Periodically, this work involves collaborating with partners outside the library field or seeking support from other sponsors whose goals are in tune with the Library's mandate of building a strong national resource for the study, understanding, appreciation and continued vitality of Canada's cultural heritage. Support comes from literacy advocates, educators, publishers, embassies and cultural agencies, as well as from other government departments. Working partnerships with other organizations play a vital role in providing effective, responsive information services to Canadians. It is all part of the objective of being positioned to provide effective service in the new information environment. However, even while adapting to an era in which the Internet and the World Wide Web are increasingly important in providing access to information, the National Library is also dealing with the legacy of older technologies.
Print still remains, for the foreseeable future, the dominant medium in the field of publication.
Protecting the 15 million books, periodicals, music and sound recordings in the Library's collections and making the information they contain accessible is still the centre point of the Library's mandate. Preservation of Canadiana materials in all formats remains a major concern. However, budget cuts have forced us to reduce mass deacidification activity from three shifts to one shift this year. The Library's Canadiana collections have continued to grow both in volume and in depth. Moreover, the National Library has established a presence on the World Wide Web as a prime gateway site into sources of Canadian information on the Internet.