Canada's chief librarian and archivist reflects on his first six months
He resigned midway through his term in May 2013. Berthiaume came to LAC after five years as CEO of the Bibliotheque et Archives nationales de Quebec. He reflected on his first six months as LAC chief in an interview with the Citizen’s CHRIS COBB.
Q. When you got this job, what did you see as your biggest challenges?
A. Staff morale was very much on my agenda as were relationships with stakeholders. If I had a big ego, I would say we’re right on the money with the morale issue and I am the hero of the hour. But the people who were here in the interim (between LAC chiefs) did great work. I expected cynicism but I haven’t encountered any — or almost none. I’ve had many meetings with staff. I’m not saying we’re living in a perfect world but there is optimism in the air.
Q. Two major criticisms have been the chronic lack of specialist archivists and the reduced access to documents. How have you responded?
A. We have archivists so it’s a question of finding the right spot for them at the right time. We have work to do. I’m not talking major reorganization because this place has seen too much of that and it has an impact on morale. But we are in the process of making changes that can bring back the relationships between researchers and our staff.
Q. So if a researcher wants information on a specific topic you would link them with a specialist on staff?
A. Yes. We don’t have as many as we used to but we still have a good number. If we feel there is a need we will have an archivist meet that person. It’s what I’m committed to do. When I came here I said, ‘I’m not going to give you a vision,’ because we have had quite a few visions. I’m just going to have four commitments.
Q. Which are?
A. The first is to be at the service of the public. We have researchers, genealogists, etc. but we also have the general public — amateur genealogists. That’s fairly new because of the Internet. People go on the web looking for information about their ancestors. It’s happening all over the world. We all now have the general public as clients.
Second we want to be at the leading edge. That means reinvesting in staff. They used to be recognized as leading edge. People in this country used to look to LAC personnel for guidance. That’s the type of thing I want to see again. But we have to deal with the deck we are dealt. I’m not saying we’re going back to add 200 positions but we will have more flexibility so our staff can attend conferences, write in journals — and spend less time writing memos to one another.
Third, we are re-engaging with stakeholders. We have to participate and be at the table. I have taken every invitation I received. I took this job on June 23 and on the 25th I was in Victoria for a meeting of the archivists association.
Four, we want a higher public profile. We used to think our role was to be all digital all of the time but people have a different emotion when they are in touch with the actual documents. We should be aware of that and be involved in exhibitions and conferences at 395, Wellington and elsewhere. We’re having an exhibition now at the Hockey Hall of Fame about hockey players going to war. I got to meet Johnny Bower last week at the opening so I was quite excited.
Q. Locally, many people have complained about the recent lack of access to 395, Wellington Street. Would you like to see more public coming into the building?
A. Yes. It used to be a major hub of activity so I want us to be back there and do it again. All the first floor is now managed by Public Works so they rent it. But it’s only the first floor. We’re in the process of creating a (public) space on the third floor. We can have many interesting conferences, book launches and what have you. The location is fabulous.
Q. In a recent Royal Society report on libraries, author Jane Urquhart was very critical of LAC because she gave you her papers and was later denied access to them. What’s your reaction?
A. It shouldn’t happen again. We have to look after our donors and treat them well. That’s something I want to bring back. But staff were going through so many changes and at some point they dropped a ball or two. It’s only human.
Q. There was also criticism that LAC has been taking too few acquisitions. Is that fair?
A. We had a two-year moratorium on acquisitions but we’re back in that business. We also have a special team working of about 40 people working on the backlog of government documents. We had so much — in about 23 different places. We’re down to six.
Q. Digitization is a huge challenge. How are you going about it?
A. It’s a challenge for every memory institution. We have created partnerships with Ancestry.com. We have 60 million pages digitized. Will we never be at 100 per cent, it’s too expensive. But I don’t wish that. People will want to see some of our documents maybe once every 10 years so we’re not going to digitize everything, just what is needed. We are asking our customers to tell us what is important.
Q. So if I am a writer researching, say, an Arctic expedition, you would digitize it for me for a fee?
A. Yes. That’s the model. It’s still cheaper than digitizing everything.
Q. How many companies will you be partnering with in digitization?
A. Ancestry.com and a not for profit Canadiana.org where it’s all accessible for free. With Ancestry there will always be access for free, and after five or 10 years, depending on the contract, the Ancestry documents will also be free access. So it’s for a short period but if we don’t do that the stuff will never be digitized. That’s why every major archive is working with Ancestry.
Q. Are you happy with the progress being made on digitization?
A. It’s never enough but what we’re doing will be in tune with the needs of our clients. We’re looking at putting a top 10 list on our website and asking people to vote on what should be digitized. We don’t know everything.
Q. What percentage of the collection is 60 million documents.
A. About three or four, which is par for the course.
Q. Do you get time to read for pleasure?
A. On the pillow. A chapter a day if I’m lucky. I just read Chantal Hebert’s recollection of the Quebec referendum (The Morning After). Of course I was there, so it isn’t really history to me. And I read crime novels.
Q. Who’s your favourite crime writer?
A. Sicilian author Andrea Camilleri. The English translation is very good.
Q. At the end of your five-year term, what will you hope to have achieved?
My motto is that we are here to help Canadians to know themselves, and if we can do that either digitally or in person, I will be very happy.