Research Article

Investigating the Persistence of Federal Government Publications in Academic Former Full Depository Libraries in Canada

Graeme Campbell

Open Government Librarian

Queen’s University Library

Kingston, Ontario, Canada

Email: graeme.campbell@queensu.ca

Michelle Lake

Government Publications Librarian

Concordia University Library

Montreal, Quebec, Canada

Email: michelle.lake@concordia.ca

Catherine McGoveran

Head, Research Support (Education, Law, Management, Social Sciences) 

University of Ottawa Library

Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

Email: catherine.mcgoveran@uottawa.ca

Received: 12 July 2022 Accepted: 28 Oct. 2022

2023 Campbell, Lake, and McGoveran. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons‐Attribution‐Noncommercial‐Share Alike License 4.0 International (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly attributed, not used for commercial purposes, and, if transformed, the resulting work is redistributed under the same or similar license to this one.

Data Availability: Campbell, G., Lake, M., & McGoveran, C. (2023). Persistence of federal government publications in academic former full depository libraries in Canada (V1) [Data]. Borealis: The Canadian Dataverse Repository. https://doi.org/10.5683/SP3/BDS0Y6

DOI: 10.18438/eblip30203

Abstract

Objective – The Depository Services Program (DSP) provided printed Government of Canada publications to libraries until the termination of its distribution program in 2013. Full Depository Libraries (FDLs) received all eligible publications distributed by the DSP automatically. This study endeavours to determine whether academic library members of the Canadian Association of Research Libraries (CARL) that were formerly FDLs have maintained their print, federal government holdings since 2013; and what the results of the data collected in this study reveal about access to government information in Canada more broadly.

Methods – The study identified a sample of 100 monographs distributed to FDLs via the DSP between 1979 and 2009. Each monograph was then searched for in the public catalogues of former FDL CARL member libraries to determine current holdings.

Results – Most libraries included in the sample did not have records of all 100 publications, but every publication was located in at least 5 libraries and 12 publications were found in all libraries included in the study. Of the libraries in our sample, 1/3 had retained more than 90 of 100 publications, and 3/4 had retained at least 80.

Conclusion – The redundancy that was a cornerstone of the DSP network still exists to a certain extent and should be leveraged to ensure retention and access to these essential materials for years to come. Existing collaborations and partnerships are well positioned to support a pan-Canadian discussion about preservation of and access to historical federal government information in Canadian libraries and library networks.

Introduction

Wakaruk and Li (2019) state in the introduction to Government Information in Canada: Access and Stewardship, “government information has enduring value ... [and is] used by academics and social commentators in all areas of intellectual output” (p. xv). It is also “precarious and requires stewardship” (p. xvi). Government information in Canada exists in a complex, difficult to navigate web of authors, publishers, jurisdictions, and aggregators. For most of the 20th century, public access to Government of Canada information was shaped by the Depository Services Program (DSP), created by Order in Council P.C. 1471 in 1927 (Dolan, 1989, pp. 55-56). The DSP had a mandate to distribute official print publications from federal government departments free of charge to any library registered as a selective or full depository. From 1928 onwards, a catalogue or checklist of items was distributed to depository libraries at varying frequencies, settling on weekly distribution from 1978 until the conclusion of its distribution program in 2013 (Canada. Public Works and Government Services Canada, 2013, p. vi; Dolan, 1989, p.106). Full depository libraries (FDLs) automatically received copies of eligible items from the DSP Weekly Checklist of Canadian Government Publications, while selective depository libraries (SDLs) had to actively select items (Canada. Depository Services Program, 2010, pp. 4-5). While there were circumstances under which FDLs could withdraw depository items from their collection, FDLs were generally expected to retain items indefinitely (Canada. DSP, 2010, pp. 6, 17-19). Consequently, the network of DSP FDLs formed a decentralized collection of government publications, with redundancy built in as a safeguard against loss of access.

In 2006, the Government of Canada introduced a new economic plan, which directed departments to “assess their programs regularly and to identify areas where they could contain or eliminate ongoing costs” in what would become the Deficit Reduction Action Plan (DRAP) (Paterson, 2021, pp. 28-29). In 2012, the DSP responded to the DRAP, by announcing that, “as of April 2014, they would no longer produce, print, or warehouse hard copies of publications” (Wakaruk, 2014, p. 17). Part of the justification for this change was that as of 2013, “over 90% of the publications listed in the Weekly Checklist were in downloadable electronic formats” (Canada. Government of Canada Publications, 2014). There was discussion among depository libraries at the time (Depository Services Program Library Advisory Committee, 2012), and some concern voiced by librarians related to ongoing access and preservation of Government of Canada publications (Kaufman & Moon, 2013; Paterson, 2021, p.29). 

Nevertheless, all agreements between the DSP and depository libraries were terminated in December 2013, when the DSP ended its distribution program (Canada. Government of Canada Publications, 2014). The end of these agreements meant that the guidelines requiring FDLs to retain deposited publications expired and the DSP-provided collections that remained in FDLs could be weeded. This study explores whether the depository collections received by former FDLs have changed since 2013.

Literature Review

Printed Government of Canada Information Resources

Our study expands on the literature from the 1990s that discusses the availability, persistence, and vulnerability of Canadian federal government publications. Morton and Zink (1992) characterized the DSP as an important “safety net” securing citizen access to Government of Canada publications but noted “considerable concern” for its continuation during a time of government downsizing (p. 387). A 1991 task group made recommendations concerning DSP operations, including the loosening of retention requirements for SDLs (Canada. Task Group on Depository Program Review, 1991, p. 45), and by 2001, an exemption for SDLs allowing the removal of any publication after holding it for five years had been added to the guidelines (Canada. Communication Canada, 2001). As a result, when the DSP’s print distribution program ended in 2013, SDLs had already had several years to discard the vast majority of what they had received from the DSP with little restriction. For this reason, we focused on examining the collections of former FDLs only.

There is also evidence that the redundancy originally provided by the collections of federal departmental libraries began to weaken earlier than that of the DSP network. In 2005, Monty asserted that “...most documents have been preserved by libraries outside of government and not necessarily by the government itself” (p. 14). Almost a decade later, Wakaruk’s (2014) assessment of the government information landscape reported reductions in the federal government’s national and departmental library services with the closure of 30 departmental libraries, which was occurring at the same time as the DSP’s termination of print publication distribution (pp. 16-17). The loss of collection redundancy inherent in these library closures increases support for the idea that the network of former FDLs remains an important location of federal publication access.

Cross and Lafortune unearthed early evidence of weeding within the collections of former depository libraries in their 2017-18 survey of Canadian academic libraries. They also reported that some libraries were choosing to retain smaller print government publication collections with many preferring to focus on municipal and provincial publications (Cross & Lafortune, 2019, p.8). Our study flows directly from these findings by examining the currently discoverable holdings of federal publications originally intended to reside permanently at FDLs.

Collection Assessment

Our approach was to combine attributes of the traditional method of assessment as described by Goldhor (1973), checking a list of publications against a library catalogue, and an overlap study, as outlined in Potter (1982) and Kairis (2003). Instead of carrying out an inductive assessment using multiple checklists like Goldhor, our traditional assessment uses a single checklist: a subset of items from the DSP’s Weekly Checklist. This checklist acts as a shelf list for what items should have been available in a participating library’s collection at the end of 2013.

In assessing the persistence of an item across many libraries, our study is procedurally similar to an overlap study, though it differs in its ultimate goals. Potter (1982) divided overlap studies into four categories based on their objectives: optimizing access to materials within a group of libraries, assessing the advantages of centralized processing, investigating the benefits of collaborative collection development, and examining the phenomenon of collection overlap itself (p. 4). While our study most closely sits within Potter’s collaborative collection development category, our aim is to assess overlap to ensure that duplication continues, rather than avoid it in future acquisitions (p. 14). As such, we would add an additional category to this list: collaborative collection retention.

Kairis’ (2003) overlap study created a sample set of publications which were then manually searched in a central consortial library catalogue using their ISBNs. Kairis also repeated data collection six months later through computational automation (pp. 320-321). Our study followed a method similar to Kairis’, as we generated a sample set of publications from several Weekly Checklists and compared them against library catalogues. However, the searches in our study were carried out manually by our research assistant in over 20 different systems and the use of computational automation was out of scope for our project.

Shortly after our study was underway, a concurrent study with similar aims was launched by the Canadian Collective Print Strategy Working Group (CCPSWG). The CCPSWG was formed in 2018 through a collaboration between Library and Archives Canada (LAC) and the Canadian Association of Research Libraries (CARL), with the goal of investigating the potential for Canadian shared print initiatives. Their work included a pilot overlap study that examined the collections of Canadian federal government publications at 26 libraries (CCPSWG, 2020, pp. 5-6). The CCPSWG pilot used an automated checking system with OCLC’s GreenGlass application to assess the overlap of federal publications at participating institutions, as represented by OCLC-held data, to identify rare or scarce items (CCPSWG, 2020, pp. i-ii). The CCPSWG selected their list of serial and monograph publications based on what federal materials were held by the participants at the time of data collection (CCPSWG, 2020, p. viii). Compared to the CCPSWG pilot, the set of publications considered by our study was smaller and limited to monograph publications that were listed in the Weekly Checklist as having been distributed to all libraries in our study, meaning that the titles should still have been held in each library’s collection in 2013. As such, in addition to identifying which items remained, our approach also provided the opportunity to identify items that had disappeared entirely from the collections of the libraries in our study and calculate a rate of retention for federal government publications in our sample among former FDLs.

Aims

Now that the DSP’s print distribution program has been concluded for several years, it is an ideal time to examine the ways in which libraries are adapting their print government publication holdings. There is a gap in the literature related to how these distributed print holdings have evolved since the end of the program, one that we hope this paper will help to fill. An analysis of the current print federal government information landscape could do well to inform the advocacy efforts of CARL and other groups, particularly in relation to government publishing, information access, preservation, and transparency. Our study endeavours to estimate the extent to which former FDL academic CARL libraries have maintained their DSP-distributed print holdings.

Methods

For this study, we extracted from the Weekly Checklists a sample of 100 publications distributed to FDLs between 1979 and 2009 and searched for them in the library catalogues of former FDLs.

Library Selection

We narrowed our focus to the collections of former FDL CARL members, as CARL works to “ensure long-term access and preservation in a dynamic digital environment” for academic researchers in its member libraries (Canadian Association of Research Libraries, 2021). As such, CARL academic library members seemed most likely to have developed comprehensive collections of historical value to support research activities.

We further restricted the scope of our study to CARL academic library members that had been DSP FDLs. While we did attempt to identify the dates at which CARL libraries became FDLs, it became clear early on that this information was not easily discoverable. For that reason, we relied on four lists of DSP FDLs published between 1989-2011 to select the pool of libraries for our investigation (Canada. Depository Services Program, 1999; Canada. Depository Services Program, 2005; Canada. Government of Canada Publications, 2011; Statistics Canada, 1989, pp. 221-223;). There were 22 CARL academic libraries listed in all four sources as FDLs, and 25 listed as such in at least two of the sources. We decided to include all 25 CARL libraries that had been FDLs during at least some of the period under study.

The University of Waterloo and the University of Guelph, both of which are CARL members and former FDLs, also represent two of three members in the TriUniversity Group of Libraries (TUG), which has been in existence since 1995. TUG institutions have shared a storage facility since 1996, an Integrated Library System (ILS) since 1998, and a Preservation of Last Copy Agreement since 2006 (TriUniversity Group of Libraries, 2000; TriUniversity Group of Libraries, 2018). The last copy agreement specifically recognizes the duplication of materials received via the DSP amongst TUG institutions (TUG, 2018). Given this context, we decided to treat TUG as a single library when performing our analysis. We considered an item found in any of the three members of TUG to be a positive result. This included situations where items were found only at Wilfrid Laurier University, the third institutional member of TUG, even though Laurier’s library is not a member of CARL. Laurier is also a former SDL, not a former FDL. As such, our analysis and discussion refers to 24 libraries, even though our searches within the TUG system as a whole meant that we actually looked for each publication in the collections of 26 libraries. A list of all libraries included in this study, and their relevant consortial and partnership affiliations, is included in Appendix A.

Publication Selection

The publication inclusion and exclusion criteria were based largely on the DSP’s Guidelines for Retaining and Disposing of Depository Publications (2010). A total of 100 publications were identified for this study, with 25 publications from each of the following years: 1979, 1989, 1999, and 2009. These years were chosen to include a range of dates in order to consider whether date of distribution affected retention. Publications were selected from Weekly Checklist issues from the identified years or successive years when our selection method necessitated it. A list of all checklists consulted for the development of the sample list is provided in Appendix B. The criteria for selecting publications were designed to maximize our chances of identifying them in library catalogues and to increase the likelihood that all FDLs should have received the publications in our sample list and had them as part of their holdings as of December 2013. As such, publications selected for inclusion had to be published in print, issued as monographs or standalone volumes, distributed to depository libraries, and available in both English and French or bilingually. The research team carried out the work of selecting publications for inclusion in the study, while the research assistant (RA) completed the catalogue searches and collected relevant metadata.

For exclusion criteria, our decision to exclude ephemera, serials, and electronic media was based on the Guidelines’ allowance for the disposal of certain items in these categories under defined circumstances. Our exclusion of serials was also based on the lack of detail found in many government publication serial records in library catalogues, making it difficult to confirm the scope of holdings. The study focuses on monographs because we believe they provide the clearest paths to identification in library catalogues and significantly reduce challenges confirming holdings while searching. A detailed description of the publication selection process is described in Appendix C. A list of the 100 publications selected using this process is found in Appendix D.

Search Strategy and Data Collection

Searches were performed using the library catalogue’s advanced search. Where consortial union catalogues were in use, we confirmed whether the catalogue indicated that the physical items were located at the specific libraries that were part of this study.

We developed a four-step search process, outlined in detail in Appendix E, that involved searching for the title, ISBN, and department or agency from each publication. The search process was carried out for all publications in the sample by the RA using each library’s catalogue. A set of five key metadata fields were used to confirm a successful match: title, date, author department or agency, format, and language. If all fields matched, the search was deemed successful. If all steps in the search process were attempted without resulting in a successful match, the publication was marked as not found at that library. For each successful identification, a limited amount of metadata was collected from the catalogue record so that comparisons could be made during our analysis (See Appendix E).

Results

Overall Retention

Searches for the 100 publications in our sample were performed at each of the 24 libraries in our study. If the DSP Guidelines were still in force, we would expect to have found all publications, a total of 2,400 instances. Instead, we found only 1,981. Every title in the sample was located in at least 5 libraries, and 12 titles were found in all 24 libraries.

The low end of retention at a single library was 22 of 100 publications, while the high end was 100 (see Figure 1). Average retention of the 100 publications was 82.5 and the median retention was 85. Of the libraries in our sample, 1/3 had retained over 90 of 100 publications, and 3/4 had retained at least 80.

Figure 1

Titles found, by institution.

Retention by Year

Since our sample publications were equally distributed into four groups of 25, separated by distribution year by 10-year intervals, we could compare retention across all library systems for items distributed during different time periods. Overall retention was higher for items distributed in 1989 and 1999 compared to those distributed in 1979 and 2009. As illustrated in Figure 2, retention across the four decades covered in the study was as follows: 1979: 80%, 1989: 89%, 1999: 87%, 2009: 74%.

Figure 2

Percentage of total expected items found, by year of distribution.

Retention by Region

Since the libraries in our study span multiple regions across Canada, we can compare retention regionally within academic CARL-member libraries. We have done this by grouping each of the 24 libraries into their respective regional associations: Council of Prairie and Pacific University Libraries (COPPUL), Ontario Council of University Libraries (OCUL), Bureau de coopération interuniversitaire (BCI), and Council of Atlantic University Libraries (CAUL). While our study did not investigate the collections of all library members of these regional associations, this view of our data does provide one perspective on the overall retention of research libraries in the different regions.

Figure 3 demonstrates retention among libraries included in our study by membership in regional associations: COPPUL: 90%, OCUL: 88%, BCI: 64%, CAUL: 89%.

Figure 3

Percentage of total expected items found within regional associations.

Coverage within Selected Partnerships

Consortia and partnerships are becoming increasingly important for, and directly involved in, the management of government publications at academic libraries. As such, we wanted to consider membership in selected collaborations as another lens for our analysis. The COPPUL Shared Print Archive Network (COPPUL-SPAN) is a collaboration between 21 COPPUL members that implicates Government of Canada publications, with one aim to preserve and provide access to shared print resources (Bigelow et al., 2017). Keep@Downsview (K@D) is an initiative of five partner institutions, all included in this study, that aims to “preserve the scholarly record in Ontario in a shared high-density storage and preservation facility” (Keep@Downsview, 2020). Although publicly available documentation for K@D does not currently indicate that government publications are in scope, we believe there is potential for them to be included in the future (Keep@Downsview, 2020).

Additionally, more than half of the libraries in our study migrated their bibliographic information to one of two shared library management systems following the completion of our data collection, with the promise of significant future collaboration on print resource management and sharing. We thought it important to view our results through the lens of the following additional groupings: OCUL’s Collaborative Futures Project (OCUL-CF) and BCI’s Quebec University Libraries Partnership (BCI-QULP).

Since our study did not include all members of these partnerships, apart from K@D, we can only provide an incomplete picture of the estimated level of coverage for each of them. However, this view of our data helps provide an idea of potential collection management collaborations for redundancy across the country.

Figure 4 shows the number of titles for which at least one copy was found in one member of the four groups. Considering only the 24 libraries included in our study, all 100 titles were found within the members of COPPUL-SPAN, OCUL-CF and K@D, while 97 of the titles were found within the members of BCI-QULP.

Figure 4

Titles found in at least one member of selected regional partnerships.

Discussion

Overall Retention

While an overall estimation of retention across all 24 libraries of 82.5% seems positive, it does imply that there has been some evaluation and weeding of DSP collections at the libraries included in this study. Based on the original requirements of the DSP retention guidelines, and the way the publication selection criteria for this study were designed, there is a very high likelihood that all libraries in our study held all publications in the sample at the end of 2013. From this perspective, our results suggest that the pan-Canadian redundancy provided by the network of FDLs that was fundamental to the program and reflective of the value of government information decreased significantly in the 5 years following the termination of the DSP retention requirements.

Retention by Year

Overall retention was noticeably greater for items distributed in 1989 and 1999, compared to those distributed in 1979 and 2009. The significantly lower retention for items distributed in 2009 may be due to the availability of born-digital versions of the same printed publications. Our RA reported that in several instances where no print versions of publications distributed in 2009 were found, the library catalogues did provide metadata for electronic versions of the same documents. The lower retention of 1979 items was more of a surprise. It is possible that older Government of Canada monographs were more likely to be weeded after the expiration of the DSP retention guidelines due to a perceived lack of currency, especially since as standalone items there may not have been relationships to other publications (e.g. part of a series) supporting their retention.

Consortial and Collaborative Opportunities

We also examined how retention could be viewed through membership of the libraries in our study in existing regional associations, partnerships and consortia. While we did not search the catalogues of all members of these groupings, besides K@D, our view of their membership includes those former FDL academic libraries who are members of CARL. As such, we believe they represent key stakeholders within these groups in securing long-term access to research materials such as government documents.

Viewing retention through the lens of regional association membership revealed that three of the regions have above-average retention levels within our subset of their membership. On the other hand, overall retention within academic CARL library members of BCI was noticeably lower than for the other regions. For this reason, we suggest that considering the future of access and preservation for these collections within the province of Quebec might be of more urgent concern.

However, maintaining a high level of retention at all libraries regionally is not necessarily the most efficient way of ensuring long-term access and preservation. In situations where multiple libraries agree to share resources and responsibility for their preservation, fewer copies per library could provide adequate security for items that, while historically significant, have individually low rates of use. For this reason, we also looked at coverage--whether at least one copy could be found--within existing consortia and preservation-related partnerships.

Clearly these existing collaborations provide high levels of collective coverage, with at least one copy of all 100 publications found in three of the four partnerships examined. Assuming coverage has not changed significantly since we completed our data collection in 2019, these partnerships appear to provide ample opportunity to proactively secure the future of former federal depository collections before retention drops to problematic levels.

Scarcity and Retention

The CCPSWG overlap study published their final report in September 2020, while we were performing the analysis for our study. The results of their study found that Canadian federal government publications had “...limited holdings coverage within the 26 participant libraries. The total number of titles identified was 748,000, and of these, 509,000 (68%) showed only one library holding in the participant group” (CCPSWG, 2020, p. ii). The CCPSWG also applied a threshold of “...three or fewer title-holdings…” to denote scarcity in their analysis (CCPSWG, 2020, p. iv).

While the CCPSWG overlap study brings forward important information to consider when examining collection redundancy, the ways in which its methodology and scope differed from ours were significant, meaning that the findings of both studies should also be interpreted differently.

The libraries included in the CCPSWG and our study were different, but there was cross-participation of 17 libraries in both studies, with the CCPSWG also categorizing TUG as a single library in their analysis (CCPSWG, 2020, p. vii). Our study focused on the collections of former FDLs that were also academic library CARL members, while the CCPSWG included government and public libraries in their study in addition to some CARL member libraries (CCPSWG, 2020, p. vii). The CCPSWG study’s data was collected and overlap analysis conducted computationally with OCLC’s Greenglass application, which meant that a much larger set of publications was analyzed (748,000), while our study performed these activities manually on a sample of 100 publications. This meant that we could troubleshoot during the search and verification process to ensure matches were accurate even when encountering minor differences in bibliographic information. Another important difference is that the CCPSWG study gathered data about publications that were still held by libraries participating in their study at the time of data collection, whereas our study looked at what should have been in FDL collections, according to the Weekly Checklist, as of 2013. The publications our study was searching for should have been found in all the libraries in our study if the intended redundancy of the DSP distribution network had been maintained, meaning that when titles were not found, it likely represented weeding locally, and collectively the beginnings of a dismantling of the distributed network of DSP publications.

Using CCPSWG’s definition of scarcity (three or fewer holdings) for the full sample of libraries included in our study, we identified no scarce titles, since all 100 of our titles were found in at least 5 libraries. That said, the methodological differences in the two studies means that a different perspective on scarcity could be considered. We used the lens of the partnerships and consortia identified above to examine potential scarcity within their collective holdings.

Figure 5

Potentially scarce titles within selected regional partnerships.

Figure 5 shows the number of titles found in three or fewer members of selected consortia and partnerships that were also libraries included in our study. Since we did not investigate the collections of all members of COPPUL-SPAN, K@D, OCUL-CF, and BCI-QULP, we cannot be certain that items held at three or fewer of their members also included in our study indicates scarcity within the entire partnership, which is why we have characterized these items as potentially scarce. Accordingly, we found 3, 6, 19, and 38 potentially scarce titles in COPPUL-SPAN, OCUL-CF, K@D, and BCI-QULP respectively. While it is concerning that we identified several potentially scarce titles within these existing collaborations, it is important to recall that at least 1 copy of all 100 publications was found among the K@D, OCUL-CF and COPPUL-SPAN libraries included in our study, and at least 1 copy of 97 of the 100 publications was found in BCI-QULP. While items in the DSP-distributed collections are starting to become scarcer, we believe that the existing partnerships highlighted here have an opportunity to ensure long-term access and discoverability for a large component of the federal depository collection.

Based on their findings, the CCPSWG recommended “the formation of a national shared print network that coordinates the activities of existing regional shared print initiatives and provides a path to participation for other interested libraries not yet in a shared print program” (CCPSWG, 2020, p. 8). In 2021, North: The Canadian Shared Print Network was announced as a jointly-funded partnership between multiple Canadian organizations and consortia “working towards stable, retained and identified collections in Canada,” including Government of Canada publications (Brigham & Hafner, 2021).

While the CCPSWG overlap study used different methodology, had different participant libraries, and assessed more than just monographs, the recommendations of our study are much the same: now is the ideal moment to develop consortial and shared print collections in Canadian academic libraries, to ensure consistent future access to Canadian government information. There is evidence that existing regional associations and partnerships have maintained reasonable levels of collection redundancy. We support developing retention strategies and scarcity thresholds within these existing partnerships, with an overall strategy for preservation coordinated nationally. An approach, such as that of North: The Canadian Shared Print Network, could represent a key path forward for ensuring long-term access and preservation for historical, print Government of Canada information.

While electronic Government of Canada publications were not the focus of this study, it bears mentioning that the Canadian Government Information Digital Preservation Network (CGI DPN), has been working to preserve such content since 2012. The CGI DPN is a LOCKSS (Lots Of Copies Keeps Stuff Safe) network that replicates copies of electronic Government of Canada publications at multiple locations in an effort to preserve and keep them safe for future generations. The first collection ingested by the CGI DPN included over 100,000 electronic publications collected by the DSP (Wakaruk & Marks, 2019, pp. 279-280). This archive is publicly accessible through Archive-It.

Limitations

There are limitations to our study’s research methodology and replicability. Firstly, our sample set of titles was created using inclusion and exclusion criteria designed to maximize findability, based on professional experience, printed monographs would likely show less variability in their indications of holdings in their publicly viewable metadata than other publications. Manually identifying publications at each institution meant a limited number could be included in the sample to keep it manageable. It would be difficult to predict the difference in results had we included more publication types and a larger set of publications.

Secondly, institution-specific approaches to cataloguing, description, and discovery across the 24 library catalogues searched posed some problems for confirming successful matches. As Cross and Lafortune (2019) found, while there had been many projects to integrate government publications into the general collections of academic libraries, it sometimes made the collections harder to navigate due to the way in which the titles were catalogued (p.8). For example, there may have been different approaches in how to catalogue something as either a monograph or a serial. It is also possible that subsets of some federal government collections may not have been catalogued at some libraries.

Thirdly, exact replication of this study would pose a challenge as the data was collected ahead of the rollout of two province-wide academic consortial projects, OCUL-CF and BCI-QULP. The data collection for this study took place from April 2019 to September 2019. The initial implementation of the OCUL-CF shared catalogue, Omni, went live in December 2019 (Ontario Council of University Libraries, 2020), and the BCI-QULP catalogue, Sofia, went live in the summer of 2020 (Bureau de Coopération Interuniversitaire, 2022). Before these consortial projects, most academic libraries in these two provinces had their own ILS and library catalogues. Metadata migration to the consortial systems likely resulted in changes that would make exact replication of this study difficult, though it might also provide opportunities to perform larger-scale analyses within the smaller scope of these individual partnerships. Additionally, it is possible that in the three years since our data collection, the government documents collections of one or more of the 24 libraries in our study have changed significantly.

Lastly, our focus in this study was on assessing the persistence of the printed publications that were originally distributed by the DSP. We did not attempt to match or gather data related to alternative formats, including electronic versions. Our study relied on the publicly viewable catalogue metadata of former FDLs to estimate the retention of DSP-distributed materials in 2019. Our assumption was that if an item was not found in the catalogue, it was not retained by the library. It was beyond the scope of this project to determine why or when any given item was weeded.

Conclusion

In 2013, the DSP ended its print distribution services and terminated the agreements requiring FDLs to retain indefinitely most publications received through the program. Without the informal, redundant network of publications formed by the FDLs, DSP publications became vulnerable to loss. We set out to determine if these federal print collections were still intact and discoverable at academic libraries across the country.

Our study searched the collections of 24 former FDL CARL academic libraries for a sample of 100 publications distributed to FDLs between 1979 and 2009. Every publication in our sample was found in at least 5 of the 24 libraries, indicating a degree of redundancy remaining among the collections of CARL academic libraries. However, an overall retention rate of 82.5% for the 2400 publication instances expected to be found by our study suggests that weeding of these collections has likely taken place in the five years following the end of DSP distribution.

We hope that our study has generated valuable information about Government of Canada publications in Canadian academic libraries that could be used to support future decision making. The redundancy that was a cornerstone of the DSP network still exists, to a certain extent, and should be leveraged alongside existing collaborations and partnerships to support a pan-Canadian discussion about preservation of and access to federal government information in Canadian libraries and library networks. Coordination and collaboration at the pan-Canadian level could help to secure these collections into the future. This could be accomplished through a new initiative, or by supporting or advocating for the work of longstanding collaborations, such as the CGI DPN, or of recently created partnerships, such as North: The Canadian Shared Print Network.

Author Contributions

Graeme Campbell: Conceptualization, Methodology, Validation, Formal analysis, Investigation, Data curation, Writing - original draft, Writing - review & editing, Visualization, Supervision, Project administration, Funding acquisition Michelle Lake: Conceptualization, Methodology, Validation, Investigation, Data curation, Writing - original draft, Writing - review & editing, Visualization, Supervision (lead), Project administration (lead), Funding acquisition Catherine McGoveran: Conceptualization, Methodology, Validation, Formal analysis, Data curation, Writing - original draft, Writing - review & editing, Visualization, Project administration, Funding acquisition

Acknowledgements

This research project was generously supported by the CARL 2018 Research in Librarianship Grant and the 2019 Concordia Library Research Grant. We would like to thank our research assistant, Dr. Claire Burrows, for her diligent work and contributions to the project.

References

Bigelow, I., Bird, G., Blackburn, J., Nelke, B., Brigham, D., & McDavid, K. (2017). SPAN 5 year report and recommendations. COPPUL: The Council of Prairie and Pacific University Libraries. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1aY8k3pJHxY___P8WBwRrDgTyUOqQLTmk/view

Brigham, D., & Hafner, H. (2021, December 14-15). Announcement: Newly-formed national shared print program, North [Conference presentation]. Government Information Day(s) 2021 Conference (Online), Canada. https://nextcloud.scholarsportal.info/s/ASYstag48ocb7B6

Bureau de Coopération Interuniversitaire. (2022). Partenariat des bibliothèques universitaires Québec: Plateforme partagée de services (PPS). https://web.archive.org/web/20220222165807/https://biblios-uni-qc.org/nos-projets/plateforme-partagee-de-services-pps-2/

Canada. Communication Canada. (2001). Depository Services Program: Retention/disposition guidelines for Canadian government depository publications. Government of Canada. https://web.archive.org/web/20011217203626/http://dsp-psd.pwgsc.gc.ca/Info/retention-e.html

Canada. Depository Services Program. (1999). Full Depository Libraries. Government of Canada. https://web.archive.org/web/19990503083525/http://dsp-psd.pwgsc.gc.ca/dsp-psd/AboutDSP/DepoNew/full-e.html

Canada. Depository Services Program. (2005). Full Depository Libraries. Government of Canada. https://web.archive.org/web/20050422075128/http://dsp-psd.pwgsc.gc.ca/Depo/full-e.html

Canada. Depository Services Program. (2010). Quick reference guide for depository libraries. Depository Services Program. Public Works and Government Services Canada. https://web.archive.org/web/20130421140839/https://publications.gc.ca/collections/collection_2010/tpsgc-pwgsc/P109-6-2010-eng.pdf

Canada. Government of Canada Publications. (2011). Full Depository Libraries. Government of Canada. http://web.archive.org/web/20111210164444/http://publications.gc.ca/site/eng/locatingOurPublications/depositoryLibraries/fullDepositories.html

Canada. Government of Canada Publications. (2014). About the Depository Services Program. Government of Canada. https://web.archive.org/web/20140805201507/http://www.publications.gc.ca/site/eng/programs/aboutDsp.html

Canada. Public Works and Government Services Canada. (2013). Canadian Government Publications Catalogue: Commemorative Weekly Checklist 13-49. http://publications.gc.ca/collections/collection_2014/tpsgc-pwgsc/P107-1-2013-49.pdf

Canada. Task Group on Depository Program Review. (1991). Partners in Access. Minister of Supply and Services Canada.

Canadian Association of Research Libraries. (2021). Strategic directions May 2019-May 2022. CARL-ABRC. https://web.archive.org/web/20220125153703/https://www.carl-abrc.ca/about-carl/strategic-directions/

Canadian Collective Print Strategy Working Group. (2020). Final Report of the Canadian Collective Print Strategy Working Group. CARL-ABRC/Library and Archives Canada-Bibliotheque et Archives Canada. https://web.archive.org/web/20220125200207/https://sharedprint.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/CCPSWG_final_report_ENG_complete.pdf

Cross, E., & Lafortune, S. (2019). Government information in Canadian academic libraries, 2017-2018: Survey of academic librarians. DTTP: Documents to the People, 47(3), 6-14. https://doi.org/10.5860/dttp.v47i3.7121

Depository Services Program Library Advisory Committee. (2012, August 28). Minutes of the Depository Services Program Library Advisory Committee (DSP-LAC) Teleconference, August 28, 2012. https://web.archive.org/web/20140305162446/https://publications.gc.ca/site/eng/depositoryLibraries/dsp-lac/meetingMinutes20120828.html

Dolan, E. (1989). The depository dilemma: A study of the free distribution of Canadian federal government publications to depository libraries in Canada. Canadian Library Association.

Goldhor, H. (1973). Analysis of an inductive method of evaluating the book collection of a public library. Libri, 23(1), 6-17. https://doi.org/10.1515/libr.1973.23.1.6

Kairis, R. (2003). Consortium level collection development: A duplication study of the OhioLINK Central Catalogue. Library Collections, Acquisitions and Technical Services, 27(3), 317-326. https://doi.org/10.1080/14649055.2003.10765934

Kaufman, A., & Moon, J. (2013, November 4). Farewell to Depository Services, a building block of democracy [Op-Ed]. Ottawa Citizen. https://web.archive.org/web/20131205194722/http://www.ottawacitizen.com/opinion/op-ed/Farewell+Depository+Services+building+block+democracy/9121876/story.html

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Monty, V. (2005). News from the north: Canada is a cold place for government publications. DTTP: Documents to the People, 33(2), 12-14. http://wikis.ala.org/godort/images/c/c4/Dttp_v33n2.pdf

Morton, B., & Zink, S. D. (1992). The dissemination and accessibility of Canadian government information. Government Publications Review, 19(4), 385-396. https://doi.org/10.1016/0277-9390(92)90030-F

Ontario Council of University Libraries. (2020). OCUL Collaborative Futures. https://web.archive.org/web/20200619031025/https://ocul.on.ca/projects/collaborative-futures

Paterson, S. (2021). The Government Information Landscape in Canada. In K. Cassell, J. Church, K. Tallman & C, Church (Eds.), The Government Information Landscape and Libraries. IFLA Professional Report No. 137 (pp.27-47). IFLA. https://repository.ifla.org/bitstream/123456789/842/1/ifla-professional-reports-nr-137-en.pdf

Potter, W. G. (1982). Studies of collection overlap: A literature review. Library Research 4, 3-21.

Statistics Canada. (1989). General review of the 1986 Census: Reference. Minister of Supply and Services Canada. https://archive.org/details/198699137E1989eng/page/n1/mode/2up

TriUniversity Group of Libraries. (2000). The first five years: Reports from the TriUniversity Group of Libraries. https://web.archive.org/web/20141215034215/https://www.tug-libraries.on.ca/sites/default/files/the_first_five_years-reports_from_the_triuniversity_group_of_libraries.pdf

TriUniversity Group of Libraries. (2018). TUG Last Copy Policy. https://web.archive.org/web/20201027173152/https://www.tug-libraries.on.ca/policies/tug-last-copy-policy

Wakaruk, A. (2014). What the heck is happening up north? Canadian federal government information, circa 2014. DTTP: Documents to the People, 42(1), 15-20. https://journals.ala.org/index.php/dttp/issue/viewIssue/598/354

Wakaruk, A., & Li, S. (2019). Introduction: The evolution of government information services and stewardship in Canada. In A. Wakaruk & S. Li (Eds.), Government information in Canada: Access and stewardship. (pp. xiii-xxxi). University of Alberta Press. https://www.uap.ualberta.ca/book-images/Open%20Access/9781772124446_WEB.pdf

Wakaruk, A., & Marks, S. (2019). The Canadian Government Information Digital Preservation Network: A Collective Response to a National Crisis. In A. Wakaruk & S. Li (Eds.), Government information in Canada: Access and stewardship. (pp. 275-294). University of Alberta Press. https://www.uap.ualberta.ca/book-images/Open%20Access/9781772124446_WEB.pdf

Appendix A

Consortial and Partnership Memberships of Former FDL* Academic Library CARL Members

University	Province	COPPUL- SPAN	OCUL	OCUL- CF	K@D	BCI- QULP	CAUL
1.University of Alberta	AB	🗸
2. University of Calgary	AB	🗸
3. Simon Fraser University	BC	🗸
4. University of British Columbia	BC	🗸
5. University of Victoria	BC	🗸
6. University of Saskatchewan	SK	🗸
7. University of Manitoba	MB	🗸
8. McMaster University	ON		🗸		🗸
9. Queen’s University	ON		🗸	🗸	🗸
10. TUG**	ON		🗸	🗸
11. University of Ottawa	ON		🗸	🗸	🗸
12. University of Toronto	ON		🗸		🗸
13. University of Windsor	ON		🗸	🗸
14. Western University	ON		🗸	🗸	🗸
15. York University	ON		🗸	🗸
16. Concordia University	QC					🗸
17. McGill University	QC					🗸
18. Université de Montréal	QC					🗸
19. Université de Sherbrooke	QC					🗸
20. Université du Québec à Montréal	QC					🗸
21. Université Laval	QC					🗸
22. University of New Brunswick	NB						🗸
23. Dalhousie University	NS						🗸
24. Memorial University of Newfoundland	NL						🗸

* We classified the library as a former Full Depository Library if it was described as such in at least two of the following sources (Statistics Canada, 1989, pp. 221-223; Canada. Depository Services Program, 1999; Canada. Depository Services Program, 2005; Canada. Government of Canada Publications, 2011)

** TriUniversities Group (Guelph, Waterloo, Wilfrid Laurier). Waterloo and Guelph, are CARL members and former FDLs, Wilfrid Laurier is not a CARL member and was an SDL, but all three libraries make up the TriUniversity Group of Libraries (TUG), which has been in existence since 1995. TUG institutions have shared a storage facility since 1996, an ILS since 1998, and have had a Preservation of Last Copy Agreement since 2006 (TriUniversity Group of Libraries, 2000; TriUniversity Group of Libraries, 2018).

Membership in the library partnerships and consortia examined is listed as of 2020.

Appendix B

List of Weekly Checklists Used to Select Sample Publications

Canada. Depository Services Program. (1978-2015). Weekly checklist of Canadian government publications. Public Works and Government Services Canada. https://publications.gc.ca/pub?id=9.500735&sl=0

79-10: https://publications.gc.ca/collections/collection_2016/spac-pspc/P107-1-1979-10.pdf

79-11: https://publications.gc.ca/collections/collection_2016/spac-pspc/P107-1-1979-11.pdf

79-20: https://publications.gc.ca/collections/collection_2016/spac-pspc/P107-1-1979-20.pdf

79-21: https://publications.gc.ca/collections/collection_2016/spac-pspc/P107-1-1979-21.pdf

79-22: https://publications.gc.ca/collections/collection_2016/spac-pspc/P107-1-1979-22.pdf

79-23: https://publications.gc.ca/collections/collection_2016/spac-pspc/P107-1-1979-23.pdf

79-30: https://publications.gc.ca/collections/collection_2016/spac-pspc/P107-1-1979-30.pdf

79-31: https://publications.gc.ca/collections/collection_2016/spac-pspc/P107-1-1979-31.pdf

79-32: https://publications.gc.ca/collections/collection_2016/spac-pspc/P107-1-1979-32.pdf

79-33: https://publications.gc.ca/collections/collection_2016/spac-pspc/P107-1-1979-33.pdf

79-40: https://publications.gc.ca/collections/collection_2016/spac-pspc/P107-1-1979-40.pdf

79-41: https://publications.gc.ca/collections/collection_2016/spac-pspc/P107-1-1979-41.pdf

79-42: https://publications.gc.ca/collections/collection_2016/spac-pspc/P107-1-1979-42.pdf

79-50: https://publications.gc.ca/collections/collection_2016/spac-pspc/P107-1-1979-50.pdf

79-51: https://publications.gc.ca/collections/collection_2016/spac-pspc/P107-1-1979-51.pdf

79-52: https://publications.gc.ca/collections/collection_2016/spac-pspc/P107-1-1979-52.pdf

80-10: https://publications.gc.ca/collections/collection_2016/spac-pspc/P107-1-1980-10.pdf

89-10: https://publications.gc.ca/collections/collection_2016/spac-pspc/P107-1-1989-10.pdf

89-11: https://publications.gc.ca/collections/collection_2016/spac-pspc/P107-1-1989-11.pdf

89-20: https://publications.gc.ca/collections/collection_2016/spac-pspc/P107-1-1989-20.pdf

89-21: https://publications.gc.ca/collections/collection_2016/spac-pspc/P107-1-1989-21.pdf

89-22: https://publications.gc.ca/collections/collection_2016/spac-pspc/P107-1-1989-22.pdf

89-23: https://publications.gc.ca/collections/collection_2016/spac-pspc/P107-1-1989-23.pdf

89-30: https://publications.gc.ca/collections/collection_2016/spac-pspc/P107-1-1989-30.pdf

89-31: https://publications.gc.ca/collections/collection_2016/spac-pspc/P107-1-1989-31.pdf

89-32: https://publications.gc.ca/collections/collection_2016/spac-pspc/P107-1-1989-32.pdf

89-33: https://publications.gc.ca/collections/collection_2016/spac-pspc/P107-1-1989-33.pdf

89-34: https://publications.gc.ca/collections/collection_2016/spac-pspc/P107-1-1989-34.pdf

89-40: https://publications.gc.ca/collections/collection_2016/spac-pspc/P107-1-1989-40.pdf

89-41: https://publications.gc.ca/collections/collection_2016/spac-pspc/P107-1-1989-41.pdf

89-42: https://publications.gc.ca/collections/collection_2016/spac-pspc/P107-1-1989-42.pdf

89-43: https://publications.gc.ca/collections/collection_2016/spac-pspc/P107-1-1989-43.pdf

89-44: https://publications.gc.ca/collections/collection_2016/spac-pspc/P107-1-1989-44.pdf

89-50: https://publications.gc.ca/collections/collection_2016/spac-pspc/P107-1-1989-50.pdf

89-51: https://publications.gc.ca/collections/collection_2016/spac-pspc/P107-1-1989-51.pdf

89-52: https://publications.gc.ca/collections/collection_2016/spac-pspc/P107-1-1989-52.pdf

90-10: https://publications.gc.ca/collections/collection_2016/spac-pspc/P107-1-1990-10.pdf

90-11: https://publications.gc.ca/collections/collection_2016/spac-pspc/P107-1-1990-11.pdf

99-10: https://publications.gc.ca/collections/collection_2016/spac-pspc/P107-1-1999-10.pdf

99-11: https://publications.gc.ca/collections/collection_2016/spac-pspc/P107-1-1999-11.pdf

99-12: https://publications.gc.ca/collections/collection_2016/spac-pspc/P107-1-1999-12.pdf

99-20: https://publications.gc.ca/collections/collection_2016/spac-pspc/P107-1-1999-20.pdf

99-30: https://publications.gc.ca/collections/collection_2016/spac-pspc/P107-1-1999-30.pdf

99-31: https://publications.gc.ca/collections/collection_2016/spac-pspc/P107-1-1999-31.pdf

99-32: https://publications.gc.ca/collections/collection_2016/spac-pspc/P107-1-1999-32.pdf

99-40: https://publications.gc.ca/collections/collection_2016/spac-pspc/P107-1-1999-40.pdf

99-41: https://publications.gc.ca/collections/collection_2016/spac-pspc/P107-1-1999-41.pdf

99-42: https://publications.gc.ca/collections/collection_2016/spac-pspc/P107-1-1999-42.pdf

99-50: https://publications.gc.ca/collections/collection_2016/spac-pspc/P107-1-1999-50.pdf

99-51: https://publications.gc.ca/collections/collection_2016/spac-pspc/P107-1-1999-51.pdf

2000-10: https://publications.gc.ca/collections/collection_2016/spac-pspc/P107-1-2000-10.pdf

2009-10: https://publications.gc.ca/collections/collection_2017/spac-pspc/p107-1/P107-1-2009-10.pdf

2009-11: https://publications.gc.ca/collections/collection_2017/spac-pspc/p107-1/P107-1-2009-12.pdf

2009-12: https://publications.gc.ca/collections/collection_2017/spac-pspc/p107-1/P107-1-2009-12.pdf

2009-20: https://publications.gc.ca/collections/collection_2017/spac-pspc/p107-1/P107-1-2009-20.pdf

2009-21: https://publications.gc.ca/collections/collection_2017/spac-pspc/p107-1/P107-1-2009-21.pdf

2009-22: https://publications.gc.ca/collections/collection_2017/spac-pspc/p107-1/P107-1-2009-22.pdf

2009-30: https://publications.gc.ca/collections/collection_2017/spac-pspc/p107-1/P107-1-2009-30.pdf

2009-31: https://publications.gc.ca/collections/collection_2017/spac-pspc/p107-1/P107-1-2009-31.pdf

2009-32: https://publications.gc.ca/collections/collection_2017/spac-pspc/p107-1/P107-1-2009-32.pdf

2009-40: https://publications.gc.ca/collections/collection_2017/spac-pspc/p107-1/P107-1-2009-40.pdf

2009-41: https://publications.gc.ca/collections/collection_2017/spac-pspc/p107-1/P107-1-2009-41.pdf

2009-42: https://publications.gc.ca/collections/collection_2017/spac-pspc/p107-1/P107-1-2009-42.pdf

2009-43: https://publications.gc.ca/collections/collection_2017/spac-pspc/p107-1/P107-1-2009-43.pdf

2009-50: https://publications.gc.ca/collections/collection_2017/spac-pspc/p107-1/P107-1-2009-50.pdf

2009-51: https://publications.gc.ca/collections/collection_2017/spac-pspc/p107-1/P107-1-2009-51.pdf

2009-52: https://publications.gc.ca/collections/collection_2017/spac-pspc/p107-1/P107-1-2009-52.pdf

Appendix C

Selection Criteria for Publication Sample Set Items

Publication selection process

For each of 1979, 1989, 1999, and 2009, five publications were selected starting from each of the 10th, 20th, 30th, 40th and 50th issues of the Weekly Checklist. The following steps were undertaken to select publications from the checklists:

1. A random Checklist starting page for selecting publications was generated using the RAND function in Google Sheets.

2. Publication descriptions in the checklist were reviewed in the order they appeared until one was found matching the “Checklist item selection criteria” (see below). The matching publication was added to the sample list.

3. Following the selection of a publication, review of the checklist descriptions continued after skipping ahead to the next department or organization in order to select a set of publications from a diverse set of author organizations. New author organizations are defined in the Weekly Checklist by the use of all caps in the headings. Branches or subunits within author organizations are indicated by title case headings, and did not constitute changes in author organization for the purposes of this step.

4. Steps 2 and 3 were repeated until 5 publications were selected. If the end of the Checklist was reached before 5 items could be selected using our criteria and method, the process was started again at page 1 of the Checklist and steps 2 and 3 were repeated until a total of 5 publications were identified.

If the steps above did not result in 5 publications being selected from the Checklist issue, the team moved to the next checklist issue numerically (e.g. from 79-10 to 79-11) and repeated these steps until a total of 5 publications were selected. This occasionally necessitated the inclusion of checklists from subsequent years (e.g. 80-10).

Publications included in the sample for this study were added to a spreadsheet for tracking purposes. For each publication in the sample, the following metadata was collected from the Weekly Checklists:

○ Full title

○ Date

○ Author department or agency

○ Format

○ Language

○ Checklist number

○ ISBN

○ Government of Canada classification number

○ Distribution information

Checklist item inclusion and exclusion criteria

Inclusion criteria

The following criteria had to be met for a publication to be included in this study:

1. Materials published in print format. This does not mean that materials could not also be available electronically, but that only print records were selected from the Weekly Checklist for inclusion in the sample.

2. Materials published as monographs or standalone volumes. Monographic series issues were not included if it seemed likely that they could have been catalogued solely under their series title.

3. Materials that were distributed in one of the following ways (distribution statements provided in the Weekly Checklist varied in wording):

● One free copy to depository libraries

● Available to full depository libraries only

● One free copy available to selective depositories

4. Materials that were listed in both English and French, or as bilingual, in the same checklist.

Exclusion criteria

The following materials were excluded from this study, even if they met the inclusion criteria above:

1. Materials where the publication author or type is one of the following:

● House of Commons

● Senate

● Bills / Committees

● Library of Parliament

● Budget / Economic Action Plan / Estimates / Public Accounts / Reports on Plans and Priorities

● All annual financial cycle publications

2. Materials in the following formats:

● CD-ROM

● Kits

● Microfilm / microfiche

● Electronic

● Loose Leaf

● VHS

● DVD

● Folder

● Pamphlets / ephemera

● Processed

3. Serial publications, indicated by the presence of an ISSN, or materials published on a periodic basis, typically indicated by the following words:

● Irregular, annual, quarterly, monthly, weekly, etc.

● Bulletin

4. Materials that were not distributed through the DSP typically indicated by the following statement “available only from issuing agency”.

5. Materials that were a specific edition of an item, as the discarding of older editions by FDLs was permitted through the DSP agreement.

Appendix D

Titles and author organizations, as listed in the Weekly Checklist, of the 100 publications used as the sample set in our study.

Publication Title	Author Organization	Checklist
A study of profits and profit margins in the food industry / Étude des bénéfices et des marges bénéficiaires dans l'industrie alimentaire	Anti-Inflation Board / Commission de lutte contre l'inflation	79-10
People planning: a guide for employers / Planification du personnel: guide à l'intention des employeurs	Employment and Immigration / Emploi et Immigration	79-10
Report on the cheque: some modernization / Rapport sur le chèque: un peu plus moderne	Law Reform Commission of Canada / Commission de réforme du droit du Canada	79-10
Home-made dairy products / Produits laitiers maison	Agriculture Canada / Agriculture Canada	79-11
The basics of oil spill cleanup, with particular reference to Southern Canada / Principes fondamentaux du nettoyage des déversements d'hydrocarbures, compte tenu spécialement du sud du Canada	Fisheries and Environment Canada / Pêches et environnement Canada	79-11
Agriculture is food / Agriculture à votre table	Agriculture Canada / Agriculture Canada	79-20
Partners in pursuit of excellence: a nati[o]nal policy on amateur sport. A white paper on sport. / Ensemble vers l'excellence: politique nationale sur the sport amateur. Un livre blanc sur le sport.	Health and Welfare Canada / Santé et Bien-être social Canada	79-20
Parks Canada policy / Politique de Parcs Canada	Indian and Northern Affairs / Affaires indiennes et du Nord	79-20
Interdependence and inflation / Interdépendance et inflation	Anti-Inflation Board / Commission de lutte contre l'inflation	79-22
National Library of Canada: bibliography / Bibliothèque nationale du Canada: une bibliographie	National Library / Bibliothèque nationale	79-23
Composting / Le compostage	Agriculture Canada / Agriculture Canada	79-30
Telidon / Télidon	Communications Canada / Communications Canada	79-30
Meaning of dismissal: the meaning of dismissals under Division V.7 of Part III of the Canada Labour Code / Le congédiement: le congédiement, aux termes de la Division V.7 de la Partie III du Code canadien du travail	Labour Canada / Travail Canada	79-32
The Riel Rebellions: a cartographic history / Le récit cartographique des affaires Riel	Public Archives Canada / Archives publiques Canada	79-32
Access to information: Independent administrative agencies / L'accès à l'information: organismes administratifs autonomes	Law Reform Commission of Canada / Commission de réforme du droit du Canada	79-33
The future of the automobile in Canada: growth, usage, energy, technology, safety, environment, other modes, and urban and inter-city aspects. / L'avenir de l'automobile au Canada: croissance, utilisation, énergie, technologie, sécurité, environnement, autres modes de transport, perspective urbaine et interurbaine.	Transport Canada / Transports Canada	79-40
The Canadian Crown / La Monarchie au Canada	Government House / Résidence du Gouverneur général	79-40
Report of the Commission of Inquiry into Redundancies and Lay-offs / Rapport de la Commission d'enquête sur les excédents de main-d'oeuvre et les mises à pied	Labour Canada / Travail Canada	79-41
Aphids infesting potatoes in Canada: a field guide / Les pucerons nuisibles de la pomme de terre au Canada: guide d'identification sur le terrain	Agriculture Canada / Agriculture Canada	79-42
Report of the Special Committee on the Review of Personnel Management and the Merit Principle in the Public Service / Rapport du Comité spécial sur la gestion du personnel et le principe du mérite	Public Service Commission / Commission de la Fonction publique	79-42
Checklist of Canadian directories, 1790-1950 / Répertoire des annuaires canadiens, 1790-1950	National Library / Bibliothèque nationale	79-50
Synopsis and recommendations from Responsible regulation: an interim report by the Economic Council of Canada / Résumé et recommandations: Rationalisation de la réglementation publique, un rapport provisoire du Conseil économique du Canada	Economic Council of Canada / Conseil économique du Canada	79-50
Education and working Canadians: report of the Commission of Inquiry on Educational Leave and Productivity / L'éducation et le travailleur canadien: rapport de la Commission d'enquête sur le congé-éducation et la productivité	Labour Canada / Travail Canada	79-51
Chronicles of the Anti-Inflation Board / Historique de la Commission de lutte contre l'inflation	Anti-Inflation Board / Commission de lutte contre l'inflation	79-51
The Canadian military experience, 1867-1967: a bibliography / Bibliographie de la vie militaire au Canada, 1867-1967	National Defence / Défense nationale	80-10
How we work for you / À votre service	Labour Canada / Travail Canada	89-10
Safety handbook for the inshore fisherman / Guide de sécurité pour pêcheurs côtiers	Transport Canada / Transports Canada	89-10
Canada's food aid: helping Africans to help themselves / L'aide alimentaire canadienne: aider les Africains à s'aider euxmêmes.	Canada International Development Agency / Agence canadienne de développement international	89-11
Smoke in the workplace: an evaluation of smoking restrictions / L'usage du tabac en milieu de travail: évaluation de la politique concernant l'usage du tabac	Health and Welfare Canada / Santé et Bien-être social Canada	89-11
Libraries for all: guidelines for library services for disabled Canadians / Des bibliothèques pour tous: lignes directrices pour les services de bibliothèque offerts aux Canadiens handicapés	National Library / Bibliothèque nationale	89-11
Child sexual abuse overview: a summary of 26 literature reviews and special projects / Aperçu général sur les agressions sexuelles contre les enfants: résumé de 26 analyses de documentation et de projets spéciaux	Health and Welfare Canada / Santé et Bien-être social Canada	89-20
Victims: questions & answers on parole / Victimes: questions & réponses sur les libérations conditionnelles	Solicitor General Canada / Solliciteur général Canada	89-20
Report on a review concerning coated broadwoven polyester fabrics for use in the manufacture of textile covers / Rapport du réexamen des tissus larges de polyester enduits servant à la fabrication de couvertures de textile.	Industry, Science and Technology / Industrie, sciences et technologie	89-21
The active health report on alcohol, tobacco and marijuana: what we think, what we know, what we do / Action santé: alcool, tabac et marijuana: le rapport action santé: nos conceptions et nos actions.	Health and Welfare Canada / Santé et Bien-être social Canada	89-22
A new frontier: globalization and Canada's financial markets / Le nouvel espace financier: les marchés canadiens et la mondialisation	Economic Council of Canada / Conseil économique du Canada	89-23
Canada and the changing atmosphere / Le Canada et l'atmosphère en évolution	Environment Canada / Environnement Canada	89-31
Main findings report of the Canadian Blood Pressure Survey / Principaux résultats de l'étude sur l'hypertension artérielle au Canada	Health and Welfare Canada / Santé et Bien-être social Canada	89-32
Goods and services tax: an overview / Taxe sur les produits et services: vue d'ensemble	Finance Canada / Finances Canada	89-32
Development Day activities / Activités pour la Journée du développement.	Canada International Development Agency / Agence canadienne de développement international	89-33
Ten years to 2000: a strategy document / Dans dix ans, l'an 2000: un document stratégique	Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council / Conseil de recherches en sciences naturelles et en génie	89-34
Canada youth & AIDS study / Étude sur les jeunes Canadiens face au SIDA	Health and Welfare Canada / Santé et Bien-être social Canada	89-40
The importance of wildlife to Canadians in 1987: highlights of a national survey / L'importance de la faune pour les Canadiens en 1987: rapport sommaire de l'enquête nationale.	Environment Canada / Environnement Canada	89-41
International development video library / Vidéothèque du développement international	Canada International Development Agency / Agence canadienne de développement international	89-43
Handbook on nursing / Guide sur les soins infirmiers	Health and Welfare Canada / Santé et Bien-être social Canada	89-43
A decade of achievement: environment and energy research and development / Dix années de succès: recherche et développement dans le domaine de l'environnement et de l'énergie.	Environment Canada / Environnement Canada	89-44
Charting Canada's future: a report of the Demographic Review / Esquisse du Canada de demain: rapport de l'Étude démographique	Health and Welfare Canada / Santé et Bien-être social Canada	89-50
Commission of Inquiry into the Air Ontario Crash at Dryden, Ontario: Interim report / Commission d'enquête sur l'écrasement d'un avion d'Air Ontario à Dryden (Ontario): rapport provisoire	Privy Council / Conseil privé	89-50
A management model / Un modèle de gestion	Canadian Centre for Management Development / Centre canadien de gestion	89-52
An evaluation of the Beaufort Sea environmental assessment panel review / Évaluation de l'examen mené par la Commission d'évaluation environmentale du projet de la mer de Beaufort	Environment Canada / Environnement Canada	90-11
Action towards healthy eating... Canada's guidelines for healthy eating and recommended strategies for implementation: the report of the Communications/Implementation Committee / Action concertée pour une saine alimentation... Recommandations alimentaires pour la santé des Canadiens et Canadiennes et stratégies recommandées pour la mise en application: rapport du Comité des communications et de la mise en application	Health and Welfare Canada / Santé et Bien-être social Canada	90-11
The health of our air: toward sustainable agriculture in Canada / La santé de l'air que nous respirons: vers une agriculture durable au Canada	Agriculture and Agri-food Canada / Agriculture et agroalimentaire Canada	99-10
The Live-in Caregiver Program: information for employers and live-in caregivers from abroad / Le programme concernant les aides familiaux residants: renseignements à l'intention des employeurs et des aides familiaux résidants étrangers	Citizenship and Immigration Canada / Citoyenneté et Immigration Canada	99-10
Motivations for school choices by eligible parents outside Quebec / Motivations en ce qui a trait aux choix scolaires chez les parents ayants droit hors Québec	Commissioner of Official Languages / Commissaire aux langues officiellles	99-10
Highlights: 1998 edition of the Canadians STD guidelines. / L'essentiel des lignes directrices canadiennes pour les MTS, édition de 1998.	Health Canada / Santé Canada	99-10
SIDA's policy on gender equality / Politique de l'ACDI en matière d'égalité entre les sexes.	Canadian International Development Agency / Agence canadienne de développement international	99-12
The ozone primer / La couche d'ozone	Environment Canada / Environnement Canada	99-20
A study of resiliency in communities. / Enquête sur le ressort psychologique des communautés.	Health Canada / Santé Canada	99-20
Sustaining growth, human development, and social cohesion in a global world: a report prepared for the Policy Research Initiative, February, 1999 / Soutenir la croissance, le développement humain et la cohésion sociale dans un contexte de mondialisation. un rapport préparé pour le Projet de recherche sur les politiques, février 1999	Privy Council / Conseil privé	99-20
Setting judicial compensation: multidisciplinary perspectives / Établir la rémunération des juges: perspectives multidisciplinaires	Law Commission of Canada / Commission du droit du Canada	99-20
Canada's military air forces, 1914-1999 / L'aviation militaire canadienne 1914-1999	National Defence / Défense nationale	99-20
Workplace literacy pilot projects: a discussion paper / Les projets-pilotes en alphabétisation en milieu de travail: document de discussion	Human Resources Development Canada / Développement des ressources humaines Canada	99-31
Atlantic Canada: opportunities / La région de l'Atlantique: perspectives	Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency / Agence de promotion économique du Canada atlantique	99-31
How are health program reforms affecting seniors? a participatory evaluation guide / La réforme des programmes de santé... Quels effets sur les aînés: guide d'évaluation participative	Health Canada / Santé Canada	99-32
The state of small business and entrepreneurship in Northern Ontario. / Situation des petites entreprises et de l'entrepreneuriat dans le Nord de l'Ontario.	Industry Canada / Industrie Canada	99-32
The way forward: action plan for the Office of the Ombudsman, submitted to the Honourable Art Eggleton, by André Marin, Ombudsman. / Allons de l'avant: plan directeur du bureau de l'Ombudsman. présenté à l'honorable Art Eggleton, par André Marin.	National Defence / Défense nationale	99-32
Reforming Canada's financial services sector: a framework for the future. / La réforme du secteur des services financiers canadien: un cadre pour l'avenir	Finance Canada / Finances Canada	99-40
Intergovernmental collaboration on HIV/AIDS: a discussion paper / La collaboration intergouvernementale dans la lutte contre le sida: document de travail	Health Canada / Santé Canada	99-40
Ready for year 2000 -- a practical guide for small and medium-sized businesses / Objectif 2000 -- un guide pratique pour les PME [petites et moyennes entreprises]	Industry Canada / Industrie Canada	99-40
Official languages: words in deeds: official languages best practices compendium / Les langages officielles: des mots en action: recueil de pratiques exemplaires en langues officielles.	Treasury Board / Conseil du trésor	99-40
Health Canada progress report, 1999 / Rapport d'étape de Santé Canada, 1999	Health Canada / Santé Canada	99-42
Canadian research on immigration and health: an overview. / Recherche sur l'immigration et la santé au Canada: un aperçu.	Health Canada / Santé Canada	99-50
Year 2000 readiness: Canada prepares / L'état de préparation pour l'an 2000: le Canada se prépare	Foreign Affairs and International Trade / Affaires étrangères et Commerce international	99-51
Your Internet business: earning consumer trust: a guide to consumer protection for on-line merchants / Votre commerce dans Internet: gagner la confiance des consommateurs: un guide pour la protection des consommateurs à l'intention des commerces en direct	Industry Canada / Industrie Canada	99-51
Shaping the future of Canadian defence: a strategy for 2020 / Façonner l'avenir de la défense canadienne: une stratégie pour l'an 2020	National Defence / Défense nationale	99-51
Evaluation of the urban social housing programs / Évaluation des programmes de logement social en milieu urbain	Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation / Société canadienne d'hypothèques et de logement	2000-10
Talking with your teen about drugs / Aborder le sujet des drogues avec son adolescent	Health Canada / Santé Canada	2009-10
Small business financing profiles - borrowers under the Canada Small Business Financing Program / Profils de financement des petites entreprises - emprunteurs dans le cadre du Programme de financement des petites entreprises du Canada	Industry Canada / Industrie Canada	2009-10
Liquefied natural gas: a Canadian perspective / Gaz naturel liquéfié: perspective canadienne	National Energy Board / Office national de l'énergie	2009-10
Handbook on sensitive practice for health care practitioners: lessons from adult survivors of childhood sexual abuse / Manuel de pratique sensible à l'intention des professionnels de la santé: leçons tirées des personnes qui ont été victimes de violence sexuelle durant l'enfance	Public Health Agency of Canada / Agence de santé publique du Canada	2009-10
A status report on the National Pharmaceuticals Strategy: a prescription unfilled / Rapport d'étape sur la Stratégie nationale relative aux produits pharmaceutiques: une ordonnance non remplie	Health Council of Canada / Conseil canadien de la santé	2009-12
Gender matters - Institute of Gender and Health strategic plan 2009-2012. / Le genre a de l'importance : Institut de la santé des femmes et des hommes plan stratégique 2009-2012.	Canadian Institutes of Health Research / Instituts de recherche en santé du Canada	2009-20
2009-2012 Employment Equity and Diversity Plan [At head of title: Implementation of the Employment Equity Act] / Plan d'équité en matière d'emploi et de diversité 2009-2012 [En tête du titre: Mise en oeuvre de la Loi sur l'équité en matière d'emploi]	Canada Economic Development for Quebec Regions / Développement économique Canada pour les régions du Québec	2009-21
Communities at Risk : Security Infrastructure Pilot Program: application guide / Programme pilote de financement des projets d'infrastructure de sécurité pour les collectivités à risque: guide de demande	Public Safety Canada / Sécurité publique Canada	2009-21
Up against a wall - coping with becoming a teen when you have been maltreated as a child: substance use among adolescents in child welfare versus adolescents in the general population : a comparison of the Maltreatment and Adolescent Pathways (MAP) Longitudinal Study and the Ontario Student Drug Use Survey (OSDUS) Datasets / Au pied du mur - faire face à l'adolescence après avoir été maltraité pendant l'enfance: consommation d'alcool et de drogues chez les adolescents suivis par les Services de protection de la jeunesse par rapport aux adolescents dans la population générale : comparaison des ensembles de données issues de l'Étude longitudinale sur les mauvais traitements et le cheminement des adolescents (MCA) et du Sondage sur la consommation de drogues des élèves de l'Ontario (SCDEO)	Public Health Agency of Canada / Agence de santé publique du Canada	2009-22
Audit of the Federal Student Work Experience Program and subsequent appointments through bridging mechanisms / Vérification du Programme fédéral d'expérience de travail étudiant et des nominations subséquentes effectuées au moyen des mécanismes d'intégration	Public Service Commission / Commission de la Fonction publique	2009-22
Atlantic Integrated Commercial Fisheries Initiative (AICFI): a reporting procedures handbook for contribution agreement recipients / Initiative des pêches commerciales intégrées de l'Atlantique (IPCIA): guide sur la présentation de rapports à l'intention des bénéficiaires d'accord de contribution	Fisheries and Oceans Canada / Pêches et Océans Canada	2009-30
Environmental code of practice for metal mines 2009 / Code de pratiques écologiques pour les mines de métaux, 2009	Environment Canada / Environnement Canada	2009-31
Federal Framework for Aboriginal Economic Development / Cadre fédéral pour le développement économique des autochtones	Indian and Northern Affairs / Affaires indiennes et du Nord	2009-31
Roadmap for Canada's linguistic duality 2008-2013: acting for the future / Feuille de route pour la dualité linguistique canadienne 2008-2013: agir pour l'avenir	Canadian Heritage / Patrimoine canadien	2009-32
Contribution funds for non-governmental organizations - a handbook / Contributions à l'intention des organisations non gouvernementales - guide	Justice Canada / Justice Canada	2009-32
Inuit Relations Secretariat - progress report [June 2007 - December 2008] / Secrétariat des relations avec les Inuit - rapport d'étape [2007 juin - 2008 décembre]	Indian and Northern Affairs / Affaires indiennes et du Nord	2009-41
Halifax Citadel, Georges Island, Fort McNab, Prince of Wales Tower and York Redoubt national historic sites of Canada - management plan / Lieux historiques nationaux du Canada de la Citadelle-d'Halifax, de l'Île-Georges, du Fort-McNab, de la Tour-Prince-de-Galles et de la Redoute-York - plan directeur	Parks Canada / Parcs Canada	2009-42
Audit of the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada: a report by the Public Service Commission of Canada / Vérification de la Commission de l'immigration et du statut de réfugié du Canada: rapport de la Commission de la fonction publique du Canada	Public Service Commission / Commission de la Fonction publique	2009-42
Mentally healthy communities - aboriginal perspectives / Des collectivités en bonne santé mentale - points de vue autochtones	Canadian Institute for Health Information / Institut canadien d'information sur la santé	2009-42
The naval service of Canada, 1910-2010: the centennial story / Le service naval du Canada, 1910-2010: cent ans d'histoire	National Defence / Défense nationale	2009-43
Canadian Addiction Survey (CAS): focus on gender / Enquête sur les toxicomanies au Canada (ETC): tendances selon le sexe	Health Canada / Santé Canada	2009-50
Quttinirpaaq National Park of Canada management plan / Parc national du Canada Quttinirpaaq, plan directeur	Parks Canada / Parcs Canada	2009-50
Canada remembers - the Burma Campaign / Le Canada se souvient - la campagne de Birmanie	Veterans Affairs / Affaires des anciens combattants	2009-50
Information on mammography for women aged 40 and older: a decision aid for breast cancer screening in Canada / Renseignements sur la mammographie à l'intention des femmes de 40 ans et plus: un outil d'aide à la prise de décision pour le dépistage du cancer du sein au Canada	Public Health Agency of Canada / Agence de santé publique du Canada	2009-52
Coding rules for Static-2002 / Règles de codage pour l'échelle Statique-2002	Public Safety Canada / Sécurité publique Canada	2009-52

Appendix E

Research Data Collection Workflow

Publication Search Process

Our search process included searching and matching. For each publication, and in each library’s catalogue, a four-step search process was followed. If after any step a potential match was found, it was verified against the required matching fields. A search was deemed successful if it matched all five required matching fields.

If all four steps of the search process were completed and no verified matching results were identified, the search was deemed failed and the publication was marked as not found at that library.

Search Process:

1. Search for the exact, full title

2. Search for the title, but with punctuation and subtitles removed

3. Search for ISBN

4. Search for author department or agency, in combination with 2-4 keywords from the title. If this step is reached, ensure that the keywords used are the same for each library’s catalogue.

Required Matching Fields:

1. Title (formatting may vary)

2. Date

3. Author department or agency

4. Format

5. Language

Data collection

For each successful search in each library catalogue, the following metadata was collected from the catalogue record.

○ Full title

○ Author department or agency

○ Status

○ Record URL

○ Location(s)

○ Call number(s)

Searches for the 100 titles in our sample were performed at each of the 24 libraries in our study.

Replacement publications

Some challenges were encountered in the search process that resulted in having to identify replacement publications for the sample list. For example, upon viewing the full bibliographic descriptions of some publications originally included in our sample set, we found they had attributes that should have excluded them from our study based on our selection criteria.

A total of 10 publications were replaced in the sample list. All replacement publications were labelled with an “a” after the ID number in our data collection spreadsheet.