Library of Parliament

Officially established in 1876, the Library of Parliament’s legal mandate was to maintain and add to the collections of books, paintings, maps and other articles in the joint possession of the Senate and the House of Commons. Its present mandate is to provide – in an effective and efficient manner – bilingual services, products and programs that best serve the needs of Parliamentarians and their staff, parliamentary committees, associations and delegations, and authorized clients.

The Library of Parliament is the largest and most authoritatve resource in Canada for these individuals, and dedicated to providing complete, accurate, and timely information on an wide variety of subjects from national defence to the environment, from government operations to agriculture. The Library contains over 600,000 documents including government and parliamentary publications, books, brochures, microforms, press clippings, and audio/visual recordings.

The Library of Parliament is a key institution of Canadian democracy. Via its resources, parliamentarians are ensured access to the most relevant knowledge and data . It furthermore ensures Canadians are properly informed of the work of their leaders by widely disseminating parliamentary information through the Web site of the Parliament of Canada (www.parl.gc.ca), telephone hotlines, and various programs. Finally, it helps ensure that key moments in Canadian political history will be properly stored and preserved for future generations of researchers, scholars, and parliamentarians.

The Library as an edifice also has significant cultural importance. It is the only portion of the Parliament buildings that survived the disastrous fire of 1916. The building, designed by Thomas Fuller and Chilion Jones, has been described by Canadian architectural scholars as “a Gothic Marvel". The interior, inspired in part by the reading room of the British Museum, has received high praise from a variety of sources, and was nominated as one of the Seven Wonders of Canada in a recent CBC poll. One respondant described it as “the most beautiful room in Canada.”

Recent Programs and Initiatives

Under the leadership of Dr William Young, the current Parliamentary Librarian, the Library is in the midst of an exciting evolution and renewal. Many strategic changes earlier this year, positioned the organization to modernize and deliver exceptional services to its clientele in the 21st century.

There is a continual drive in the Library to improve the overall management of people and resources, in which senior management plays a vital role. Stronger leadership is a key factor in ensuring that area managers are properly supported through new business tools and processes, in improving cooperation between all departments, and in further honing organizational direction.

Another key initiative is to provide access to more digital content. Most Library officials and clients agree that electronic documents will never completely replace paper copies, however the speed and ease of access offered by the electronic format has prompted the Library to make more than 36,000 electronic documents and sites available through its on-line catalogue. In response to increased Internet use over the past decade, the Library has also made more of its documents available through the Parliamentary Intranet, giving its parliamentary clients around-the-clock access to portions of its holdings. The Library is both acquiring electronic content and working on digitizing some of its existing print documents.

The Parliamentary Budget Officer

One of the most significant changes in the Library of Parliament has been the recent creation of the Parliamentary Budget Officer (PBO). This position was created on December 12, 2006 by proclamation of Bill C 2, The Federal Accountability Act.

The established Parliamentary Information and Research Branch (PIRS) within the Library of Parliament provides objective and politically neutral information and analysis to individual committees of both Houses and to all Parliamentarians. Establishment of the PBO within the Library of Parliament reflects the intention that the Officer, in carrying out the mandate set out in the Act, will maintain the Library’s tradition of objectivity and political neutrality.

The PBO is subject to the overall accountability regime applicable to the Parliamentary Librarian. It is not a separate office, but an officer responsible directly for the implementation of the mandate set out in the statute. For purposes of management accountability, the Officer is subordinate to the Parliamentary Librarian and the two Speakers.

This position is without precedent in Canada or other countries with similar Westminster type legislatures. Specialized legislative budget research organizations do exist in a limited number of countries, such as the United States, the Republic of Korea and the Philippines, but generally, this is the case only where legislatures have the authority to initiate expenditure proposals in their own right.

Library of Parliament
Phone: 1-866-599-4999
Fax: (613) 992-1273
Website: http://www.parl.gc.ca/common/Library.asp
Email: info@parl.gc.ca

 

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