Library and Archives Canada Annual Report 2019-2020

Just released, this year the LAC Annual Report 2019-2020 comes with an introduction by new Librarian and Archivist Leslie Weir and a new style.

Highlights for the year, the 15th anniversary year, were:

• Beginning construction on a second preservation centre in Gatineau, Quebec, the first net-zero carbon building dedicated to documentary preservation in the Americas.
• Unveiling the design for the joint facility with Ottawa Public Library, scheduled to open in late 2024
• The creation of the LAC Foundation, a non-profit organization whose mandate is to support us through fundraising, capacity building and enhancing our reach.
• Strengthening relations with Indigenous communities and support for their initiatives.
• Addressing the challenge of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The report's section The Year in Numbers omits prior-year comparisons. The table below draws on annual report data from previous years to give a four-year perspective.

The years in numbers	2019-2020	2018-2019	2017-2018	2016-2017
Pages of government records opened	5 million	3,580,226	10,190,631	8,033,794
Questions answered by reference services:	22,740 (24,909)	22,302	23,491	26,155
Images digitized	3,411,697	4,723,911	10,201,950	9,100,000
Publications collected under legal deposit	87,766	60,717	101,889	122,075
New private acquisitions	164	154	111	137
Items loaned to museums and galleries:	71	165	362	102
Tours of the LAC Preservation Centre	103	107	106	170

Questions answered by reference services is for Ottawa. The total by adding those answered from service centres in Halifax, Winnipeg and Vancouver is in parathesis.

Unfortunately, the number of images digitized continues to decline. Again this year there is no mention of newspapers and the only mention of genealogy, genealogists are the single largest client group, is in naming two people serving in advisory capacities.