Researchers looking for information on Canada’s heritage at Library and Archives Canada might have a difficult time finding what they need within the boxes of files piling up at 395 Wellington St.
The auditor general’s 2014 fall report found a $15-million high-tech cataloguing system purchased by the repository of national history has never been used. At the time, the auditor general found that LAC was dealing with a backlog of 98,000 unprocessed boxes of records and that the institution had not been collecting all of the data it should have from federal agencies.
Michael Ferguson, the federal auditor general, said in a report released Nov. 25 that Library and Archives Canada is not sure when it will be able to complete processing of the records and make them available to the public.
The Royal Society of Canada Expert Panel Report: Future Now “Canada’s Libraries, Archives, and Public Memory,” was also released in November. It highlights all of the issues LAC is facing and says the institution is frequently described as “a national embarrassment”.
Richard Provencher, head of media relations at Library and Archives, says the original Trusted Digital Repository system discussed in the auditor general’s report was ended because it would be too expensive to maintain. He says the decision was made due to the possibilities of newer, better and lower- cost alternatives.
“LAC has already processed 20 per cent of the 98,000 boxes in the backlog cited in the report,” Provencher says.
Although progress is being made, the backlog has created issues with the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada, which was mandated to create “as complete an historical record as possible of the IRS (Indian residential school) system and legacy,” according to the federal government.
The commission was created in May 2006 and has been working since to come to a full understanding of what happened in the residential schools that isolated Aboriginal children from their parents and culture.
The last residential school closed in the 1990s, and since then more than 13,000 former students have taken legal action against the schools and federal government.
Kim Murray, executive director of the Truth and Reconciliation Committee, says researchers came across the filing problem while searching the archives for documents relating to the Indian residential school issue. “We were the ones who stumbled upon all the problems that exist,” she says. “It’s not a surprise to us.”
The commission began searching the archives in 2013 after a successful court challenge, which determined that the commission was entitled to duplicate records that had been kept by Library and Archives Canada. Murray says since then they have found documents in the archives that the Canadian government “didn’t even know they had.”
This is due to what Murray describes as “unconfirmed finding aids,” which means many of the boxes are labelled incorrectly.
Marie DeYoung, president of the Canadian Library Association, calls the auditor general’s findings “sobering.”
She says it reflects the impact of ongoing cuts that the government has required federal departments and agencies to make, and that with these cuts it will be difficult to address the backlog.
“I’m heartened at the level of interest that is being expressed over how Library and Archives Canada needs to step up and take responsibility,” says DeYoung. “I think it is healthy that they’re aware that not only is there interest, there is concern that the job get done correctly.”
The auditor general’s report recommends Library and Archives Canada ensure the federal government’s records are kept up to date. As for the tens of thousands of boxes of unavailable archival records, the report recommends that LAC develop and implement a plan to eliminate the backlog and to report to management with progress updates on a regular basis.
Library and Archives Canada says it agrees with the recommendations and is taking steps to address the problem. A Nov. 28 news release from LAC says the current AMICUS cataloguing system is no longer meeting the needs of the 21st century and that they are currently in negotiations with Online Computer Library Centre (OCLC) to develop a state-of-the-art system to replace AMICUS.