LAC Top Ten Topics

From March 2 - 6  2015 Library and Archives Canada conducted an online web usability study. There was feedback from 705 respondents. Clients responses produced the following ranking by subject area.

1. Genealogy (e.g. penitentiary lists, family histories)
2. First World War (e.g. maps, trench newspapers, photographs)
3. Photographs (e.g.  cities, people, events)
4. Finding aids (e.g. government, private)
5. Canadian people (e.g. Aboriginal heritage, authors)
6. Canadian events (e.g. Rideau canal, Expo 67)
7. Transportation (e.g. aircraft registration documentation, train photographs)
8. Canadian government (e.g. Cabinet documents, Orders in Council)
9. Rare books (e.g. comic books, Lowy collection of Judaica and hebraica)
10. Prime Minister Papers.

Item 1 received four times as many votes as item 10.

Hopefully the Genealogy category goes beyond the examples to include directories and newspapers.

The list should not serve to marginalize other essential activities at LAC. Sometimes questions like this lead to impossible choices. Which is more important air or water? Lack of either will kill you, it depends on whether you'd prefer to die a quick painful death or a slow painful death.

Thanks to LAC for a timely response to my information request.