Tag Archives: digital collection

Collecting e-Books at Library and Archives Canada

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By Michelle Foggett-Parker

International Read an e-Book Day, celebrated on September 18, serves as a reminder of the transformative impact digital books are having on reading habits worldwide. As readers delve into the immersive world of e-books, behind-the-scenes efforts ensure that these digital treasures are collected and preserved for future generations.

Library and Archives Canada (LAC) plays a pivotal role in safeguarding Canada’s many histories through its legal deposit program. Since 2007, Canadian publishers have been mandated by law to submit to LAC one copy of every e-book they publish. In that time, more than 3000 Canadian publishers, trade and self-published, have submitted over 60 000 e-books for permanent preservation. This collection underscores the commitment of publishers and LAC to collect and preserve the documentary heritage of Canadians as it continues to evolve.

In recent years, LAC has made significant strides in modernizing its processes for receiving and preserving e-books. One year ago, LAC embarked on advancing the automation of how publishers can submit their e-books and related metadata. LAC observed that most publishers use the ONIX standard to distribute electronic information about their books to booksellers. We understood that it would be easier for publishers to use the same workflow for LAC.

Through strategic partnerships with ONIX distributors, publisher associations and book industry groups, LAC has successfully onboarded 35 Canadian publishers onto a new, more automated workflow using ONIX. As a result, over 7000 eBooks, representing 10% of the total e-book collection, have been received and permanently preserved, enriching LAC’s digital collection and ensuring the accessibility of Canada’s many histories for generations to come.

The method employed by LAC for receiving and preserving digital monographs is both secure and efficient. Publishers can submit their ONIX metadata and e-books via a secure file transfer protocol (SFTP), ensuring the integrity and confidentiality of their submissions. Once received, e-books and metadata are stored in Preservica, the secure digital preservation software used by LAC, and made discoverable through Aurora, LAC’s online catalogue.

While the automated submission process via ONIX streamlines the submission process for publishers, LAC continues to offer manual submission options for those who prefer it. Publishers can still submit digital monographs through LAC’s single or bulk submission forms and spreadsheets, ensuring flexibility in the acquisition process.

The legal deposit program not only serves to collect and preserve digital publications, but also to make them accessible to users, today and in the future. By collaborating with publishers, LAC can build a comprehensive repository of Canada’s literary heritage, providing invaluable resources for historians, researchers, students, creators and the general public.

We have received some terrific new digital additions to the national collection because of the ONIX workflow.

Here are just a few highlights:

  • Jessie’s Island by Sheryl McFarlane, read-along version: A children’s audiobook about life in British Columbia from Orca Book Publishers. The digital audiobook format is a growing area, and we are now receiving more audiobooks through the ONIX workflow.
  • Black Activist, Scientist, Icon: The autobiography of Dr. Howard D. McCurdy: Nimbus Publishing, Atlantic Canada’s largest publisher, has sent us their entire back catalogue of digital books using the ONIX workflow. There are many gems, but we now have more digital titles representing Black history, including this particular title.
  • Glass Beads by Dawn Dumont: We received this title and the entire back catalogue of published titles from independent publisher Thistledown Press in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.
  • The Paper Bag Princess by Robert Munsch: We did not have a digital edition of this Canadian classic, and now we do thanks to Annick Press sending in their entire back catalogue of eBooks.
  • Cora : l’ordinaire endimanché by Cora Tsouflidou: Published by Libre Expression, this collection of 50 letters from the founder of Cora restaurants reveals the reflections of the renowned entrepreneur and restaurant-owner.
  • L’homme de la Saskatchewan by Jacques Poulin: A novel by a celebrated Quebec author, published by Leméac.

As we mark International Read an e-Book Day, let’s celebrate the joy of digital reading and acknowledge the publishers, libraries and partners that safeguard our digital heritage. Through innovative initiatives like the legal deposit program, LAC remains at the forefront of collecting and preserving Canada’s rich cultural legacy in the digital age.

Did you know LAC published two e-Books of its own?

Additional resources:

Michelle Foggett-Parker is an acquisitions librarian with the Digital Legal Deposit team at Library and Archives Canada.

How to find photographs that are not yet available online – part two

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Our previous article “How to find photographs that are not yet available online—part one” explained the best-case scenario for finding photographs that are not yet available online. But what happens when things don’t go that smoothly?

What if I find items that are close but not what I want?

If there are items in your search results that aren’t quite what you’re looking for, don’t despair. It’s quite possible that we have what you want, but that it hasn’t been described yet. The items that have already been described offer you a useful clue as to where those non-described items might be.

First, note the fonds, collection, or accession where each item is from and look at the field labelled “extent.” How many other photographs make up that collection? Perhaps there are more images relating to your topic.

Does the item have:

– an item number?
– a particular photographer?
– certain keywords?

Use variations of those keywords, item number and photographer’s name to do other online searches in Archives Search. If those don’t yield any results, try the finding aid related to each item, either online or on paper. See “How to find photographs that are not yet available online—part one” for tips on using the finding aid.

What if the finding aid is not online or the finding aid is only available in paper?

If you find a fonds, collection, or accession that seems relevant to your research but that doesn’t have an electronic finding aid, look to see if it has a paper one. If it does, you can visit us at 395 Wellington Street in Ottawa, to have a closer look at it. If there is no reference to a paper finding aid, then you have to search through the boxes from that collection. If you cannot come to Ottawa, you can contact our reference staff for guidance, or you may wish to hire a freelance researcher.

With more than 25 million images, chances are we have your “perfect shot.” You just have to find it!

Questions or comments? We would love to hear from you!

How to Consult Material that Is Not Yet Available Online

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For Archival Material – Use Collection Search

When searching for archival material (i.e., diaries, photographs etc.), use Collection Search. You will be able to search database records, known as “archival descriptions”. Sometimes the contents of the record have not yet been digitized. When this is the case, use one of the following methods to consult the material:

For Published Material – Use Library Search/AURORA

When searching for published material (i.e., books, newspapers, etc.), use either our Library Search or, for more search features, use our Aurora catalogue. The search results will often be database records (known as “bibliographic records”) and not full-text online documents. There are three ways you may consult the material:

Questions or comments? We would love to hear from you!