By Jon Bowie, Library Assistant - Government Publications & Reference Services
In an attempt to adapt to the emerging digital environment, the New Brunswick Legislative Library has been actively acquiring electronic versions of New Brunswick government publications since 2005. Electronic documents, or edocs, make the delivery of publications almost instantaneous. They allow anyone, anywhere, with internet access to retrieve the documents twenty four hours a day, seven days a week.
One of the most important features of an edoc is the ability to search within a document. Word processing software and proprietary file viewer software, such as Adobe Acrobat, have made word and character searches as simple and as fast as you can click a button. Combine this technology with the internet, and you have the ability to proliferate mass amounts of information globally, within seconds.
However, once documents have been removed from the internet, how can they be accessed? Although the internet may seem limitless, its servers and networks are indeed finite resources. Consequently information is constantly moved around, or even deleted, in order to free up space for new information. Through the edoc repository the Legislative Library is providing a permanent solution for the retention of government publications.
The focus of the Legislative Library’s edoc repository is electronic monographs published by New Brunswick departments and agencies. Since its inception, the edoc repository has collected almost 700 publications published over more than a decade. Our repository has made accessibility to governmental publications fast and easy for all of our patrons, from elected Members and departmental staff, researchers, and the general public. Visit our edoc page http://www1.gnb.ca/leglibbib/en/Resources.aspx/EDocs to browse or search the collection.
