Library of Parliament Committee on June 14th, 2018

[Michael Duffy, Senator, Prince Edward Island (Cavendish), ISG]

Thank you, Madam Chair.

Ms. Lank, it's a delight for all of us from the Senate side to see you here as you're about to take on this new challenge. I want to assure our friends from the other place, as we call it, that we could not have made a better choice. The Prime Minister should be applauded for his selection of Ms. Lank as the person to be nominated for this distinguished position of parliamentary librarian. It's a very important role.

I have two quick questions. One is the question of copyright. I don't expect you will have an answer today, but I wanted to flag for you the fact that at a time when traditional media is dying for a lack of revenues, there is a lawsuit against the Library of Parliament for the breach of copyright. I would urge you to make it a priority that the Library get its house in order as it relates to copyright. We have people who generate copyright material who are making a pittance because of abuses of copyright, and I would urge the Library to be a leader in that field in observing copyright and protecting the works of our creative artists.

Second, we even hear it here in the local media. They're talking about a new library for the City of Ottawa, and there are people talking about how libraries are dead. Nobody uses them anymore. The Internet is the answer.

What's your take on the future role of the library and the many things beyond books that you do in the parliamentary library?

[Heather P. Lank]

Thank you very much, Senator Duffy.

In terms of your first point about copyright, certainly that's an area where I will need to become more well informed and I've made note of the importance of that.

On the second item, I applied for this job in part because I believe that libraries are anything but dead. I think libraries are more important than ever because we are overwhelmed with information. There is so much information out there that individuals—be they parliamentarians or Canadians—might have very easy access to through Google and other mechanisms for information. But do you know whether that information is quality information that you can rely on in a speech, when you're meeting with constituents, when you're putting out backgrounders, or whatever it might be? The Library should be the place you can come to and say, “I need information on this topic”, and know that if the Library brings it back to you, you can count on it.

For me, we're in a world where libraries are more and more important. I want to be sure that when you have questions in your mind about information and reliability, you can come to us and say, “Is this right?” or “I need information on this”, and know that if it came from the Library of Parliament, you can count on it.

Libraries are absolutely not dead. I think they are the place to be.

[The Joint Chair, Hon. Lucie Moncion]

Mr. Ouellette, go ahead.

[Robert-Falcon Ouellette, Liberal, Winnipeg Centre, MB]

Thank you very much for joining us today, Ms. Lank. I am very pleased to have you here. I want to sincerely congratulate you on your accomplishments in your life and work. I am sure that you will contribute tremendously to the building of the great institution of the Library of Parliament.

In your presentation, you briefly talked about your intention to consult. In the past, you have consulted parliamentarians. My question mainly concerns new members of the House of Commons. I would like to know how you will consult members and whether that will be followed by a report and concrete actions. I know that you are new to this position, so I would like to point out that the way we proceeded before was perhaps adequate for a more theory-oriented world, but the institution is a bit different today. Parliamentarians would greatly benefit from receiving in-depth information and advice.

I would like to know what kind of consultations you will undertake and how you plan to go about them. We sometimes want to undertake consultations, but people do not participate. If people don't know that certain services exist, they will use the resources of a partisan group, rather than those of a non-partisan group.

[Heather P. Lank]

Thank you for the question, Mr. Ouellette.

As I have not yet taken over the position, I would have to check whether any consultations have been held and, if so, what they focused on, what methods were used, and so on. I still don't have the basic information.

That said, it seems to me that there are a number of ways to consult people. As a sociologist, I have often found ways to obtain data on the population and on a variety of topics. I find that it's often personal contact with users, such as parliamentarians, that makes it possible to obtain the most information.

This committee exists and it's active. It could help hold those consultations, but there are other possibilities. Of course, you receive documents from the library, including analyses. We will have to look into ways to get feedback from our users. That is something I would discuss with my team to decide what the best way to obtain that information is. Will we do it in a personalized manner? Will we attach something to our documents? There are several ways to go about it. It is something to be explored.

As I mentioned in my presentation, that feedback, those contacts and consultations are fundamental aspects of my management method. I will certainly continue to implement them if my appointment to this position is confirmed.

[The Joint Chair, Hon. Lucie Moncion]

Thank you.

Senator Eaton, go ahead.

[Nicole Eaton, Senator, Ontario, C]

Thank you, Madam Chair.

I have to say, as deputy speaker of the Senate, that it has been my great pleasure to work with Heather. She has been absolutely wonderful to me, very patient, very good, and very thorough.

My questions for you, Heather, are these. There has been a great deal of talk now about preserving indigenous languages, and I'm wondering if the Library has any kind of vision or role to play in the preservation of indigenous languages and vocabulary. That's my first question.

Second, does the Library have an acquisition fund for rare Canadian books?

[Heather P. Lank]

Thank you very much, Senator Eaton.

That is a fascinating question, and one I admit I did not think about at 3:30 in the morning when I was lying in bed anticipating what I might be asked today.

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[Heather P. Lank]

Honestly, it is a question I have not thought about and one that I will reflect on. I don't know what the appropriate role for the Library would be in that domain, if there is one. I certainly do appreciate the importance of indigenous peoples to the country, to Parliament, and the importance of the Library integrating that into—

[Nicole Eaton]

I was thinking of oral histories, because they perhaps don't have a written tradition but they have an oral one.

[Heather P. Lank]

That's a wonderful idea to explore. It's certainly one that I would be happy to think about, if I'm confirmed in the job, and to talk to my colleagues about as well and get ideas from you. Certainly that is something I will make note of for future reflection.

In terms of the budget for the acquisition of books, I would love to know the details of the Library's budget, and I can assure you that, if I am confirmed in the job, one of my first priorities will be to get a detailed briefing on the budget, where the funds are, how they are distributed and why, what the rationale is, and see if there are things that we don't have that we need to get or if there are things that we have budgets for that we don't need. That is something I would look into.

[Nicole Eaton]

When you see the budget, do you think that is something we should have? As the most important library in Canada, should it not have an acquisition fund for acquiring rare Canadian books or early publications?

[Heather P. Lank]

I think it is a fascinating and important question to ask. One of the things, Senator, that I would want is to consult with Library and Archives Canada to see what the appropriate forum or organization is for those kinds of documents. We want to be sure that we use taxpayers' dollars wisely and make sure that we're not acquiring things that we should not, but also make sure that Canada's history is indeed captured. That would be something I would put on the table for discussion with my colleagues at Library and Archives Canada, and we'll see how that unfolds.

[The Joint Chair, Hon. Lucie Moncion]

Ms. Dzerowicz.

[Julie Dzerowicz, Liberal, Davenport, ON]

Thank you.

I, too, want to lend my congratulations on your nomination. My very first job was in the library when I was 14, so I have a very big heart for libraries.

The first question I'm going to ask you is around transparency. One of the things our government is trying to do is to increase transparency, put more documents out for public viewing, and give a better understanding to the public about the work we do. My understanding is that there was a discussion and a brief study done in 2014 around digitizing House of Commons documents such as petition responses and Order Paper question responses. I think the goal of the study was to see how we could make public those documents by putting them on the public website.

My understanding was that, at the end of that study, there was an understanding that it would be done by the end of the year, by the end of 2014, but my understanding is that it didn't take place. I want to know—and this is a little unfair to you, because you're nominated now and not quite in the position—whether you might have an understanding of where that is at this moment.

[Heather P. Lank]

All I know about it is essentially what was reported to this committee by those who are currently involved in these files. My understanding is that there are discussions that are ongoing between the Privy Council Office and the House of Commons with respect to whether something can be done to facilitate making those documents public.

Certainly, it's a file I'm interested in following, because I'm very interested to find out where this will go, but until I am more knowledgeable, I think I would be ill-advised to jump into that, because I know there are discussions that are going on with respect to that issue. We'll see how that also develops in the coming months, but I certainly share your commitment to transparency whenever possible.

One of the things I've done in my career has been to do as much as I can to make documents available to Canadians, be they procedural documents, information packages, and so on. Outreach and transparency in bringing Canadians into Parliament has been a huge part of my career on the Hill, and I would certainly continue to make that outreach and transparency part of my commitment at the Library.

[Julie Dzerowicz, Liberal, Davenport, ON]

Thank you for that. I appreciate it, and I think that's a very fair response based on where we're at.

I would ask, if you could at the appropriate time, come back to the committee. It could be a written document to just giving us the status of where that's at once discussions are concluded and whether there's a plan to move forward on it. I'd like to know what the conclusion might be, just so we don't lose that loop in terms of work that's already been started, work that was supposed to have been concluded, and discussions that are happening now, so that we find a way to close that loop properly, if that's okay.

[Heather P. Lank]

You can probably imagine that, since today I am just a nominee and I'm not in the position yet, I am certainly reluctant to make any kind of commitment to bring specific things back yet, but I've certainly made note of the committee's interest.

Thank you.

[Julie Dzerowicz, Liberal, Davenport, ON]

I appreciate that and—

[The Joint Chair, Hon. Lucie Moncion]

Thank you. We're going to have to go to the second round.

When we first started, I was allocating three minutes so that everyone would have time to ask a question, but we will put you on the second round.

Is there anyone else on the first round who hasn't asked any questions? If not, we are going to the second round.

Mr. Saroya, please.

[Bob Saroya, Conservative, Markham—Unionville, ON]

Thank you, Madam Chair.

Ms. Lank, you are very well qualified, and stuff looks good here. I had some questions for tomorrow, but I'm going to ask anyway if you can make some comments, or you can come back and tell us in the future.

From one Library, there are a number of satellite libraries coming up, four of them, I understand. Do we have enough money for you to do what you need to do to be the best library in the country?

Second, my question is—I come from retail—about the boutique shop. Sometimes we run out of ideas when we want to get somebody something, some knick-knacks or something, and the same few things are available. If we can expand it, I will gladly help out if I could bring my expertise into the thing.

Third, at the last meeting we heard about the 3-D Library tours. I don't think it's done yet. What are your ideas on it and when can we know if anything is available?

Thank you.

[Heather P. Lank]

In terms of whether we have enough money, as you can imagine, I'm not in a position to say at this point whether we do or do not. What I can assure you is that I will take the management of the budget of the library very seriously and ensure that it is one that is very soundly managed. If there are needs, I will certainly bring those forward to your attention, and of course, to the attention of the Speakers. Once I'm more familiar with the details of the budget, that's something I'll be able to come back on.

In terms of the boutique, I noted that Ms. MacLeod, when she appeared with Madam L'Heureux at the last meeting, talked about their having hired an expert in retail to really make the boutique more dynamic and get ideas for new products. She had mentioned that the sales had increased significantly, so it's certainly something that the current executive seems very conscious of and very committed to doing. I think that will certainly continue. It is an important part of the Library, and it's certainly a wonderful thing to have the capacity to get different kinds of souvenirs for constituents and other visitors here.

In terms of the 3-D library tours, I know Madam L'Heureux mentioned in her appearance that there were some time frames they were hoping to be able to meet with respect to making various products available. Certainly one of the first things I will be asking for in my briefing, should I be confirmed in the position, is to find out where we're at with these different projects, what the costs are, what we have to do to try to ensure those deadlines are met, and how I can make these things happen. I see my role as being one to lead and inspire and bring the organization forward. Certainly these ideas sound very exciting. Especially when Centre Block will be closed for some 10 years or so, having these tours will be a wonderful tool, so I will certainly be very interested in supporting those initiatives.

[The Joint Chair, Hon. Lucie Moncion]

Thank you.

Mr. Iacono, the floor is yours.

[Angelo Iacono, Liberal, Alfred-Pellan, QC]

Thank you, Madam Chair.

Ms. Lank, over the years you have been working on the Hill, you have acquired a great deal of expertise in terms of procedure and a lot of knowledge in the preparation and publication of parliamentary documents. Since 1991, you have surely used Library of Parliament services.

Here is a more current question you will be able to answer easily. Does the library currently offer any services that should be revamped in order to be more adapted to the parliamentary work of today and tomorrow? Based on your experience with using those services, what important elements should be reviewed?