“Access is the key to understanding. And understanding is the underpinning of democracy.”
Leslie Weir, the Librarian and Archivist of Canada, was a featured guest speaker at the Democracy’s Library launch – an initiative to create a free, open collection of government data. Her words were an inspiration, as she deftly outlined some of the strong partnerships and collaboration here in Canada that are key to making our collective heritage accessible by the public.
Government publications are an invaluable resource for interdisciplinary research and education, for accountability and as evidence. However gaps exist, access and discovery is difficult, and without a dedicated preservation strategy these materials are at risk of being lost. What will it take to make our government records findable, accessible, reusable and sustainable across different formats and platforms?
We are grateful for the Filecoin’s Foundation grant that will support a year-long project to scope out and deliver a plan that includes Canadian government publications. At Internet Archive Canada we are thrilled to be part of a collaboration that will leverage our collective expertise, networks, technology, resources and content to create a national solution for sustainable digital access for current and future generations.
We are very much looking forward to connecting with stakeholders and interested parties.