GovInfo Day Spring: Friday April 25, 2025, Vancouver, BC

GovInfo Day Spring 2025 is coming to Vancouver, BC on Friday, April 25th. Join us at Internet Archive Canada for a day filled with informative sessions and networking opportunities. This in-person event kicks off at 9:30 am, so mark your calendars and get ready to learn from and connect with fellow attendees.

Lunch will be provided courtesy of Internet Archive Canada and University of British Columbia. Registration is free.
This event is being co-organized with Simon Fraser University, University of British Columbia Libraries, University of Alberta, and Internet Archive Canada.

Info: Building on his best-selling book, I’m Right and You’re An Idiot, Jim Hoggan spent two years researching the growing menace of disinformation and misinformation that has invaded public and political discourse throughout Canada, North America and around the globe. Hoggan will share what he learned in interviews with some of the world’s leading experts on persuasion, trust building and conflict resolution, showing how it is still possible to connect with close-minded people through higher quality listening.

Info: SFU Library houses a print map collection that covers a wide range of subjects, many of which were government-issued. While these maps hold significant value for researchers and students as critical information resources, the collection is not easily discoverable and has been underused. This talk will introduce a map inventory project aimed at better understanding the collection, which will pave the way for making the maps more accessible and usable.

Info: Discussion of research in the decentralized ecosystem in the critical mining sector, spearheaded by the EMDT project. This project is under the Ministry of Mining and Critical Mineral (formerly EMLI) of the BC Government. The work highlights the proactive role of the government sector in engaging with innovative technologies and the evolving needs of the mining industry.

Info: University of Alberta Library has recently begun digitizing the Irish University Press, British Parliamentary Papers Collection. In 1968-71 the Irish University Press published a 1000 volume series of thematic collections of British Parliamentary Papers and related official correspondence. This collection is not widely held as a complete set and has not previously been available digitally. The University of Alberta Library is one of few known institutions which hold the entire collection. This session will provide an introduction to this unique and valuable content.

Info: This presentation explores how blockchain can mitigate fraud in public procurement records by enhancing transparency and accountability. It highlights the development of a records fraud taxonomy built through an in-depth analysis of Court of Accounts files to identify patterns of irregularities. This taxonomy serves as a foundation for a blockchain-based proposal to reduce fraud opportunities and strengthen public trust in procurement processes and government systems.

Info: This presentation examines the theoretical, legal, and policy context of the access to information system and the broader open government framework, which set the stage for the creation of the Open by Default database. That database makes immediately available copies of records previously released under the federal Access to Information Act and addresses a critical service gap where the access to information system withholds executive government materials from the public. This presentation analyzes how the federal government selectively adopted ideas and principles in its push toward “open government.” It argues that while the federal government marketed its access to information system as part of this broader initiative, it deliberately resisted openness for the system in obvious ways—leaving it up to civil society to create tools and solutions to address its deficiencies.

Event Venue & Nearby Stays

Internet Archive Canada, 330 West Pender Street, Vancouver, Canada