Evidence of meeting #2 for Library of Parliament in the 42nd Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was documents.
A recording is available from Parliament.
Liberal
Robert-Falcon Ouellette Liberal Winnipeg Centre, MB
I was wondering also whether you have done a review of your website to make sure that it's very user-friendly.
Liberal
Robert-Falcon Ouellette Liberal Winnipeg Centre, MB
Okay. To be honest, it actually does seem very nice to use. That's a compliment. I'm just asking the question.
Related to that, I know this is not supposed to be personal, but I was using your catalogue to try to obtain documents, because I am a university researcher and have a lot of experience doing this. I found it much more difficult to use than my university, for instance, to gain access to articles personally. I can get a research report from an analyst on guaranteed annual income, but it might not have all the documentation or the review of the documents that I'm looking for, and I found it very difficult to obtain it.
On one aspect, I found it very onerous so I abandoned using the system of the Library of Parliament and went back to my old university in order to conduct my research.
That leads to another related question. When someone requests information—for instance, asks for the Library of Parliament to buy additional resources or books—what is the usual procedure, and are those usually approved by the Library of Parliament?
I know the answer. Do you?
Director General, Information and Document Resource Service, Library of Parliament
We have a collection development policy that guides most of our decisions along certain lines, including subject area. We do have the latitude to acquire things on request for addition into the collection provided that they would meet the long-term use of the collection along those subject lines. Where something perhaps doesn't meet those subject lines, we will bring the item in by interlibrary loan if we believe that the interest is of short-term use, or if it's an older publication that we just don't happen to have in our collection.
Liberal
Robert-Falcon Ouellette Liberal Winnipeg Centre, MB
At the University of Manitoba and Laval University, if you request a document or a book, the library will actually always buy it, or if you need to have a journal article, you're never refused as a researcher or as a university professor. But I actually have been refused on at least two occasions to order large books, anthologies, which contain lots of research on various materials, which makes my life a little harder because then I say, “Well, if I have to spend $500, now this is my resource in my office only, and it's not the resource of the Library of Parliament.” I'm just pointing that out...a shared collective.
I'm going to change the subject very quickly—
Liberal
Robert-Falcon Ouellette Liberal Winnipeg Centre, MB
It's my final question, actually, or maybe I can go to the third round.
Liberal
The Joint Chair Liberal Gagan Sikand
The bells have started, and I know Senator Moncion has another committee at 1:30, so I would actually suggest that we perhaps adjourn, but it is up to the committee.
Is it the pleasure of the committee to adjourn or suspend? If you'd like, we could continue, but that requires unanimous consent. Is it the pleasure of the committee to adjourn?