Library and Archives Canada
National library and archive of Canada / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Library and Archives Canada (LAC; French: Bibliothèque et Archives Canada) is the federal institution, tasked with acquiring, preserving, and providing accessibility to the documentary heritage of Canada.[9] The national archive and library is the fifth largest library in the world. The LAC reports to the Parliament of Canada through the Minister of Canadian Heritage.
| Library and Archives Canada | |
|---|---|
 Library and Archives Canada building in Ottawa | |
 | |
| Type | National library and national archives |
| Established | May 21, 2004[note 1] |
| Location | 395 Wellington Street, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada[note 2] |
| Collection | |
| Items collected | Aboriginal magazines; albums and scrapbooks; architectural drawings; art; artifacts; Canadian children's literature; Canadian comic books; Canadian newspapers; Canadian periodicals; electronic publications; electronic records; English-language pulp literature; ethnic community newsletters; ephemera; fiction and non-fiction; films; globes; government publications; government records; government websites; Hebraica and Judaica; Indian residential school records; journals and diaries; livres d’artistes; manuscripts; maps; microfilms; photographs; poetry; portraits; rare books; sheet music; sketchbooks; sound recordings; stamps; textual archives; theses and dissertations; trade catalogues; videos[1] |
| Size | 22 million books and publications (periodicals, newspapers, microfilms, literary texts, and government publications); 250 km of government and private textual records; 3 million architectural drawings, maps, and plans; 30 million photos; 350,000 hours of film; 425,000 works of art (including paintings, drawings, watercolours, posters, prints, medals, and caricatures); 547,000 musical items; over 1 billion MB of digital content[2][3] |
| Criteria for collection | Canadiana, documents published in Canada and materials published elsewhere of interest to Canada; records documenting the functions and activities of the Government of Canada; records of heritage value that document the historical development and diversity of Canadian society[4] |
| Legal deposit | Yes[5] |
| Other information | |
| Budget | CDN$98,346,695 (2013–14)[6][7] |
| Director | Leslie Weir[8] |
| Staff | 860 FTE (2013–14)[7] |
| Website | bac-lac.gc.ca |
| Agency overview | |
| Minister responsible | |
| Parent agency | Canadian Heritage |
| Key document | |
The LAC traces its origins to the Dominion Archives, formed in 1872, and the National Library of Canada, formed in 1953. The former was later renamed as the Public Archives of Canada in 1912, and the National Archives of Canada in 1987. In 2004, the National Archives of Canada and the National Library of Canada were merged to form Library and Archives Canada.