization project presents the challenge of navigating intricate copyright and risk management concerns. Frequently, even though there is a need to remove print copies from shelves and budgets are allocated to support content scanning, projects can easily stall due to the absence of a well-defined risk management strategy. This is particularly problematic when collections encompass content from multiple jurisdictions (municipal, provincial and federal) involving diverse levels of government and intergovernmental authorship. Hear from a group of seasoned experts who will offer legal and policy counsel for addressing fundamental questions when undertaking similar digitization initiatives.
Ravit H. David, MLIS, Ph.D. (She/her) Distinctive Collections Librarian, Scholars Portal (OCUL), University of Toronto Libraries; Ariel Katz, Associate Professor at the Faculty of Law, University of Toronto; Melissa Levine, Director, Copyright Office, University of Michigan Library; Geeta Thachil, Manager, Judicial Library Services at the Ontario Ministry of the Attorney General
Even when fully committed to providing access to government information, embarking on a government information digitization project presents the challenge of navigating intricate copyright and risk management concerns. Frequently, even though there is a need to remove print copies from shelves and budgets are allocated to support content scanning, projects can easily stall due to the absence of a well-defined risk management strategy. This is particularly problematic when collections encompass content from multiple jurisdictions (municipal, provincial and federal) involving diverse levels of government and intergovernmental authorship. Hear from a group of seasoned experts who will offer legal and policy counsel for addressing fundamental questions when undertaking similar digitization initiatives.
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 14th
Freedom of Information: An Introductory Workshop for Requesters
Mike Larsen, President of the BC Freedom of Information and Privacy Association (fipa.bc.ca) & faculty member in the Criminology Department at Kwantlen Polytechnic University
A workshop on how to use Access to Information and Freedom of Information mechanisms, geared towards novice to intermediate requesters. The workshop will cover the 'life cycle' of FOI research, from preliminary research and accessing the results of previous requests to the preparation and filing of original requests, to troubleshooting requests in progress. Time will be set aside for Q&A, and a slide deck and resource package will accompany the workshop.
Mike Larsen, President of the BC Freedom of Information and Privacy Association (fipa.bc.ca) & faculty member in the Criminology Department at Kwantlen Polytechnic University
A workshop on how to use Access to Information and Freedom of Information mechanisms, geared towards novice to intermediate requesters. The workshop will cover the 'life cycle' of FOI research, from preliminary research and accessing the results of previous requests to the preparation and filing of original requests, to troubleshooting requests in progress. Time will be set aside for Q&A, and a slide deck and resource package will accompany the workshop.
| fipa_foi_introductory_workshop_deck_2023.pdf |
What History Can Tell Us about the Future of Transparency
Dean Beeby, independent Ottawa journalist, author and specialist in freedom of information
Governments in Canada frequently extol transparency but only rarely deliver it. Once elected, political parties lose their enthusiasm, believing that transparency can only hobble their ability to govern. And yet, Canada has adopted federal laws over the decades that at least purport to promote open government. This talk will examine under what political conditions transparency reform came about in the past, and what those advances can tell us about when future reforms can be achieved.
Dean Beeby, independent Ottawa journalist, author and specialist in freedom of information
Governments in Canada frequently extol transparency but only rarely deliver it. Once elected, political parties lose their enthusiasm, believing that transparency can only hobble their ability to govern. And yet, Canada has adopted federal laws over the decades that at least purport to promote open government. This talk will examine under what political conditions transparency reform came about in the past, and what those advances can tell us about when future reforms can be achieved.
| history_lessons_on_reform_of_the_access_to_information_act_in_canada.pdf |
Supporting Equitable Access to Freedom of Information Requests
Nicholas Worby, Government Information and Statistics Librarian, University of Toronto
The Sunlight Project is a partnership between the Investigative Journalism Bureau at the University of Toronto's Dalla Lana School of Public Health and University of Toronto Libraries. Its goal is to surface summaries of previously released Freedom of Information requests in order to facilitate lower barrier access to government records. This talk will discuss the process, challenges, and long term prospects of an index of previously released Ontario Freedom of Information requests.
Nicholas Worby, Government Information and Statistics Librarian, University of Toronto
The Sunlight Project is a partnership between the Investigative Journalism Bureau at the University of Toronto's Dalla Lana School of Public Health and University of Toronto Libraries. Its goal is to surface summaries of previously released Freedom of Information requests in order to facilitate lower barrier access to government records. This talk will discuss the process, challenges, and long term prospects of an index of previously released Ontario Freedom of Information requests.
| nw_gov_info_day_presentation_2023_.pdf |
AI Strategies for Access to Information: Finding Needles in the Billion Record Haystack
Jason R. Baron, Professor of the Practice, College of Information Studies, University of Maryland
The U.S. National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) has set a June 2024 deadline for all federal agencies to fully transition to electronic record keeping. This requirement has profound implications for agencies providing access to public records under the US Freedom of Information Act. Moreover, the experience of NARA providing access to only a tiny sliver of all White House email records in its custody from the Reagan to Trump administrations, acts as a relevant use case highlighting the challenges ahead for all federal agencies providing timely access to billions of federal government records. This talk will discuss state of the art research using machine learning and generative artificial intelligence to search for records and filter for information to be withheld under FOIA exemptions.
Jason R. Baron, Professor of the Practice, College of Information Studies, University of Maryland
The U.S. National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) has set a June 2024 deadline for all federal agencies to fully transition to electronic record keeping. This requirement has profound implications for agencies providing access to public records under the US Freedom of Information Act. Moreover, the experience of NARA providing access to only a tiny sliver of all White House email records in its custody from the Reagan to Trump administrations, acts as a relevant use case highlighting the challenges ahead for all federal agencies providing timely access to billions of federal government records. This talk will discuss state of the art research using machine learning and generative artificial intelligence to search for records and filter for information to be withheld under FOIA exemptions.
