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Canadian Government Trucking Generations of Scientific Data To the Dump
sandbagger writes "Canada's science documents are literally being taken to the dump. The northern nation's scientific community has been up in arms over the holidays as local scientific libraries and records offices were closed and their shelves — some of which contained century old data — emptied into dumpsters. Stephen Harper's Tory government is claiming that the documents have been digitized. The scientists say, 'The people who use this research don’t have any say in what is being saved or tossed aside.'"
No. Seriously.
... is doomed to repeat it.
Does anyone else get the impression that we're on the downside of civilization?
They've only said that they have. I realize that it's considered poor form around here to read the article before commenting but...
---- The above post was generated by the Turing Institute. Maybe.
There's a war on science in this country. It's a disaster. And it'll continue at least until the next election, which may be years away. I'm ashamed of what's happening to my country.
-- hendrik, a Canadian.
Bullshit. Even the former Torie Minister of Fisheries says this is nuts along with most every other decision this government has made when it comes to the fisheries. This government has exactly one aim, to sell tar, I mean oil, gotta be politically correct.
They've pissed away the budget surplus while claiming to be conservative and much better fiscal managers. They've sold or allowed to be sold much of the tar, whoops I mean bitumen sands to China. They import foreign workers at a never before seen rate, not to do IT as they don't believe in it but to work at McDonalds and Tim Hortons and force wages even lower while Chinese investors drive the cost of living up. They treat a 38% win as an overwhelming mandate and cry about how it is undemocratic for the majority to vote against them and prorogue Parliament whenever they feel like it because, you know, democracy.
Sorry I don't have any assistants to help me get links, I'm in Canada so only have a dial-up connection.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inverted_totalitarianism
It does seem sad that digitizing books leads to destruction of physical copies. I hope they are earnestly being offered to other libraries beforehand.
The point here is that the books are _not_ being digitized, and it is the _only_ copies which are being destroyed. This isn't the public library getting rid of their extra copies of "Fifty Shades of Gray", it's decades of scientific data being sent to dumpsters or outright burned. In many cases the destruction has been done without any attempt at identifying or recording the books being destroyed, so we may not even be able to know exactly what has been affected.
not to mention the fact that a lot of this research was paid for by the tax payer. This is knowledge that Canadian citizens have a right to access
I'm god, but it's a bit of a drag really...
Don't believe Shea's claims about the usage numbers. Those stats reflect people who requested help in using the libraries - relatively rare with specialized research collections where a host of users just get to work in what used to be showpiece collections. Many of these users came from the DFO institutions but also from outside, including academics, people in industry and other government employees. The provision of materials over the internet? Largely had to be digitized from library collections. Now we'll have neither the collections nor the librarians to do so.
The hasty closures and haphazard deaccessioning of these collections that represent substantial investments of taxpayer money over decades? Entirely the opposite of what conservatives claim to value - careful custody of a nation's heritage and citizen investment. (Canada's federal government is in the control of the Progressive Conservative party, hard at work muzzling the scientists supported by our tax dollars.)
From The Tyee's December 23 story on the topic, "What Driving Chaotic Dismantling of Canada's Science Libraries": Moreover records on library usage were overtly biased and based on who asked for help, said Burton Ayles, a retired director general for DFO who lives in Winnipeg and has used the Freshwater Institute library frequently.
"Most people that come in to the library don't have to request help. They just use the material. Just look at any regular library."
ancarett, historian and zombie gamer
Actually this is a BIG deal.
The purpose of these department of fisheries and oceans (DFO) libraries was not for the general public to access them - they were for government scientists in these research centres be able able to proper research and be able to do studies on climate/fish-habitat change over time, which includes looking up past materials and reports. For a "non-employee" to access, these government libraries actually requires a fairly lengthy application process.
In the past, governments have relied on these scientists to give them accurate reports on what is happening in the environment, so the government could make informed policy decisions based on facts. Without good research materials this is very hard to do. (or maybe that's the point...)
One of the greatest losses will be "grey materials" - reports that are hard to find because they were never "officially published", and may not exist in any other library. Or they may exist elsewhere, but it requires a lengthy wait to locate the materials and have them shipped assuming the other library will lend them out. Reports are now coming in that very few of the materials are actually being scanned, and most are just being thrown out.
The move is especially disappointing because the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans (a politician) is saying this move will save "$443,000" over one year. This is the same federal government that spent $9 million dollars last year on advertising to make people feel better about their cell phone bills.
And, yes I'm Canadian. It's not a good situation.
(name withheld)
95% of requests were over the Internet, rather than in person - no surprise there, it's more accessible. We have no idea how many of the documents were available to be accessed this way, though.
No wait, we do. FTFA:
In late December, as outrage over the library closings grew, her department posted answers to 19 questions online. It gave the total size of the print collection as 660,000 items. Some 30,000 departmental publications are available online and more documents are being digitized. But many books can’t be digitized due to copyright laws.
So only 4.5% of documents are available online (assuming departmental publications == print collection, which I'm not sure about). Too soon to start throwing out entire collections, it seems - if ever.
Why would anyone engrave "Elbereth"?
The problem isn't selling bitumen to China, though if we have to buy gasoline produced from that bitumen from China it is a problem. The problem is China owning the majority of the bitumen sands. And yes if India was buying up all the oil producing land and companies in Alberta I'd have a problem with that.
The other problem I have is selling raw product instead of adding value here. Even the Keystone pipeline was bad that way as it leaves us dependent on US refineries on the Gulf coast.
We're a major oil producing nation and gas is $1.30 a litre and the local refinery (the last one left) which is located at the end of a pipeline (Kinder Morgans) has to buy foreign oil as the Chinese have already claimed our production.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inverted_totalitarianism
Stephen Harper's Tory government is claiming that the documents have been digitized.
Yeah, it's all ones and zeros now.
Harper - 1
Science - 0
Harper has GOT to go . He's not only a foe to science but an enemy of the People of Canada.