Program directory · Library and Archives Canada
Acquisition and processing of private archives
- Department
- Library and Archives Canada
- Program code
- BSI03 (LAC)
- Core responsibility
- Acquiring and preserving documentary heritage
- In Departmental Plans
- 2018-19 – 2026-27 · New since an earlier plan
What it does
Through this program, LAC acquires documentary heritage of historical value from the general public, national institutions, non-governmental organizations, and private sector through donation and purchase agreements. By acquiring private archives, in both analog and digital formats, this program plays a vital role in capturing the diverse voices, stories, and experiences that shape Canadian culture and identity, ensuring they are made discoverable for the use of all Canadians.
Source: the department's Program Inventory, via GC InfoBase.
History and lineage
First appears in GC InfoBase's actual spending by program in 2018-19. The data does not record when a program was created; it may be older than its first appearance here, which is limited by the sources (program spending starts in 2010-11, Departmental Plans in 2018-19).
| Program | Relation | Years with data | Actual spending over those years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Acquisition and processing of private archives | This program | 2018-19 – 2028-29 | $57M |
No earlier or later program in the same department has a similar name.
Significant changes in scope and budget
Detected from the data: renames between plans, programs it appears to replace, merge with or split into (matched by name), year-over-year changes in spending of at least 25% and $5M, or in employees of at least 20% and 25 FTEs, linked budget measures, and results indicators added or dropped.
| Year | What changed | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 2026-27 | Indicators added: Percentage of private archives with descriptions to enable discovery | Departmental Results Framework (GC InfoBase) |
| 2026-27 | Indicators dropped: Percentage of services to clients and partners that meet current service standards | Departmental Results Framework (GC InfoBase) |
Success criteria
The program's indicators from its department's Departmental Results Framework: the target set in each year's plan, and the result reported the following year. Source: GC InfoBase.
Historical: targets against results
Bars: result reported. Dashed line: target.
| Report year | Target | Due | Result | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018-19 | ≥ 75% | 2019 | 66% LAC received a large number of specialized reference requests of a complex nature requiring longer processing time. However, there was a 4% improvement compared with 2017–18. | Not met |
| 2019-20 | ≥ 75% | 2020 | 64% Some complex specialized reference requests required more extensive research than anticipated. | Not met |
| 2020-21 | ≥ 75% | 2021 | 63% While constraints on physical access to collections affected the process, some specialized reference requests were complex and required extensive research. | Not met |
| 2021-22 | ≥ 75% | 2022 | 52% The target was not met due to several factors, which included receiving a larger number of complex specialized reference requests that required extensive research, and allocating resources to other priority initiatives, such as processing ATIP requests. | Not met |
| 2022-23 | ≥ 75% | 2023 | 78% | Met |
| 2023-24 | ≥ 75% | 2024 | 32% With 32% of services to clients meeting service standards, LAC experienced a slow-down in processing complex specialized reference requests related to private archives, including cases involving reassessment and correspondence with donors to renew expired access conditions. Frequently, requests initially identified as simple with a short service standard are later determined to be complex, requir… | Not met |
| 2024-25 | ≥ 75% | 2025 | 76% | Met |
Current: the 2026-27 plan's targets
Bars: result reported. Dashed line: target.
| Report year | Target | Due | Result | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-27 | ≥ 50% | 2027 | — | Planned |
Future goals: targets due after 2026-27
No targets with a later due date.
Spending and employees: planned against actual
Spending
Show the numbers
| Fiscal year | Planned | Actual |
|---|---|---|
| 2018-19 | $7.2M | $7.5M |
| 2019-20 | $8.3M | $9.3M |
| 2020-21 | $7.9M | $8.7M |
| 2021-22 | $7.4M | $7.5M |
| 2022-23 | $7.3M | $6.7M |
| 2023-24 | $6.7M | $8.9M |
| 2024-25 | $6.7M | $8.3M |
| 2025-26 | $6.9M | — |
| 2026-27 | $6.7M | — |
| 2027-28 | $6.7M* | — |
| 2028-29 | $6M* | — |
Employees (FTEs)
Show the numbers
| Fiscal year | Planned | Actual |
|---|---|---|
| 2018-19 | 83 | 76 |
| 2019-20 | 88 | 89 |
| 2020-21 | 85 | 84 |
| 2021-22 | 73 | 69 |
| 2022-23 | 66 | 62 |
| 2023-24 | 66 | 73 |
| 2024-25 | 61 | 73 |
| 2025-26 | 74 | — |
| 2026-27 | 69 | — |
| 2027-28 | 69* | — |
| 2028-29 | 65* | — |
Planned spending, plan by plan
Each row is one year's Departmental Plan and its forecast for the next three fiscal years; read a column down to see how the forecast for one year changed. The last row is what was actually spent. Click an amount for its source. Biggest changes in federal spending plans
| Plan | 2018-19 | 2019-20 | 2020-21 | 2021-22 | 2022-23 | 2023-24 | 2024-25 | 2025-26 | 2026-27 | 2027-28 | 2028-29 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018-19 plan | $7,221,145 | $7,884,973 | $7,572,156 | ||||||||
| 2019-20 plan | $8,286,743 | $7,973,834 | $7,285,168 | ||||||||
| 2020-21 plan | $7,942,044 | $7,341,775 | $6,772,596 | ||||||||
| 2021-22 plan | $7,369,261 | $6,800,067 | $6,800,067 | ||||||||
| 2022-23 plan | $7,278,462 | $7,285,475 | $7,037,012 | ||||||||
| 2023-24 plan | $6,650,075 | $6,513,115 | $6,142,593 | ||||||||
| 2024-25 plan | $6,662,233 | $6,241,316 | $6,131,689 | ||||||||
| 2025-26 plan | $6,875,475 | $6,812,490 | $6,812,490 | ||||||||
| 2026-27 plan | $6,652,126 | $6,650,872 | $6,036,018 | ||||||||
| Actual | $7,545,547 | $9,264,609 | $8,671,315 | $7,532,548 | $6,700,374 | $8,942,398 | $8,347,887 |
Actual spending is from Departmental Results Reports and the Public Accounts, as published in GC InfoBase. FTEs are full-time equivalents.
