National Diet Library Newsletter
No. 163, October. 2008
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Lecture and Discussion
“Looking Toward Legislation for Internet Archiving”
On July 29, 2008, an open lecture meeting “Looking Toward Legislation for Internet Archiving” was held in the Tokyo Main Library, featuring a lecture by Dr. Ian E. Wilson, Librarian and Archivist of Canada, and a discussion between Dr. Wilson and Dr. Makoto Nagao, Librarian of NDL.
Dr. Wilson made a presentation on the trends of Internet archiving and ongoing projects in Canada, mentioning the importance of Internet archiving and a legal deposit system covering digital resources to enable the national heritage to be passed on to the next generation, and the role of libraries and archives for that purpose. Following a brief presentation on the NDL digital archive project, Dr. Wilson and Dr. Nagao had a talk on broad subjects related to Internet archiving, such as copyright issues and relationships with publishers.
Program
The Future is Now: Internet Archiving in Canada
Dr. Ian E. Wilson, Librarian and Archivist, Library and Archives Canada
Dr. Ian E. Wilson
About Library and Archives Canada
Library and Archives Canada was established in May 2004 with the integration of the national library and national archives, creating a new kind of knowledge institution for the 21st century. The merger brought together traditionally different cultures and technologies to build the comprehensive knowledge resources expected and demanded in the new century. We developed a concept and vision to acquire and preserve all kinds of documentary materials and make them accessible to all Canadians for the long-term interests of Canada.
Library and Archives Canada’s collection includes 20 million books, periodicals, newspapers, microfilms, literary manuscripts and government publications. It also holds about 3.18 million megabytes of information in electronic formats, including more than 30,000 Canadian periodicals and books available online, one of the largest electronic collections in the world.
Cooperation framework for web archiving
We have coordinated with other national libraries to find the best way of harvesting the web and we developed open-source software. Using internationally-developed technology, we have done two crawls of the entire Canadian government website and are now carrying on the third crawl. We are also actively consulting broadly on developing appropriate criteria, because other libraries and archives across the country also need to be active in preserving relevant websites.
Legal deposit system for online publications
In addition to preserving websites, we have also extended the definition of the legal deposit to include electronic publications. A year and a half ago we issued regulations requiring such publications to be deposited with us and also requiring the disablement of any access code so that we can have access them in the long term. We have also facilitated this in the Virtual Loading Dock (pilot system) where electronic publications are transmitted electronically with the metadata directly from publishers to us. We have also initiated a project to transfer electronic government records directly from the departments through the Virtual Loading Dock to our digital repository.
Canadian Digital Information Strategy
We play a leadership role in the digital domain across the country, and bringing together all the players involved in digitizing and preserving digital materials to create a broad national strategy. Having launched the initial consultations, we posted the first Canadian Digital Information Strategy on our website for comment.
Canada Project
According to our survey, we found there is a gap between the expectation of Canadians who want to have access online and the actual content that is found there: 93% expect access online, whereas only 25% are satisfied with the quantity and quality of that online content. To tackle the issue we are proposing the Canada Project to digitize and put online everything we possibly can in the next five years. The principle is clear: free public access with digital images properly preserved, while respecting the rights of authors and copyright holders. In cooperation with the private sector, the public sector, universities and corporations across the country, printed materials will be digitized to make them accessible, using some very powerful search engines in entirely new ways.
For the future
With the explosion of information technologies and the widespread access that exists in every corner of the country, Canada is at the cusp of a new revolution – the information revolution. Internet archiving, legal deposit of electronic publications, digital strategies and initiatives mean that Canadians will be able to seize the cultural, social and economic opportunities of the digital age, to compete in the global innovation economy and to lead in the 21st century. By putting information online, we can have an incredible impact, on knowledge acquisition, and on human lives, both as individuals and as a nation.
“Internet Archiving in NDL”
Mr. Hisanori Tanaka, Director, Digital Information Planning Office, Administrative Department of the NDL
Mr. Hisanori Tanaka, Director, Digital Information Planning Office, Administrative Department of the NDL, briefly introduced the history of Internet archiving in the NDL, from the establishment of the Legal Deposit System Council in 1997 and the formulation of the NDL Electronic Library Concept in 1998 to the launch of WARP, a system accumulating selected Internet information, the construction of the NDL Digital Archiving System and future tasks for Internet archiving. His presentation file is available from here. [PDF:749.7KB]
Discussion “Roles and missions of national libraries in the digital information age”
Dr. Ian E. Wilson and Dr. Makoto Nagao, Librarian of the NDL
In the discussion under the title of “Roles and missions of national libraries in the digital information age,” with Dr. Wilson and Dr. Makoto Nagao, Librarian of the NDL, the following issues were discussed, including questions from the audience. Following is the outline of Dr. Wilson’s remarks.
Copyright issues
We have to be very careful in terms of copyright, where the publishers expect to have revenue.
Criteria for collecting Internet information
Library and Archives Canada is still in the process of defining the criteria and consulting with other related institutions. As long as material is free and publicly accessible online, it is fair for us to collect. We especially try to preserve websites which reflect modern society, such as those relating to political movements and environmental movements.
Contents of Digital Library
The first area Library and Archives Canada is working on is government materials. We also want to push municipal bodies, universities, NGOs, and others to put all of their reports online. We are also working in the area of “orphan works,” where we cannot find the authors or publishers. Once the copyright ownership becomes clear, we can negotiate with them in terms of copyright fees and making their works available online.
Cooperation with related institutions
Library and Archives Canada has worked with major libraries in developing a national digital strategy.
Activities by private sectors such as Google
Library and Archives Canada is trying to develop our own response and approach to what Google is doing. We have serious reservations about Google’s approach because the private sector, makes no commitment to long-term preservation. On the other hand, the Canada Project is intended as a public ownership database and committed to long-term preservation in the pubic sphere with strong support from the private sector to develop and maintain it.
Professions of librarians and archivists
The Library and Archives Canada does not expect librarians to become archivists and vice versa. A modern knowledge institution needs the skills, expertise, competencies and perspectives of a wide range of disciplines and our best work happens when we bring together teams of people with different backgrounds and expertise. As for education in Canada, graduate programs of library studies have been combined with archival studies and other common courses in some universities.
Possibility of integration of the national library and national archive in other countries
It may be difficult in a number of countries to do so because of the library’s position and mandate in those countries. However, libraries and archives can cooperate in the virtual world and in electronic ways. In Canada, we have created a new virtual institution rather than simply maintaining online the existing physical institutions.
More details of this lecture and discussion will be published in NDL Monthly Bulletin no. 574, January 2009 (in Japanese).
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