100 days at the head of BAnQ | The dust has settled, the construction sites are engaged

The new CEO of Bibliothèques et Archives nationales du Québec (BAnQ), whose appointment made people cringe in the library community last summer, announced that she wanted to be judged on her actions. She thus wished to wait until the symbolic level of 100 days in office is crossed before drawing up a first inventory. We met her in her new quarters, in the heart of the Grande Bibliothèque.

Sylvain Sarrazin
Press

“In management, we always say that the first 100 days is the moment when we form our own opinion of the organization,” explains Marie Grégoire, who spent her first weeks ensuring that her vision coincided with those of the different spheres and teams of the library network. She also read a lot; not novels gleaned from the shelves, but an avalanche of reports concerning BAnQ – “more than in my entire career,” she says.

Did the dust raised during his appointment finally settle? As a reminder, the choice of the board of directors had stung professionals in the field, some of whom denounced a “political and partisan” decision, deploring in particular the fact that the candidate had no training in library science. “I won’t hide from you that during my first intervention in more specialized groups, I was more worried, but ultimately, I would say that the reaction is very good”, answers M^me Grégoire, conceding to have been “surprised, disappointed and hurt” by the controversy.

Since then, she has chained round tables and interventions with organizations in the sector, such as the Association des archivistes or the Table de concertation des libraries, without noticeable jolts. Is the page definitively turned? Obviously, but whatever, the CEO has already tackled the subsequent chapters, enamelled with major projects and challenges: conservation, digitization, accessibility. “I am neither a librarian nor an archivist, but I think that as a manager, I have the will to protect and disseminate BAnQ’s collections and heritage to all Quebecers, no matter where they are on the site. territory, ”she says.

BAnQ for all

One of the ritornellos of its strategic plan: conviviality, which is materialized by easy access to the services and spaces offered by the institution. “I have the impression that Quebeckers do not know all that we can do for them in a learning context, that they have the feeling that BAnQ is for others and not for them”, raises those who want the public to become aware of it and appropriate the places and resources available; from genealogical research to video game entertainment, from books for toddlers to consulting PressReader. “We don’t want it to be complicated [d’utiliser] with BAnQ. Today, we can “Googling” easily, maybe we will soon be able to “bank” easily? She imagines.

Inevitable, the digital file will be one of the cogs, making it possible to erase the constraints of space and time. But concretely? Marie Grégoire evokes the example of the redesign of the website, in order to “put our collections in contact with Quebecers from the home page”, scheduled for September 2022 – a project for which she would have liked to press the trot, before find that she had to adapt to a new tempo.

A change that also concerns staff, to whom it wishes to provide cutting-edge tools and training to adapt to new library realities, while bringing together the three pillars of the institution, namely the Grande Bibliothèque, the National Archives and the National Library. “The teams are extraordinary, develop reflexes, sharing and expertise, but need to work even better together, in a more transversal way”, she notes.

Public funds and religious heritage

On the financial side, the president, who has taken several steps, hopes to obtain in the next budget at least enough to cover operating costs, while eyeing investments from mutually beneficial partnerships. For example, BAnQ could provide its expertise to various government organizations: in document management, francization, integration or professional retraining in a context of labor shortage. “We could be part of the solution for various challenges facing the state and, in return, be able to finance our primary missions,” she suggests.

Another project on the horizon: supporting communities aspiring to the conservation of religious archives. “It will be something important in the next few years. On this point, Quebeckers are a little paradoxical: we want a secular society, but also to make sure to properly preserve the heritage, among others Catholic, which has marked the history and development of Quebec ”, announces Mr.^me Gregory.

Finally, we questioned the new CEO on her position vis-à-vis the pushes of the “culture of cancellation” and political correctness, with the proliferation of voices demanding the banning of works, authors or artists. simple words. “Our collection director says that we rely on the intelligence of the people who come to see us. We give broad access to data, sometimes with notes, but freedom of expression remains the first vector, and I adhere to this vision which was already there long before I arrived. If you want to do research on sensitive subjects, you still have to have access to books that talk about these sensitive subjects, ”she concludes.

An emblematic work?

Which work do you think best reflects the personality of the institution? We used this question again for the new CEO, asked last year to his predecessor Jean-Louis Roy. His choice: all of Serge Bouchard’s work. “He wanted to put people in contact, provide access, democratize knowledge, always explain more. For me, that’s BAnQ, ”she says.