Library and Archives Canada (LAC) announced the launch of its Strategy for Services to the Public. The strategy was developed in part using feedback from an online public survey last year in which many genealogists participated.
LAC’s new strategy focuses on the “public-facing services” that enable people to access, understand, and use the information, tools, and materials held at LAC.
The strategy reflects the goals of LAC’s three-year plan; the new approach to LAC’s service points in Halifax, Winnipeg, and Vancouver; the expectations and reach of LAC’s presence online; and the new opportunities for community engagement, service excellence, and operational efficiencies in Ottawa.
Based on four values, LAC strives to deliver service that is open, collaborative, knowledgeable, and responsive.
The following actions appear to be the most likely to benefit genealogists.
Open: Improved initial orientation online and in person, so that clients have the most efficient access possible to LAC collections.
Open: Implementation of a national service model at prominent locations across Canada, so that clients can access in-person and distance services from coast to coast.
Collaborative: Increased collaboration with museums and other memory institutions across Canada, so clients have opportunities to encounter LAC’s documentary heritage directly in their community.
Knowledgeable: Improved e-services, so the knowledge and expertise of clients and LAC staff, as well as digital information and materials, can be exchanged, shared, and easily accessed.
Responsive: Engage indigenous peoples as a growing client group, so that relevant services and information are available in support of the history, culture, and experience of indigenous peoples in Canada.
Responsive: Comprehensive review of LAC standards for services to the public, so that service delivery continues to improve through streamlined, renewed, and new standards to improve service delivery.
To read the entire strategy and list of actions, visit LAC’s website.
Exciting to see Library & Archives Canada stepping out from Ottawa-Gatineau and offering some client services across Canada. Vancouver area genealogists will likely be lined up whenever LAC does start to schedule appointments, etc. I’m lucky to live in Vancouver area, one of the first. Of course, I want to see LAC partner with other institutions in expanding services all across Canada.
I agree it is nice to finally see satellite operations being set up across the country. When I read the three-year plan, I was glad to be reminded that LAC plans to improve its website, which is also good.