-------- Original Message --------
Subject: Canadian Federal Library Closures
Date: Thu, 3 May 2012 21:36:01 -0700
From: Virginia R Hetrick PhD <[log in to unmask]>
To: Maps, Air Photo, GIS Forum - Map Librarianship <[log in to unmask]>
Bummer!
While south of the border folks are not likely to have any impact
directly on what's going on, at least one, and probably more, of our
federal government's libraries weren't shut down, but all the people
responsible for library functions were reassigned. The consequence is
that the locations with relative large collections now have volunteers
running their libraries with (at least in the environment where I
volunteer) a group of three librarians and one computer dude
responsible for the technical library work like cataloguing for nearly
200 such libraries. Though I'm not officially trained as a librarian,
I'm now responsible for one library's circulation, procedures and
procedures management. The best thing I can say is that, at least
when I was at LoC, Mr. Buffum and Stanley Pillsbury were great
teachers and I asked lots of questions and, consequently picked up a
lot of information that I've dredged out of the bottom of the memory
banks!
I hope things go as smoothly as they can, though, ultimately, it
doesn't sound like there's much chance of that happening! It's
amazing to try to figure out what's going to happen once these folks
figure out that librarians do more than push books around.
Back in the early 1990s when UCLA combined their library school and
programs with some aspects of the education programs, I thought they
were ahead of their time. But, as things have turned out, somebody,
or more likely, several somebodies had their heads screwed on really
tight!
v
--
------------------------------------------------
Virginia R. Hetrick, here in sunny California
Email: [log in to unmask]
"There is always hope."
My fave: http://www.washington.edu/cambots/camera1_l.jpg
There's no place like: 34N 8' 25.40", 117W 58' 5.36"
if you can't be at: 48N 6' 59.9" 122W 59' 54.2"
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-------- Original Message --------
Subject: Canadian Federal Library Closures
Date: Thu, 03 May 2012 09:47:36 -0500
From: Angie Cope, American Geographical Society Library, UW Milwaukee
<[log in to unmask]>
Organization: American Geographical Society Library
To: Maps-L <[log in to unmask]>
Forwarding unfortunate news. (from Angie)
-------- Original Message --------
Subject: Canadian Federal Library Closures
Date: Wed, 2 May 2012 17:46:04 -0400
From: Carla Graebner <[log in to unmask]>
Reply-To: Discussion of Government Document Issues <[log in to unmask]>
To: [log in to unmask]
Dear Colleagues,
I haven't seen anything posted on this yet and so wanted to let you know
that a majority of Canadian Federal libraries are closing or have been
closed as a result of the recent Canadian Federal Budget.
Over the past few years libraries such as the Department of Foreign Affairs
and International Trade and Health Canada reduced services and collections.
In December 2011, the Human Resources and Development Canada Library
received notice that it would close by March of this year. The following
libraries have recently received closure notices or will be significantly
reduced: Agriculture Canada, Environment Canada, Citizenship and Immigration
Canada, Industry Canada, the National Capital Commission, National Defence,
Public Works and Government Services, the Public Service Commission, and
Transport Canada.
Statistics Canada will lose approximately 2300 positions across the
department which will affect the way it collects and releases statistics.
Library and Archives Canada (LAC)--our national library--will lose
approximately 500 positions and cease to provide document delivery services
as of February, 2013. Other services will be eliminated or curtailed.
Further, LAC has decided "Using the "whole of society" approach, LAC will be
reviewing its holdings to determine what is relevant and what is either
surplus, duplicated, or best placed elsewhere" and that it no longer holds
the monopoly on Canadian Heritage: http://tinyurl.com/77k57ae
Additional information is available via Canadian news agencies like the CBC
[http://tinyurl.com/cucz7h6] and the Canadian Association of University
Teachers (CAUT): http://www.savelibraryarchives.ca/default.aspx. For a
personalized view of the changes to LAC, see
http://reviewcanada.ca/essays/2011/01/01/national-archives-blues/
These closures will effect everyone from government researchers to
genealogists to academic researchers to members of the public.
I am mindful that a concerted effort of librarians and researchers helped
re-instate the EPA libraries several years ago. I hope we can do the
same here.
Carla
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Carla Graebner
Government Information Librarian
W.A.C. Bennett Library, Simon Fraser University
8888 University Drive, Burnaby, B.C. V5A 1S6 Canada
Email: [log in to unmask]
Tel: 778.782.6881
Fax: 778.782.6926
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