Ontario. Libraries and Community Information Branch

• Ontario. Direction des bibliothèques et de l'information communitaire

• Libraries and Community Information Branch

The Provincial Library Service became the Libraries and Community Information Branch in 1979, when it acquired responsibility for the Community Information Services Unit.

The Branch formed part of the Information Access Division of the Ontario Ministry of Culture and Recreation until 1981, when it became part of the Arts, Heritage and Libraries Division.

The Libraries and Community Information Branch opened the Ontario Library Review Program office in 1980, and the Network Development Office, in 1981. In 1983, the Ontario Library Review Program was completed and the office was closed.

By 1985, the Libraries and Community Information Branch comprised the following units: Ontario Library Service, Community Information Services, Public Library Service Unit, and Technical Development Unit. The Branch was also assisted by the regional library systems which delivered programs on behalf of the Ministry of Citizenship and Culture.

In 1989, the Community Information Services office ceased to exist and responsibility for the Community Information Services Program was transferred to the newly created Grants Administration, Planning and Evaluation Unit of the Ministry of Culture and Communications.

The Libraries and Community Information Branch formed a part of the following Divisions: the Information Access Division, from 1979 to 1981; the Arts, Heritage and Libraries Division, from 1981 to 1983; the Culture and Regional Services Division, from 1983 to 1984; the Culture Division, from 1984 to 1990; the Information Resources Management Division, from 1990 to 1993; and the Culture Division again, from 1993 to 1995.

In December 1995, the Libraries and Community Information Branch was combined with the Cultural Liaison Branch to form the Cultural Partnerships Branch.

The Libraries and Community Information Branch promoted coordination among Ontario library boards and worked to improve their efficiency. Specifically, the branch provided grants, advisory assistance, and educational programs and publications to libraries.

The branch also offered a range of advisory services in the use of computers and telecommunications to facilitate communication between libraries, and provided functional support for a network of community information centres in Ontario, including centre funding through grants, advice on information management, staffing and volunteer training, and the production of resource material.

RAD: Rules for Archival Description, 2nd edn (2008)

2026-11-16: migrated to AtoM

Inventory 47 - Culture (July 1996)

Ontario Government Telephone Directories, 1979-1995

Canadiana Name Authorities, 1996-12- 24

Archivist(s):
G. Brown, R. Anger