Program directory · National Research Council Canada
National Science Library
- Department
- National Research Council Canada
- Program code
- BNQ14 (NRC)
- Core responsibility
- Science and Innovation
- In Departmental Plans
- 2018-19 – 2026-27 · New since an earlier plan
What it does
The NRC National Science Library (NSL) offers a range of information-related services to the public and other libraries. Services include online access to digital content through NRC's publicly available repositories (NRC Publications Archive and the Digital Repository), a searchable catalogue and information discovery platform, and reference/interlibrary loan services with other libraries. The NSL is committed to open science and open government principles in making its research outputs accessible through its repositories. The NSL is a member of the Federal Science Libraries Network (FSLN), a partnership of seven federal science libraries that have joined together to establish a one-stop, self-serve portal where you can access library services and search the print collections and repositories of all the libraries from a single place.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| National Science Library | This program | 2018-19 – 2028-29 | $97.8M |
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 |
|---|---|---|
| 2019-20 | Employees (FTEs) 0, against 46 in 2018-19 (−100%). | FTEs (GC InfoBase) |
| 2020-21 | Employees (FTEs) 40, against 0 in 2019-20 (—). | FTEs (GC InfoBase) |
| 2023-24 | Indicators added: Number of page views of the NRC Publications Archive (NPARC) (French and English) | Departmental Results Framework (GC InfoBase) |
| 2023-24 | Indicators dropped: Number of page views of the Federal Science Library (all portals – French and English) | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023-24 | ≥ 1,300,000 | 2024 | 861,151 While this indicator is new, it is noteworthy that the results have been trending upwards over the last 5 years (from 291,069 in 2019-20 to 861,151 in 2023-24), showing consistent improvement over time. The identified target of 1,300,000 was based on erroneous baseline data from the software provider and should have been set to 675,000. The NRC will seek to adjust future targets based on the corr… | Not met |
| 2024-25 | ≥ 1,300,000 | 2025 | 883,740 The NRC Publications Archive (NPARC) has demonstrated a consistent upward trend in engagement since 2020, with page views increasing by 31% over this five-year period. The target of 1.3 million page views was based on incorrect baseline data and should have been set to 675,000. The NRC has adjusted the target for fiscal year 2025-26 based on actual historical data and is on track to meet future t… | Not met |
Bars: result reported. Dashed line: target.
| Report year | Target | Due | Result | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018-19 | TBD | 2019 | 1113070 | Met |
| 2019-20 | — | 2020 | 987,792 Target to be set for 2020-21. | No result reported |
| 2020-21 | ≥ 1,000,000 | 2021 | 675,639 The target was based on approximate average of previous two years. While any explanation would be speculative due to the nature of the indicator, it is probable that online research activity was disrupted as a result of the pandemic. | Not met |
| 2021-22 | ≥ 1,000,000 | 2022 | 658,538 With NSL page views having stabilized at the current level, and in the absence of any plans targeted specifically at increasing the number of page views, NRC has adjusted its indicator target downward to reflect these recent usage trends. | Not met |
| 2022-23 | ≥ 700,000 | 2023 | 712,169 | Met |
Current: the 2026-27 plan's targets
Bars: result reported. Dashed line: target.
| Report year | Target | Due | Result | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-27 | ≥ 800,000 | 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 | $15.5M | $16.7M |
| 2019-20 | $15.8M | $12.5M |
| 2020-21 | $15.9M | $12.9M |
| 2021-22 | $16M | $12.4M |
| 2022-23 | $16M | $13M |
| 2023-24 | $16M | $14.5M |
| 2024-25 | $16M | $15.9M |
| 2025-26 | $15M | — |
| 2026-27 | $15.1M | — |
| 2027-28 | $15.1M* | — |
| 2028-29 | $15.3M* | — |
Employees (FTEs)
Show the numbers
| Fiscal year | Planned | Actual |
|---|---|---|
| 2018-19 | 40 | 46 |
| 2019-20 | 47 | 0 |
| 2020-21 | 46 | 40 |
| 2021-22 | 41 | 32 |
| 2022-23 | 40 | 31 |
| 2023-24 | 31 | 28 |
| 2024-25 | 28 | 28 |
| 2025-26 | 28 | — |
| 2026-27 | 30 | — |
| 2027-28 | 30* | — |
| 2028-29 | 30* | — |
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 | $15,500,000 | $15,500,000 | $15,500,000 | ||||||||
| 2019-20 plan | $15,754,451 | $15,754,450 | $15,754,444 | ||||||||
| 2020-21 plan | $15,946,449 | $16,012,935 | $16,012,611 | ||||||||
| 2021-22 plan | $16,012,935 | $16,012,611 | $16,012,611 | ||||||||
| 2022-23 plan | $16,012,611 | $16,012,611 | $16,012,611 | ||||||||
| 2023-24 plan | $16,012,611 | $16,012,611 | $16,002,253 | ||||||||
| 2024-25 plan | $16,012,611 | $16,002,253 | $16,002,253 | ||||||||
| 2025-26 plan | $15,040,192 | $15,039,848 | $15,039,340 | ||||||||
| 2026-27 plan | $15,082,483 | $15,092,072 | $15,318,513 | ||||||||
| Actual | $16,692,154 | $12,501,538 | $12,915,564 | $12,364,569 | $13,028,036 | $14,461,672 | $15,880,322 |
Actual spending is from Departmental Results Reports and the Public Accounts, as published in GC InfoBase. FTEs are full-time equivalents.
