Elimination of the Inter-Library Loans Program

After the 2012 Federal Budget, Library and Archives Canada cancelled the Inter-Library Loan program. By ending the Inter-library Loans program, Canadians across Canada will no longer be able to access national library and archives materials in their own regions.

The Inter-Library Loan program allowed any Canadian library to borrow material from Library and Archives Canada when the material is not available elsewhere. Without this service individuals will have to travel to Ottawa to consult books and other documents that previously could have been forwarded directly to their local library.

According to LAC’s website, “The interlibrary loan service at Library and Archives Canada facilitates access to Canada's documentary heritage and supports resource sharing in Canada.” The cancellation of this service directly undermines LAC’s mandate to make Canada’s documentary heritage accessible to the public.

In a letter to Members of Parliament, the Bibliographic Society of Canada president Janet Friskney wrote,

"Inter-library loan is a fundamental method of providing Canadians throughout this vast country with access to significant portions of their documentary heritage, without regard to their physical location or their economic circumstances. The decision to eliminate the service is shocking and, indeed, incomprehensible to those of us who are committed to the ideal of democratic access."