Government of Canada Publications: On your MARCs… Get set… Go!

A new MARC21 bibliographic record service from Library and Archives Canada for Canadian libraries

Every year, the Government of Canada publishes numerous publications, including research reports, conference proceedings, and much more. Many of these publications are available through the Depository Services Program (DSP) managed by Public Services and Procurement Canada. Since 1927, the DSP has gathered and distributed government publications every year to Canadian libraries. With the transition from print material to electronic publications, the DSP has now evolved into a centralized, online weekly distribution service that provides access to electronic government publications.

Library and Archives Canada (LAC) has a legislated mandate to be “the permanent repository of publications for the Government of Canada” (Library and Archives Canada Act, S.C. 2004, c. 11). Thousands of government publications are acquired through various means—such as the DSP, donations, and gifts—and in various formats.

With the increasing volume of electronic content being published by the Government of Canada, the need for timely, efficient and accurate cataloguing of government publications becomes even more necessary to ensure access and discoverability not only for LAC and its users, but also for all Canadian libraries and their users.

A black-and-white photograph of young woman giving a pile of books to a seaman. They are both standing on the deck of a boat with the harbor in the background.

Leading Wren Ruth Church, Women’s Royal Canadian Naval Service (WRCNS) delivering a supply of library books to Able Seaman Bill Swetman of HMCS PETROLIA, Londonderry, Northern Ireland, November 1944. (MIKAN 3519918)

Library and Archives Canada’s Government Publications cataloguing team creates high-quality bibliographic records for select government publications from the DSP’s Weekly Acquisitions Lists. You can access these records by visiting the new LAC MARC21 Records for Govern­ment of Canada Publications webpage.

Download Library and Archive Canada’s MARC21 records for Government of Canada publications in three simple steps:

Screenshot of the LAC webpage for MARC records for Government of Canada Publications.

Screenshot of LAC MARC21 records for Government of Canada Publications webpage.

On your MARCS…

Simply click on the year of interest and you will be directed to links for each week of that year.

Screenshot of web page with the title: “Library and Archives Canada MARC 21 Records: 2017” and underneath are links for each week, e.g. Week 1 (January 6, 2017), Week 2 (January 13, 2017), etc.

Screenshot of page with links to batch records for 2017 DSP publications.

Get set…

Click a link to open a text (.txt) file containing the batch records for the selected government publications from that week’s list.

Go!

Download and save to your preferred MARC editor!

Questions regarding LAC MARC21 records for Government of Canada publications? Feel free to contact us!

Leave a comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.