Canadian Association of Research Libraries

Canadian Association of Research Libraries
Name	Canadian Association of Research Libraries
Abbreviation	CARL
Formation	1976
Type	Non-profit association
Headquarters	Ottawa, Ontario
Region served	Canada
Membership	University libraries, national libraries, research institutes
Leader title	Executive Director

Canadian Association of Research Libraries is a national organization that represents major research libraries in Canada, promoting library collaboration, scholarly communication, and research data management. It brings together chief librarians, university administrations, national institutions, and federal agencies to coordinate activities across higher education and cultural heritage sectors. The association engages with provincial ministries, funding councils, and international consortia to influence policy, infrastructure, and standards.

History

The association originated in the mid-1970s when senior librarians from the University of Toronto, McGill University, University of British Columbia, Université de Montréal, and Queen's University met with representatives of the National Library of Canada and the Library and Archives Canada predecessor institutions to respond to developments at the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council and the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council. Early activities paralleled initiatives at the Association of Research Libraries and reflected dialogue with the Canada Council for the Arts and the Canadian Federation of Undergraduate Students on access to scholarly materials. During the 1980s and 1990s the association engaged with the Canadian Association of University Teachers, the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada, and the Tri-Agency funding agencies to address serials inflation, interlibrary loan, and automation influenced by vendors such as OCLC and Elsevier. In the 2000s CARL participated in national projects aligned with the Canadian Research Knowledge Network and coordinated responses to policy proposals from the Department of Canadian Heritage and the Privy Council Office. Recent history includes collaborations with the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, the Social Sciences Research Council of Canada, and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization on open scholarship and cultural preservation.

Membership and Structure

Membership comprises major academic libraries at institutions such as University of Alberta, McMaster University, Dalhousie University, University of Calgary, Simon Fraser University, and Laval University, as well as national entities including the National Research Council Canada library units and the Library of Parliament. The association maintains working groups that reflect interests tied to the Canadian Association of University Teachers, the Federation for the Humanities and Social Sciences, and provincial systems like Ontario Council of University Libraries and BC Electronic Library Network. Institutional members coordinate with offices at the Canada Research Chairs program, campus offices of research services, and university presses such as the University of Toronto Press and UBC Press. Membership categories intersect with consortia including Portage Network and the Canadian Association of Public Libraries for select initiatives.

Governance and Leadership

Governance follows a board structure drawing directors from member institutions, often vice-provosts and university librarians from York University, University of Ottawa, University of Saskatchewan, and Memorial University of Newfoundland. Leadership roles interface with bodies like the Canadian Research Knowledge Network, the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions, and provincial ministries such as Manitoba Advanced Education. Executive directors and presidents have come from institutions including Concordia University, University of Victoria, Ryerson University (now Toronto Metropolitan University), and Brock University, and engage with international counterparts at Research Libraries UK and the Association of Academic Museums and Galleries. Committees liaise with the Canadian Intellectual Property Office and the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada on legal and policy matters.

Programs and Initiatives

Programs encompass shared cataloguing, preservation planning, research data management, and open access initiatives tied to the Tri-Agency Open Access Policy, the SPARC network, and the OpenAIRE framework. Initiatives include cooperative digitization projects in partnership with the Canadian Heritage Information Network, mass digitization pilots influenced by the Google Books settlement debates, and archival cooperation involving the Canadian Council of Archives and the Society of American Archivists. Training and capacity-building programs collaborate with the Association of Canadian Archivists, the Canadian Library Association legacy groups, and the International Coalition of Library Consortia. The association advances interoperability through standards bodies such as ISO committees, the Dublin Core Metadata Initiative, and the Text Encoding Initiative.

Advocacy and Policy

Advocacy work targets policies at the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat, the Department of Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada, and the House of Commons of Canada through briefings that engage the Senate of Canada committees, provincial legislatures, and the Canadian Bar Association on intellectual property and access. The association submits recommendations related to the Copyright Modernization Act and consults with the Canadian Intellectual Property Office and the World Intellectual Property Organization on treaty implications. Policy stances address research data stewardship in concert with the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, and support for open scholarship consistent with principles promoted by the Wellcome Trust, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and the European Commission open science policy.

Publications and Resources

The association publishes guidelines, white papers, and reports on topics such as collection assessment, research data management, and copyright, often distributed to stakeholders including the Federation for the Humanities and Social Sciences and the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada. Resources include toolkits aligned with FAIR principles, frameworks developed with the Canadian Research Data Centre Network, and case studies referencing platforms like DSpace, Fedora Commons, HathiTrust, and Zenodo. The association’s outputs inform curriculum at library schools such as those at University of Toronto Faculty of Information, McGill School of Information Studies, and School of Information Studies at Ryerson and are cited by provincial archives and cultural institutions like the Canadian Museum of History.

Partnerships and Impact

Partnerships span national and international organizations: collaborations with the Canada Foundation for Innovation, the International Council on Archives, CERN-adjacent research infrastructures, and consortia such as Canadian Research Knowledge Network have bolstered digital infrastructure at member institutions. Impact is evident in coordinated licensing agreements with major publishers including Springer Nature, Wiley, and Taylor & Francis, shared preservation of Canadiana with Library and Archives Canada, and contributions to national strategy discussions with entities like the Office of the Chief Science Advisor of Canada and the Council of Canadian Academies. The association’s coordination has influenced campus policies at Université de Sherbrooke, University of Guelph, and Mount Allison University and reinforced Canada’s position within international scholarly communication networks such as the Open Access Scholarly Publishers Association.

Category:Library associations of Canada