Tag Archives: LAC

Improving your online experience: Launch of the new Government of Canada Web Archive

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Image of fingers on a keyboard

By Tom J. Smyth

Introduction and program history

Library and Archives Canada (LAC) is the nation’s designated national memory institution, with a legislated mandate to acquire, describe, preserve and provide long-term access to Canada’s documentary heritage.

This includes the Canadian Web! Resources in formats for the Web are recognized internationally as an important facet of a nation’s modern digital heritage. These irreplaceable web resources are important evidence of Canadian history and culture in the 21st century, but they are volatile and prone to disappearing without warning.

What can be done about this? How do we “rescue” resources generated in real time, which exist outside the normal production streams of archival records or traditional publications? How do we safeguard web resources that can therefore contain information found in no other medium, which may document national historic events or important aspects of culture as they are unfolding?

Owing to their precarious nature, immediate and managed action is required to select, arrange, make available and ensure the digital preservation and data continuity of web resources that constitute Canadian digital documentary heritage. This action is referred to internationally as “web archiving,” which is a discipline based on digital preservation and curation that is practiced and advanced by, for example, the 50-plus members of the International Internet Preservation Consortium (of which LAC is a founding member).

Acquiring web resources became a formal part of LAC’s mandate in 2004 under the Library and Archives of Canada Act, subsection 8(2). LAC’s means of realizing this part of its mandate is the Web and Social Media Preservation Program within the Digital Services Sector. The program curates data and researches collections of unique web resources documenting Canadian historical and cultural themes and events, in alignment with the requirements of modern digital scholars. It also makes these resources available to the public for posterity and to support future international research on Canada.

The web resources acquired by the program are made available through the Government of Canada Web Archive (GCWA). While the program and the GCWA are well known in Canada, their scale may not be.

How big is the GCWA? How much data does the GCWA contain?

In 2022–23, the Web and Social Media Preservation Program at LAC reached an important milestone.

As of February 2023, we are pleased that the GCWA exceeded 120+ terabytes of total data and surpassed over 3.1 billion assets or documents.

This is about the same amount of data as 4,600 Blu-ray movie discs (1,150 in 4K, or 384 copies of your favourite movie trilogies in 4K). If the GCWA were printed out on paper, it would take up some 57.5 billion sheets; stacking this up, it would reach the same height as 12,263 CN Towers!

Some program clients may be surprised to hear this, because since 2005, LAC has only provided public access to portions of its federal web archival collections. This means that fully 50 percent of the total collections have therefore never been available to the public until now.

Screenshot of a Government of Canada Web Archive page.

New functionalities and features of the relaunched Government of Canada Web Archive (GCWA)

New collections

We are delighted to announce that, with the relaunch of the GCWA in 2023, LAC will begin providing access to all non-federal collections curated since 2005. At the time of launch, the following collections will be available:

  • The Truth and Reconciliation Commission Collection (curated in partnership with the Centre for Truth and Reconciliation, the University of Manitoba and the University of Winnipeg)
  • The LAC collection on COVID-19 and its impacts on Canada (20+ terabytes of data)
  • All federal government data collected since 2005 (55+ terabytes of data)
  • Additional curated collections (to be arranged and published in the upcoming fiscal year)

The GCWA is one of the most comprehensive sources in existence for the following:

  • Canadian cultural and historical events as documented on the Web (2005–)
  • Official publications of the Government of Canada (GC) (2005–)
  • The federal and historical GC web presence (gc.ca domain, 2005–)
    • Historical GC financial and departmental plans and performance reports (2005–)
    • Historical GC policy frameworks (2005–)
    • Historical GC proactive disclosure (2005–)
    • Data and statistics from the federal web (2005–)
    • Material removed from the federal web under Common Look and Feel 2.0 (2005–08)
    • Material removed from the federal web under “CLF 3.0” (2008–13)
    • Material removed from the federal web under the Web Renewal Initiative (2013–)

Overall, the GCWA is the definitive source for any historical study of the Government of Canada web domain over time.

New portal design

From 2005 to 2019, the GCWA arranged data according to, and only provided access to federal government web resources under, Crown copyright (at maximum, approximately 15 terabytes of data were available). With the launch of the new GCWA in 2023, we have expanded our search tools and filters to help users explore our non-federal data and thematic web collections.

Clients will now be able to engage non-federal collections in a specialized portal and user interface. The relevant interface (government versus non-federal collections) will be presented automatically based on the collection being accessed.

Full text search of the web archive, individual collections or collection themes

Since 2011, LAC has not provided a full-text search capability or service to the public for navigating the GCWA. This situation was very problematic, and it limited client access to discovery and browsing. For the launch in 2023, a complex and powerful full-text search will be made available:

  • Clients will be able to search at multiple hierarchical levels, from the entire archive down to individual files.
  • An advanced search will also be available, including the ability to search by collection, keywords, exclusions, exact phrase, URL/domain, web resource type and date range.
  • An ability to quickly search by exact URL will also be available.
  • Further, clients will be able to discover and access the content of non-federal collections by sub-theme (for example: show all resources collected having to do with the “economic impact on Canada of COVID-19”).

Specialized reference services

LAC provides reference services and support for the GCWA. If you have difficulty locating a known resource within the GCWA, we would be pleased to assist you with the following:

  • Locating obscure Government of Canada official publications or decommissioned websites
  • Locating obscure historical reports, policies, financial data or proactive disclosure
  • Locating genres of Government of Canada content where exact titles or dates are not known
  • History and development of the Government of Canada domain (gc.ca)
  • Use of the web archives as a historical source or as computational data
  • Copyright or privacy concerns
  • Questions on how to have your web resource digitally preserved at LAC

Do you have ideas on what should be collected? Please let us know!

Ask us a question. We can help with all reference questions dealing with the web archive, nominations of Canadian web resources for acquisition, or requests for computational access to our web archival collections data.

Tom J. Smyth is the manager of the Web and Social Media Preservation Program at Library and Archives Canada.

Exploring Indigenous peoples’ histories in a multilingual e-book—Part 1

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On the left, Tatânga Mânî [Chief Walking Buffalo] [George McLean] is in his traditional First Nation regalia on a horse. In the centre, Iggi and a girl engage in a “kunik,” a traditional greeting in Inuit culture. On the right, Maxime Marion, a Métis guide, holds a rifle. In the background, there is a map of Upper and Lower Canada, and text from the Red River Settlement collection.

By Beth Greenhorn in collaboration with Tom Thompson

Library and Archives Canada (LAC) recently published an interactive multilingual e-book called Nations to Nations: Indigenous Voices at Library and Archives Canada. This e-book grew out of two Indigenous documentary heritage initiatives, We Are Here: Sharing Stories and Listen, Hear Our Voices, and it features essays written by First Nations, Inuit and Métis Nation colleagues at LAC. The process for creating this publication was unlike any work LAC had previously carried out.

The project team began with just two people: me and Tom Thompson, a multimedia production specialist. I was tasked with coordinating an e-book that would focus on Indigenous records held at LAC. We determined that an e-book was an excellent fit to showcase newly digitized content. An e-book offered the best platform to incorporate interactive material, such as audiovisual records. It also provided the capability to feature Indigenous languages and dialects.

Work began after the United Nations declared 2019 as the International Year of Indigenous Languages. With this in mind, we consulted with our Indigenous colleagues. The discussions were heartening.

Initially, we intended to feature archival content and other historical materials held at LAC that were created by Indigenous peoples in their ancestral languages. After several months of unsuccessful research, we realized that with the exception of a small number of documents, there was little content written in First Nations languages or Inuktut, the Inuit language. As for Michif, the language of the Métis Nation, there is no known documentation in the collection at LAC.

Faced with this reality, the e-book team needed a new strategy on how to create a publication that supports Indigenous languages when the bulk of published and archival records was created by settler society. Following several brainstorming discussions, the answer became clear and was surprisingly simple. Instead of focusing on historical records written in Indigenous languages, the authors would choose collection items in any media that they found meaningful and then discuss them in their essays. The essays would be translated into the Indigenous language represented by the people portrayed in each section. Content that was translated into an Indigenous language would be presented as the primary text, with English and French versions being secondary.

The title, Nations to Nations: Indigenous Voices at Library and Archives Canada, was chosen by the authors and emphasizes the distinction of the different nations and the diversity of voices. By positioning the authors’ voices at the front and centre, the stories provide a richer understanding of the world through awareness of the Indigenous knowledge and perspectives.

Recognizing that many Indigenous communities have limited Internet connectivity, dynamic content has been embedded in the e-book wherever possible. This includes high-resolution images, podcast episodes, audio clips and film footage. An Internet connection is still required to download the e-book and to access some content, such as database records, blog articles and external links.

A map of North America with symbols placed across Canada.

Pre-contact map of North America without any geopolitical borders, with icons linking to author biographies and essays. Image: Eric Mineault, LAC

Following a recommendation from the Indigenous Advisory Circle at LAC, we hired Indigenous language experts and knowledge keepers to translate the essays and related texts in the e-book. Of all of the tasks involved in the creation of this e-book, finding qualified translators was one of the most rewarding, yet challenging, activities. Many of the languages are at risk and, in some cases, are critically endangered. While language revitalization work has begun in many communities to create standardized lexicons and dictionaries, there were many words in English with no equivalent in the Indigenous language. Quite often, the translators needed to consult with Elders in their communities to confirm terminology and to find a word or phrase that would convey the same meaning.

One of LAC’s biggest paradigm shifts was in presenting the Indigenous language as the principal content, and in offering English and French as supporting texts. In an effort to emphasize this shift, the authors chose words to describe places, proper names and descriptions in their ancestral languages. These words are accompanied by translations in English or French in parentheses, the first time they are introduced to the reader, and only the Indigenous words are used for all further references.

Nations to Nations: Indigenous Voices at Library and Archives Canada is free of charge and can be downloaded from Apple Books (iBooks format) or from LAC’s website (EPUB format). An online version can be viewed on a desktop, tablet or mobile web browser without requiring a plug-in.

Beth Greenhorn is a senior project manager in the Exhibitions and Online Content Division at Library and Archives Canada.

Tom Thompson is a multimedia production specialist in the Exhibitions and Online Content Division at Library and Archives Canada.

So, You’ve Published a Book

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By Liane Belway

Rows of books with multicoloured covers sit on grey metal shelves ready to be processed.

The Legal Deposit team processes all kinds of books published in Canada. (Photo credit: Tom Thompson)

Did you know, when you publish a book, one of the first things you should do is deposit it at Library and Archives Canada (LAC)? Our national collection is built on Canadian publications, which we acquire and preserve for future generations. Our Legal Deposit program has been in place for decades, and publishers from all over Canada send us their publications to be included in our internationally renowned collection. One of the most popular questions we get from new publishers is simply, “Am I required to deposit my work with LAC?”

If you have recently published work in print in Canada and are unsure how to proceed, our newly redesigned step-by-step deposit instructions can guide you through the process. There is a separate process to deposit digital publications, which must also be deposited upon publication. And, of course, if you have any questions, LAC staff are always available to help.

For publishers who have published a title both in print and digitally who wonder which format to deposit, the answer is easy: both! Publishers deposit their books in each format they make available to the public, and this responsibility is becoming increasingly important as the Canadian publishing industry evolves. While the majority of Canadian publications are still produced in print, an increasing number are offered in digital formats as well, with a smaller number of publishers producing digital-only titles. There is even a trend toward publishing originally digital titles at a later date in print format: Toronto-based digital storytelling platform Wattpad Books plans to publish popular titles in print starting this fall, in partnership with Vancouver-based distributor Raincoast Books. If you are a Harry Potter fan, you probably already know that Raincoast Books is famous for distributing books that tend to be popular with Canadian readers.

Rows of books with multicoloured covers sit on wooden book carts.

Recently arrived books waiting for processing by the Legal Deposit team. (Photo credit: Tom Thompson)

If you would like to learn more about how to contribute to our national collection, who is required to deposit with us, what types of publications and how many copies are required, this information and more can be found on our newly updated Legal Deposit web page on LAC’s website.

Liane Belway is a librarian in the Acquisitions section of Published Heritage at Library and Archives Canada.

You can Contact Us with any questions you might have about LAC’s Legal Deposit program.