Libraries in Canada

Official name of the federated state/autonomous territory: Ontario
Province
Official language: English and French

Official name of Parliament: Legislative Assembly / Assemblée Législative
- Unicameral -

Address
Ontario Legislative Library
Legislative Building
Queen's Park
Toronto, ON
Canada
M7A 1A9
Tel. (1)(416)325-3900
Fax (1)(416)325-3909
Cable address: Comparlas Ontario
E-mail: vicki_whitmell@ontla.ola.or
Home-Page: http://www.ontla.on.ca

Details on the Library
Year of foundation: 1867
Person in charge: Ms Vicki Whitmell
Position or official title: Executive Director
Number of library staff: 68
Number of professional librarians: 22
Number of research and subject analyst staff in the library: 15
Number of secretarial and support staff: 11
Number of other staff: 20 (library technicians)
Size of collection: 900.000(est.)
Number of annual accessions:46.548
Annual acquisitions budget: 535.000 C$ (US$ 350.000)
Number of current periodicals: 546
Periodicals indexed for relevant articles: Yes, by the Library
Number of periodicals which are currently indexed for articles: 500 selectively
Number of periodical articles indexed per year: 500
Number of current newspapers: 69
Press cuttings: Yes, by current data file, electronic Ontario Press Highlights
Indexing of Parliamentary Papers: Yes, by the Library, by Hansard (debates)
Library in charge of the archival materials of the Parliament: No
Library uses a thesaurus or a classification system for subject indexing: Thesaurus and classification system
Automation of cataloguing: Yes
Is the automated library catalogue accessible as an online catalogue to outside users?: No
Restricted to members of parliament: No,
Who else may use library: Members of the Provincial Parliament and their staff are the primary clients; explicit more restricted levels of service are provided to other clients such as the Lieutenant-Governor, senior officers of the Assembly and the Press Gallery, and other persons may have access to the Library at the discretion of the Executive Director when materials are unavailable elsewhere.
Number of reading rooms: 1 (20)
Number of loans per year: 4.410
Reference services: 7.529
Current bibliographies: No
Retrospective subject bibliographies: No
External database searches: 15,500
Analysis and research: Yes
Right to deposit: government documents - Ontario and Canada
IFLA membership: No

Publications published by the Library
Annual report of the Executive Director of the Legislative Library = Rapport annuel du directeur general de la bibliotheque de l'Assemblee Legislative ISSN 0832-8005 - Reviews major Library developments and services in detail: French text printed separately. Has not been produced since 1992/93.
Bills Before the House Provides information about Ontario bills as they proceed through the legislative process -- plus background information such as press releases, studies, and stakeholders. Access is by bill number, title, subject and Member introducing the bill. Updated each morning when the House is sitting. Intranet version is searchable. http://www.ontla.on.ca/library/bills/billshome.htm
Briefing Pages To keep Members and staff informed about the major policy areas of the Ontario government. Provide a broad set of resources including direct links to stakeholders, government sites, press, major research papers and more. Updated frequently. http://www.ontla.on.ca/library/BPs/BPhome.htm
Periodical selections=Selection d'articles de periodiques Published monthly; features a selection of recent articles in magazines and journals arranged by subject.
Provincial Press =Dans la press provinciale Issued weekly in eight sections (including one French language section); provides clippings from 15 Ontario daily and 3 Ontario weekly newspapers, selected to provide regional coverage from across the Province.
Research Papers Notes, Backgrounders and Current Issue Papers providing background and analysis of key issues and policy developments. Available in print to primary clientelle. http://www.ontla.on.ca/library/publications.htm
Status of bills report=Etats des projets de loi Published weekly when the House is sitting; records the progress of Bills through three readings, committee stage, royal assent and proclamation and provides an index to Bills by subject.
Selected news titles = Selection de nouveautes ISBN 0709-275X Published 9 to 11 times a year; lists new books and reports added to the Library by subject
Toronto Press Today = Aujourd'hui dans la presse de Toronto Issued six times a week; provides a selection of news and feature articles appearing in the Toronto daily newspapers of interest to Members.
Virtual Reference Desk Easy access to reference items on the Internet. http://www.ontla.on.ca/library/vrefdesk/vrdfr.htm
What's Hot Provides quick access to just released budgets, reports and other government statements, election news and press releases. Archive of hot items beginning in March 1999. Updated daily. http://www.ontla.on.ca/library/ehotfr.htm

Publications concerning the Library
Donna Burton: Changing Times at the Legislative Library In: Courier: Special Libraries Association, Toronto Chapter. 34:2, (November/December, 1996).
http://www.sla.org/chapter/ctor/courier/v34/v34n2a4.htm
Canadian Legislative Information Access to legislative sites, sessional documents, budgets, elections, and sessional dates for all Canadian jurisdictions. Kept current.
Internet at: http://www.ontla.on.ca/library/leginfo/contents.htm
Internet Sites for Ontario Legislators The Library's links page provides organized access to the Internet and oriented for Ontario's Legislators.
http://www.ontla.on.ca/library/eisolfr.htm
Issue Gateways Each provides a brief overview of a critical policy issue and access to a wide range of resources on the Internet an in the Library's collection. Kept current.
Internet at: http://www.ontla.on.ca/library/issuegway/ighome.htm
New Products Occasional newsletter to Members providing information about new titles and series produced by the Library.
New Releases - The Monthly Checklist = Nouvelles publications - la liste mensuelle formerly Ontario government publications monthly checklist=Publications du gouvernment de l'Ontario liste mensuelle/Co-produced by Publications Ontario and Bibliographic Access and Ontario Documents Section, Ontario Legislative Library Searchable database that includes all issues of the Monthly Checklist since January 1997. Identifies new publications and indicates whether they are priced or free.
Internet: English at http://pubont.stores.gov.on.ca/pool/english/checklist_current.asp French at http://pubont.stores.gov.on.ca/pool/french/checklist.asp
Ontario Press Highlights Electronic selections of Ontario focussed news stories from the current week's papers. Updated daily. Available only on the Assembly's Intranet.
Ontario Press Highlights Database Ontario news from the past year chosen from 23 Ontario newspapers. Searchable by key word, by line, date, newspaper, title or a combination of fields. Updated daily. Available only on the Assembly's Intranet.
Parliamentary Information Resources that explain the Ontario legislative process, track Ontario bills as they proceed through the Legislature, and provide the legislative history of bills. Access to legislative documents and information in Ontario and other jurisdictions.
Internet at: http://www.ontla.on.ca/Library/parliaments.htm
Cudney, Ola: A chronological history of the Legislative Library of Ontario //Ottawa: Canadian Library Association. - 1969
Kerfoot, Jean: The Ontario Legislative Library?? In: Bulletin/Special Libraries Association, Toronto Chapter. -28 (1968), p. 34-39
Land, R. Brian: Ontario // In: Canada's Parliamentary Libraries = Les bibliotheques parlementaires du Canada / The Association of Parliamentary Librarians in Canada. - 1989
Ontario Legislative Library: An introduction to the Legislative Library // Rev. ed. Toronto: Ontario. Legislative Assembly. Broadcast and Recording Service, (1999). videocassette (11 min.44 sec.).
Watson, Fiona and Aileen Weir: Services to Members of the Ontario Legislative Assembly in the 1990's. //In Government and parliament informatoin issues in the 1990s: perspectives from Australia and abroad: papers from the Colloquium on Government Parliamentary Information, July 21-22, 1994. Sydney: School of Information, Library and Archive Studies, the University of New South Wales, 1995. p. 221-228
Watson, Fiona and Ontario Legislative Library: A Credit to the Province: a history of the Ontario Legislative Libary and its predecessors, 1792-1992//Toronto: The Library, 1993.

Parliamentary Papers:
Orders and notices =Feuilleton et avis
Daily during session; contents in English only
Official report of debates: Hansard=Journal des debats
Daily during session; in English and French since 1990
Votes and proceedings=Proces verbaux
Daily during session; replaced by corresponding Journals; contents in English only
Journals Annual 1867/68 Standing orders =Reglement 1989- In English and French Report Standing and Select Committees Bills Public and private
Status of bills report=Etat des projects de loi
Weekly during session Interim status of business and final status of business Published sessionally

Available on the Internet at http://www.ontla.on.ca

(updated in September 2007)