Library of Parliament Committee on June 14th, 2018

[Heather P. Lank]

As we are part of an innovative and flexible institution, we are always rethinking the way we do our work in order to determine whether there is a better way to proceed.

As the new librarian, reviewing the way the library provides those services would not be anything new. Library people are always in review mode. They have changed the way to provide information and use technology a lot more. There will be new branches, and they will try to implement new ways to access information. In my new role, I will obviously want to become familiar with all the measures planned for new branches and see what is being done.

I will want to get feedback from parliamentarians to find out whether it meets their needs. The system does not need to work for me, but for you. I will obviously look into that to obtain information from people who use library services. I know that parliamentarians work differently. They must have access to resources from their constituency offices, from their offices on the Hill and also from committee rooms. Some still like hard copies, while others prefer to use more modern technology, if I may say so. We must be very aware of the need to be innovative and able to change our ways to provide services.

Over my 27 years on the Hill, I have been witness to many changes, and there are some I can't even anticipate today. In three years or five years, I think the world will be very different. It's just a matter of building agile and flexible teams.

[The Joint Chair, Hon. Lucie Moncion]

Thank you.

Ms. Dzerowicz, you have the floor.

[Julie Dzerowicz, Liberal, Davenport, ON]

Thank you.

I note with interest that the Library of Parliament manages the parliamentary tours program and also the boutique. I have been coming to Parliament Hill to do the tours for over 20 years, and whenever I leave, I always want to know more. I have such great interest and there's so much history here.

I know there's a strategic plan for the next five years. I'm not sure if looking at what's included in the tours from different perspectives is part of it, but I would encourage it to be.

In terms of the boutique, I would love to buy everybody something from that boutique. To me, there's such opportunity and potential there to get great Canadian artists to help us reimagine some of its elements. We can take lessons from private sector companies. For instance, Stella McCartney joined with H&M and for one year did some really cool stuff. We could do that with some of our Canadian artists and just be innovative.

Do you have any thoughts around the parliamentary tourism boutique that you want to share with us?

[Heather P. Lank]

Thank you very much for the question.

This is a perfect example of why having this committee in place is so great. You have ideas that I can take and think about and explore with my team to see what comes of them.

In terms of the boutique, I'm certainly open to ideas from members of the public, parliamentarians, and any source. That's a wonderful idea that I will take note of.

The tours provide such an incredible opportunity to really explain to Canadians and visitors from around the world what the Parliament of Canada is all about, including the role of the Senate and the role of the House. We have so much to be proud of, and the tours are a fantastic opportunity to share that knowledge.

This is just an idea for exploration, but I know from my experience in the Senate that one of the most powerful things for visitors is having contact with an individual parliamentarian, a real person. I know that as much as 2-D and 3-D technology is wonderful and that having virtual reality is wonderful, reality is even better. Is there a way that those 350,000 Canadians and visitors who come on tours could have even a moment of time with one of you or one of your colleague just so that when they go home, they have a memory of coming in contact with a parliamentarian who represents them here. It's not just about history. It's also about now. I think there are all sorts of ways we can make those tours and the boutique dynamic, creative, and innovative. I look forward to working with you and all parliamentarians to find ways to do that.

[The Joint Chair, Hon. Lucie Moncion]

Is there anyone else for round two?

We're on round three.

Mr. Saroya.

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

Thank you, Madam Chair.

I have two comments. It's not fair to ask future questions.

My comments are coming from the retail side. When we sell more souvenirs, we get happy customers here, and there's more employment and more souvenirs. Those souvenirs will grow our democracy. When kids get souvenirs, they will be anxious to turn 18 to vote. Sales were up 32% this year compared with last year, but we can do much better, in my opinion.

My second comment is to confirm that you will have our 100% support and we will never tie your hands. Whatever you need to be done, you can always count on us. Thank you.

[Heather P. Lank]

Thank you.

[The Joint Chair, Hon. Lucie Moncion]

Ms. Lank, do you have some closing comments for us?

[Heather P. Lank]

I'll just say a big thank you for the opportunity to appear today. I cannot tell you what an honour it is to be considered for this position. If I am confirmed in it, I look forward to working with all of you over the coming years. Thank you for your courtesy and interest, and I will give you everything I have to do a fantastic job should I be confirmed.

Thank you very much, everyone.

[The Joint Chair, Hon. Lucie Moncion]

Do you have another question, Mr. Iacono?

Go ahead.

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

Once you're in the position of your new role—we would say when you take office—how do you intend to consult with parliamentarians or do you intend to consult with parliamentarians? Do, and how do you, intend to consult with parliamentarians to guide and inform them on how you intend to run the parliamentary library? How can they benefit and make use of your new services?

One last thing, how can we be more proactive in helping you make this place a lot more user-friendly and also open to us?

[Heather P. Lank]

Certainly, in terms of consultation with parliamentarians, as I mentioned, I think this committee is certainly one place for that.

Until I have actually been fully briefed by the Library in terms of what they're doing now to consult with parliamentarians, I'm not sure that.... I certainly don't have a fully developed plan yet on how I would do it, but I do know that there are many avenues for those consultations and it could be everything from a client survey to all parliamentarians asking are you satisfied or are you not, and what can we do better, to face-to-face meetings. We know we have the library ambassador program, where there are employees of the Library who meet with individual parliamentarians to find out about the services of Parliament. Is that an avenue where they could bring back feedback on how to improve?

We could work through committee chairs and deputy chairs and, of course, I would have regular contact with the Speakers who will provide direction to me.

I think it would be a multi-faceted approach recognizing that different individuals have, first of all, different ways of liking to share feedback and also recognizing that you're all very busy people. You don't have a lot of time, so is it a question of getting feedback when you're in one of the branches and finding out whether we met your need or not, and whether this document was what you were looking for?

I would look at a whole lot of different ways of doing it, but until I actually find out what's being done now, I don't think I'm as well based to make a final determination. This is just exploration at this point, but I can assure you parliamentarians will be well consulted and they will know the services that we offer, which will continue to improve.

[The Joint Chair, Hon. Lucie Moncion]

Very well.

Ms. Lank, thank you very much for your presentation. I think that people have had an opportunity to ask you questions.

We wish you luck. You should hear about us pretty quickly.

[Heather P. Lank]

Thank you very much.

[The Joint Chair, Hon. Lucie Moncion]

We will suspend the meeting for a few minutes.

Thank you.

[Proceedings continue in camera]