Library of Parliament Committee on May 2nd, 2019

[Julie Dzerowicz, Liberal, Davenport, ON]

Okay.

I have a general question about access to certain types of information. Would the library have access to all bills that were passed 10 or 20 years ago as well as anything that was discussed in the House of Commons around that as well?

Okay.

What type of feedback do you get right now, and what feedback do you feel you need?

[Heather Lank]

You could go back to the list, but I think where we get the most feedback would be in terms of committee support. That's where I think we have the best grasp of the quality of our services and what your needs are, partly because the contact is face to face, and it's frequent, and we have followed up at the management level as well. That's an area where I think we have a very good understanding of what your needs are, and where you're happy or unhappy.

Where I think it's weaker is in terms of some of the research that is done and the reference requests where the feedback is quite ad hoc. We haven't updated any of our tools for a very long time. It's not captured in a way that's terribly useful, and we need to very much enhance that side of our understanding because really that part we're not very good about.

Even in terms of knowing whether the collection is what you're looking for, that's something where often you're working indirectly with the collection because we're supporting your staff, or we're supporting committees, and it's working its way up to you. But there may be blind spots for us that we're not aware of.

We've tried to identify areas where we believe we can improve, and those are just some of them. Then in the course of this year we will come back with a comprehensive strategy. I think for the next Parliament you're going to see what you mentioned, something where, when you get a research request or a reference question, you can answer whether or not you were satisfied.

We recognize that you don't have a lot of time and you're not going to want to fill out a questionnaire every time you ask us for work and we give you something. One of the questions we want to ask is how we can be efficient and effective in getting feedback from you. We will have new tools in place by the time you come back after the next election.

[Julie Dzerowicz, Liberal, Davenport, ON]

Thank you.

[The Joint Chair, Liberal, Gagan Sikand]

The floor is yours, Mr. Iacono.

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

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

I also thank the witnesses for joining us this afternoon.

I apologize for being late; I was at another committee meeting.

I have heard that a lot of progress has been made. When a move takes place, it is normal for there to be some obstacles. I can say that you have done very well. We are here, and everything is going smoothly.

Like my colleague, I love libraries. I even met my wife in a library. That is the quietest and most restful place ever. I unfortunately do not have a lot of opportunities to visit libraries or to go sit in them, as our work always makes us run around a lot.

I have heard that there will be a lot of changes when we come back. What exactly are you looking for and what specific data do you want to gather? What are you trying to improve? You mentioned that there were challenges, but what are they? Is it a matter of helping members and their office staff improve their knowledge of the services the library provides?

In that respect, I may make a small suggestion. In every government building, there is a SourcePlus centre. Two or three people work there, or sometimes a single person. I have made extensive use of the services provided in those centres, and their employees help us resolve all sorts of issues. I think you could use those centres to get closer to members and their office staff. Someone from the library could present the services you provide there and help people understand better what exactly they consist of.

I know that you are doing certain things, and I'm not saying that you are not doing enough—you are probably doing a lot of that stuff already. I often tell new employees to pay you a visit. I think that kind of bridge-building would be desirable, as it would enable you not only to spark the interest of members and their office employees, but also to learn about their needs.

This may seem quite trivial, but you could, for instance, implement an activity—which would become something of a best practice—on the way to use Excel software.

We may need guidance on creating tables in Excel, and you probably know more about that computer work than we do. By providing that type of a service, you would attract people to you, and they would learn other things at the same time.

That would also enable you to establish more extensive contact with employees working in members' offices. When staff members from our riding come to the Hill, they could attend a course on best practices in terms of new products the library provides.

[Heather Lank]

Thank you very much for your comments.

The point you are making is about the importance of the library engaging in proactive communication. I think there have been periods when we were more reluctant to ensure a certain visibility. In my opinion, it is extremely important for the library to be visible and for members and senators to know where we are and to be familiar with the services we provide. It is also important to maintain that personalized relationship between the library and your offices, so that we can serve you better.

I know that there are members sitting on committees who do not know, for example, that the analysts at the end of the table are the ones who drafted the documents they read and use in committee. The connection is not always made. It is my responsibility to ensure that you are well aware of the existence of our services and our staff, and of the fact that we are there to serve you.

We really need to find better ways to communicate with you and your staff to be able to help you and to meet your expectations. We will take into account all your ideas and suggestions to build those extremely important relationships.

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

Are the new—

[The Joint Chair, Liberal, Gagan Sikand]

Unfortunately, that's the end of your time.

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

Okay.

Thank you.

[The Joint Chair, Liberal, Gagan Sikand]

We're going to momentarily suspend, allowing the second panel to join us.

[The Joint Chair, Liberal, Gagan Sikand]

Welcome. We're continuing with the seventh meeting of the Standing Joint Committee on the Library of Parliament. The second portion of the meeting will focus on the main estimates for 2019-20, vote 1 under the Library of Parliament. In addition to this, joining Ms. Lank are her colleagues Sonia Bebbington, JoAnne St-Gelais and Manon Robert.

The floor is yours, Ms. Lank.

[Heather Lank]

Thank you very much.

Before I delve into this year's main estimates, I think it might be helpful if I highlighted a few of the key accomplishments of the library in 2019-20, since they provide the context for this year's budget and our priorities.

In 2018-19, as you know, we successfully opened retrofitted branches at 125 Sparks Street and in the Confederation Building, as well as opening the two new branches that I spoke to you about a few minutes ago. We now have five branches in the parliamentary precinct to serve you.

We ceased operation at the main library and moved our employees, as well as the collection, for the period that Centre Block will be closed. Most of the collection was relocated to our retrofitted building at 45 Sacré-Coeur in Gatineau, and the rest was distributed to our five branches. The collection remains available to you. You can request office delivery, but you can visit our branches, and where applicable, you can request digital delivery.

The work in our facility in Gatineau also includes a significant upgrade of the rare book room, increased shelving capacity and upgrades to the workspaces so that collections can be serviced and maintained throughout the closure. We implemented a new service model, which Catherine spoke about just a few minutes ago, with more face-to-face contact, collaborative spaces and an opportunity to use media walls and newer technologies.

The closing of Centre Block had a significant impact on visitor services. Tours were offered in Centre Block until January 25 and, a week later, new guided tours began in the Senate of Canada Building and West Block. Visitors were able to use the new electronic ticketing system, which was successfully launched in the fall of 2018, and the library undertook an extensive promotional campaign to raise public awareness regarding the new tours. A new, modernized boutique with expanded offerings also opened in the new Visitor Welcome Centre.

Last year, the library significantly increased access to digital resources, including historical parliamentary publications, high-calibre research databases and statistical datasets. We also expanded our visualization capacity for research and reference products.

We continued to strengthen our research support to parliamentarians by building our capacity to provide cutting-edge analysis and products. We provide GBA+ analysis and detailed infographics, as well as increased support for your international work.

We are also making good progress on our cutting-edge project with the National Film Board to give virtual access to Centre Block during the years of rehabilitation. Technical development of the virtual reality environment has been completed, and the immersive VR, online 2D experiences and national travelling classroom program are on track to launch this fall.

With the committee's permission, I would like to table a status update on this project, which I hope you will find interesting.

Another important accomplishment last year was to enhance the library's presence on the Parliament of Canada's website, including new content with improved usability, especially for mobile devices.

These are just a few of the highlights of last year.

Each year, the library provides the speakers with an account of the library's accomplishments against a set of strategic priorities that are established by the speakers in consultation with the parliamentary librarian. While there is no legislative requirement to produce an annual report, the library has consistently published such reports, because we believe it is important to be transparent, to account for our resources and to report our results.

For the last two years, the library has produced its annual report in a digital format first. A printable format is also available. We have received praise from parliamentarians that our annual reports are well designed, accessible in presentation and clear in content. Earlier this year, the 2017-2018 annual report was shared with the members of this committee. We received some very positive feedback, and if there are others who have feedback to share, it would certainly be most welcome, as we are beginning to work on the 2018-2019 annual report.

We are committed to producing a document that is of interest to you and meets your needs.

The library is now in the process of fine-tuning our priorities for 2019-20. They have just been submitted this week to the Speakers for approval. They are subject to change, but I'm pleased to give you a sense of some of our key priorities for this year.

They include, as you now know, enhancing outreach to parliamentarians and staff, ensuring operational efficiency and effectiveness of the new and renovated branches, enhancing public education programs to maximize visitor experience, and meeting demands of the 43rd Parliament including developing the orientation program I spoke about. We want to enhance our internal and external communication. We need to respond to the new requirements of legislative changes adopted by Parliament as they apply to the library. We will be promoting a respectful work environment with a focus on mental health and values and ethics, and finally we will be promoting diversity and accessibility at the library.

Of course, these priorities must be delivered in the context of our day-to-day operations. I will not repeat our mandate; I think that you are already very familiar with it.

Of course, if you have any questions about the work that we do, today or anytime, we are very happy to answer them.

To deliver on our day-to-day operations and priorities in 2019-20, the library requested funding through the main estimates in the amount of $49,952,016. Roughly $34 million is for salaries, $5 million is for the employee benefit plan and $10 million is for goods and services.

These estimates represent an increase of $1,866,011 or 3.9% over the 2018-19 main estimates funding levels. The basis for the increase in the main estimates can be captured in four broad categories: ongoing program funding, one-time program funding, economic increases and an increase in the rate of the statutory employee benefit plan. I will present each of these in turn.

To ensure excellent service to parliamentarians and Canadians, the library has identified several areas where an ongoing increase in program funding is required to cover additional operating costs. The library requested $1,306,860 to relieve operational pressures resulting from the closure of Centre Block and the opening of new branches.

The increase in program funding consists of two amounts, the first being $843,646 that will enable the library to add eight more front-line library resources to serve senators and members now that we have five branches. The second allocation in this area is $463,214 to increase the number of parliamentary guide hours to support tours in two locations: the Senate of Canada Building and West Block.

In terms of one-time program funding, the virtual reality experience of Parliament program is seeking a net increase of $119,105 for 2019-20. This amount includes salary, operating funds and statutory benefits.

Another budget pressure relates to economic increases that were granted to two groups in 2018-19. The library negotiated economic increases with one of its bargaining units and the Treasury Board Secretariat released the economic increases for their executive cadre. In order to remain competitive, the library sought and received approval from the Speakers to mirror these Treasury Board increases. These two developments have resulted in an amount of $407,461 being allocated in the main estimates for economic increases for Library of Parliament employees.

Finally, the library's main estimates also include an increase in statutory expenditures in the amount of $32,585.

This amount relates to the increase in the rate of the statutory employee benefit plan, which is a non-discretionary, statutory expense that, in accordance with Treasury Board benefit rates, has been adjusted from 15.2% to 15.3% of salaries, effective April 1, 2019.

Approval of the library's main estimates submission was given by Speaker Furey and Speaker Regan in December 2018. It is this submission that is before you today. My colleagues and I look forward to your questions.

Thank you very much.

[The Joint Chair, Liberal, Gagan Sikand]

Ms. Quach.

[Anne Minh-Thu Quach, NDP, Salaberry—Suroît, QC]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you once again, Ms. Lank, for this additional information on the budget.

My first question is about your latest annual report. My attention was drawn by the section on a healthy workplace. It says that there are improvements to be made in terms of respect and courtesy, but also in terms of clear leadership and expectations.

I am wondering what has happened. Why is that aspect being focused on? Is there a lack of effectiveness in that regard? Does that affect workplace health? This is pretty important. How will that aspect be improved?

[Heather Lank]

Thank you for your very good question.

This observation falls within an extremely positive context. We conducted a survey of our employees regarding the health of their workplace. The results were very good, but our management team wants to take things even further for our organization.

The results show that our workplace is very healthy. However, we felt that there was room for improvement in areas such as our internal communications and our way of promoting the leadership vision. We identified areas for further development as part of this drive for improvement, not because issues arose.

[Anne Minh-Thu Quach, NDP, Salaberry—Suroît, QC]

That's fine.

There's also a $1 million reduction with respect to information services for parliamentarians. What's your explanation for this reduction for the 2019-20 fiscal year?

[Heather Lank]

I'll ask Ms. Robert, our director of finance, to explain the amount that's causing confusion.

[Manon Robert, Director, Finance, Materiel Management and Corporate Planning, Library of Parliament]

Thank you for your question.

The $1 million represents purchases and sales associated with the boutique. The boutique is a cost-neutral environment for which our budgets still set aside $1 million. The boutique has just had a very good year, despite the move. We expect to end the 2018-19 fiscal year with revenues of nearly $1 million.

[Anne Minh-Thu Quach, NDP, Salaberry—Suroît, QC]

Okay.

Is the boutique part of the information services?

[Manon Robert]

Yes.

As you may know, our budget is divided into two categories. These categories are internal services and services to parliamentarians. Anything not included in the library's internal corporate services, such as human resources, information technology services and finance, is found in the programs category. This category includes information services.

[Anne Minh-Thu Quach, NDP, Salaberry—Suroît, QC]

Okay.

Ms. Lank, you talked about the need to improve the visualization capacity for research products. Before you arrived, we discussed the whole issue of the digitization of records and documents. Is that what you're referring to? What are your plans?

[The Joint Chair, Liberal, Gagan Sikand]

A short answer, please.

[Heather Lank]

We're talking about improving our capacity to provide infographics in committee reports. I would like to ask Ms. MacLeod to elaborate on this project.

[Catherine MacLeod]

Thank you.

We're talking about integrating images, maps and factual analyses into committee reports. Parliamentarians have told us that they want to see more images in the reports.

[The Joint Chair, Liberal, Gagan Sikand]

Thank you.

Next is Mr. Lauzon. The floor is yours.