Parliamentary Librarian of Canada
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The Parliamentary Librarian of Canada is one of the key officials of the
Parliament of Canada The Parliament of Canada (french: Parlement du Canada) is the federal legislature of Canada, seated at Parliament Hill in Ottawa, and is composed of three parts: the King, the Senate, and the House of Commons. By constitutional convention, the ...
. While the
Library of Parliament The Library of Parliament (french: Bibliothèque du Parlement) is the main information repository and research resource for the Parliament of Canada. The main branch of the library sits at the rear of the Centre Block on Parliament Hill in Ottawa ...
was created shortly after 1867, the role of librarian was not created until 1871 to be in charge of management and control of the library of Parliament.Officers and Officials of Parliament Procedural Officers and Senior Officials - Library of Parliament
/ref> Control and direction of the library is provided by the Speakers of the House of Commons and the Senate. The current role was created from the merger of the Parliamentary Librarians of the Provinces of Canada (1840-1867) and those of the Legislature of Upper and Lower Canada (1790s). From its creation until 1956, the parliamentary library was overseen by two officers: the parliamentary librarian, who oversaw the parliamentary archives and research facilities, and the general librarian, who oversaw the non-governmental and historical collections.Ross Gordon, "Félix Desrochers: General Librarian 1933-1956". ''
Canadian Parliamentary Review The ''Canadian Parliamentary Review'' is a quarterly publication of the Canadian Region of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association. The publication began as a newsletter known as the ''Canadian Regional Review'' in 1978 with a provisional six-me ...
'', Vol. 23 No. 3, Autumn 2000. By convention, one position had to be held by an anglophone and the other by a francophone; in practice the anglophone always held the parliamentary position and the francophone always held the general one, except for a period during
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
when general librarian Felix Desrochers concurrently held the parliamentary position on a ''de facto'' basis, as following the death of Martin Burrell in 1938 the
House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. ...
did not formally appoint a new parliamentary librarian until 1944. However, Desrochers was never formally given the title of parliamentary librarian. Following the creation of the
National Library of Canada Library and Archives Canada (LAC; french: Bibliothèque et Archives Canada) is the federal institution, tasked with acquiring, preserving, and providing accessibility to the documentary heritage of Canada. The national archive and library is t ...
in 1953, the general librarian's position was phased out as those responsibilities and materials were transferred to the new institution. With the discontinuation of the general librarian's position, a new position was created for associate librarian, which was also consistently held by a francophone until 1994, when Richard Paré, the incumbent of that position at the time of chief librarian Erik Spicer's retirement, became the first francophone officially named to the top post. The library provides reference material for use by members of the House of Commons and the Senate, as well as officials of the Parliament of Canada.


Parliamentary Librarians

*
Alpheus Todd Alpheus Todd (July 30, 1821 – January 22, 1884) was an English-born Canadian librarian and constitutional historian, most notable for his publications on parliamentary government.H. R. Tedder, 'Todd, Alpheus (1821–1884)', rev. Elizabeth Baig ...
, 1870-1884 - was assistant librarian in the Library of the Legislative Assembly of Upper Canada (1836-1841) and of the Province of Canada (1841-1854) and Principal Library of the Province of Canada (1854-1867) * Martin Joseph Griffin, 1885-1920 * Martin Burrell, 1920-1938 * Vacant (Felix Desrochers ''de facto''), 1938-1944 * Francis Aubrey Hardy, 1944-1959 * Erik John Spicer, 1960-1994 * Richard Paré, 1994-2005 * William Robert (Bill) Young, 2005-2011 * Sonia L'Heureux, 2012–2018 * Heather Lank, 2018 to Present


General Librarians

* Alfred Duclos DeCelles, 1885-1920 * Joseph de la Broquerie Taché, 1920-1932 * Felix Desrochers, 1933-1956


Associate Librarians

* Guy Sylvestre, 1956-1968 * Gilles Frappier, 1970-1979 * Richard Paré, 1980-1994 * Hugh Finsten, 2002-2007 * Sonia L'Heureux, 2012-2012 * Catherine MacLeod, 2013-2019


See also

*
Librarian of Congress The Librarian of Congress is the head of the Library of Congress, appointed by the president of the United States with the advice and consent of the United States Senate, for a term of ten years. In addition to overseeing the library, the Libra ...
*
Procedural officers and senior officials of the parliament of Canada The procedural officers and senior officials of the Parliament of Canada are responsible for the administration of the Senate and the House of Commons: Senate * Clerk of the Senate and Clerk of the Parliaments * Deputy Clerk of the Senate of Canada ...
* Librarian of the British House of Commons


References

{{reflist * Lists of office-holders in Canada 1871 establishments in Canada