Tag Archives: Serials

Freedom to Read

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By Mary-Francis Turk

At Library and Archives Canada (LAC), we never judge a book by its cover (or its content, for that matter)! We want to make sure that readers and researchers have access to all Canadian publications. LAC’s mandate, as outlined in the Preamble to the Library and Archives of Canada Act, puts emphasis on preserving the documentary heritage of Canada while making it available to the public.

Libraries across Canada have a responsibility to create policies that protect the freedom to read and intellectual freedom. As a national library, LAC has created a permanent collection by acquiring published books, rare and early editions of books and related print material of all kinds.

Through its legal deposit program, LAC acts as a quiet champion against censorship. Every Canadian publication has its place in the national collection. The program has been crucial in aiding LAC’s ongoing efforts to build an inclusive, expansive and accessible national collection.

LAC works closely with publishers to build its collection through the legal deposit program, which is responsible for collecting “materials created in Canada and intended for sale or public distribution.” In doing this, we are able to make material available and preserve it for future generations.

Materials accepted through legal deposit

Canadian publishers and producers submit materials such as

  • Books (monographs)
  • Serials (such as magazines, journals, newsletters)
  • Physical music and video recordings
  • Audiobooks
  • Sheet music
  • Maps
Poster for Freedom to Read Week dated October 19–26, 1986, with three books closed by clamps.

An advertisement promoting reading put out by the Book and Periodical Development Council for Freedom to Read Week in 1986. Library and Archives Canada/Robert Stacey fonds/e010758305. Credit: Michael Hale / Susan Reynolds.

Although it can sometimes feel like censorship is something from the past, there are many examples of more recent instances of challenged publications. This includes several publications that can be found in LAC’s collection:

  • In 2018, David Alexander Robertson’s book Betty: The Helen Betty Osborne Story was “not recommended” for use in Alberta classrooms.
  • In 2016, Robin Stevenson’s book Pride: Celebrating Diversity and Community met resistance during Stevenson’s school visits in British Columbia, Ontario and Quebec.
  • In 2011, Timothy Findley’s book The Wars was used by an Ontario school board in Grade 12 English classes and was subsequently challenged by parents. The school board ultimately decided to keep the book as part of the secondary curriculum.

Canada’s Book and Periodical Council’s Challenged Works List reminds us that publications have historically been and continue to be challenged and censored in Canada. Freedom to Read Week further reminds Canadians that access to publications should not be taken for granted.

Making Canadian publications available to the public and ensuring they are available for future generations is imperative to ongoing intellectual freedom in Canada. This is exactly what we strive to do here in LAC’s legal deposit team.

As we reflect on the freedom to read and the right to intellectual freedom, the task of acquiring and making Canadian publications available to readers across the country seems more important than ever.

Interested in learning more about free expression and censorship in Canada? See a list of the Book and Periodical Council’s English or French works on free expression and censorship in Canada.

Additional resources

Mary-Francis Turk is a Legal Deposit Supervisor in the Private Archives and Published Heritage Branch at Library and Archives Canada.

How to read AMICUS records—Part 2

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Our previous article on this topic explained how to decode an AMICUS record for books, documents and reports (monographs). Today’s article provides you with tips on decoding an AMICUS record for journals, magazines, newspapers or any type of ongoing publication (serials).

To help you better understand, the numbers on the image correspond to the fields described in the article.

Screen capture of the AMICUS full record with corresponding fields (source: AN1538070)

1. AMICUS No.: Keep track of this number! You will need it to request issues of the serial, whether you place a request for retrieval before visiting Library and Archives Canada (LAC) or once you are on site.

2. NLC (National Library Collection) Copies: Provides key information on which issues of the serial record are available in our collection. It is essential to distinguish between the LAC holdings for the serial found in NLC Copies (No. 2) and the description of the publishing history of the serial found in the Description (No. 3). The complete run of a serial is sometimes unavailable at LAC or may be available in a microform version. If a microform version exists, it will be included as a link in Relationships (No. 6).

The following punctuation marks are used to describe serial holdings:
Punctuation Mark Meaning Example
Hyphen  – An unbroken range of holdings v. 1-30 means the library has each issue of the serial from volumes 1 to 30 in its holdings.
Square brackets  [ ] Incomplete holdings [1950] means that holdings include some issues published in 1950.
Question mark  ? Uncertain holdings information v. 18-42? means that holdings may include volumes 18 to 42.
Slash  / A single physical item with two connected volumes v. 12/13 indicates that volumes 12 and 13 are contained in a single physical item.
Comma  , A gap in the holdings v. 1-3, 5 means the library has volumes 1 to 3 and 5 but not volume 4.
Semicolon  ; A publication break (not a gap) in the holdings v. 1-3; 5- indicates that after volume 3 the publisher jumped to 5 without publishing volume 4.

3. Description: Indicates when the serial began publication.

4. Frequency: Specifies how frequently the serial has been published over the years.

5. Notes: Offers additional information about the serial, such as where it has been indexed and its alternate titles.

6. Relationships: Provides links to related versions, for example, in other languages or in other formats, such as a journal available online or on microfilm. In this case, you will find a link to the online version of this journal held in our electronic collection.

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

How to read AMICUS records—Part 1

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Have you ever used our AMICUS library catalogue to try to find a book and were unsure about how to decode the information?

Here are tips on decoding an AMICUS record for books, reports or documents (monographs). To help you better understand, the numbers on the image correspond to the fields in the article.

Screen capture of the AMICUS full record with corresponding fields (source: AN 3041155)

1. AMICUS No.: Keep track of this number! You will need the AMICUS No., the name(s) of the author(s) and the title of the work to place a request for retrieval before visiting Library and Archives Canada (LAC) or once you are on site. Immediately below the AMICUS No., the type of record is specified; this tells you if the record is for a book, a report or a document (monograph), or a journal, a magazine, a newspaper or any type of ongoing publication (serial).

2. NLC (National Library Collection) Copies: Indicates the number of copies available at LAC. If you do not find NLC copies in the record, start your search over and make sure that you are searching the LAC catalogue only, not the entire database. As we are a closed stack library, the shelf location information is for internal purposes only and is not useful to you. Please note that preservation copies are presently unavailable.

3. Description: Tells you the number of pages and if the work contains illustrations or maps.

4: Notes: Provides additional information about the work, for example, other title information, additional information on the contents, whether it contains bibliographic references.

5. Relationships: Provides links to related versions of the work, for example, in other languages or in other formats, such as online or on microfiche.

6. Numbers and Classification: Generally of interest to other libraries only. The call numbers are suggestions for other libraries and are not LAC call numbers.

7. Subjects: Provides the standardized subject headings assigned to the work. Click on any subject heading to find additional materials on that topic.

Stay tuned for an upcoming article on how to read AMICUS records for journals, magazines, newspapers or any other type of ongoing publication (serials).

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