If we trust the words of Catherine Lalonde in her text entitled: “From digital shift to“ BAnQ experience ””, we are far from the beginning of the beginning of a beginning of the process which would have made it possible to put the train back on its feet. BAnQ on track. You can feel the squeal of the brakes more than the muffled sound of acceleration. In short, if BAnQ is not the locomotive of access to culture, knowledge, knowledge: What is the point? Like the “little train of the North”, this great flagship institution is now in danger of losing its bearings in the blast of lack of resources. And yet, had we not been given a glimpse of days full of promise? It only took three months to find the tone and the words to excuse the lack of resources. Madame Grégoire’s comments simply leave me speechless.
“Put the user back at the heart of the“ BAnQ experience ””. Wow! A whole program for an institution whose mission has always been to respond richly and in abundance to the needs of citizens of all ages and from all origins. From the child who wants to discover, to the adult who approaches knowledge through books, archives or any other source of knowledge, to the seasoned researcher who needs specialized resources to carry out his reflections, whether they are from cultural or scientific nature.
“We have talked a lot about digital transformation, now we will try to phrase it through the“ BAnQ experience ” […] An experience where employees will have a high index of happiness in doing what they have to do, that is to say a task proportional to what we are able to accomplish. We are not going to spoil each other. ” What is that ! ? Employees who will have to find pleasure in not being able to do what they should have done for lack of resources? What encouraging prospects!
“The priority for 2022: prioritize. Find our azimuth in this digital society. ” Oh come on ! And all the rest is in keeping with remarks relating to the commonplace, banality, cliché, generality.
We are very far from the station where the smoking little train will finally be able to let off its passengers who, in any case, do not remember too much the destination they had chosen to reach.
It is a shame all the same to note that in the end, BAnQ will not benefit from the improvement announced in its budgetary situation and the renewal of its resources. Decidedly, BAnQ will no longer be the locomotive it was, it will no longer be the lead wagon, it will have to be content with being “a wagon” or worse, the tail wagon, colloquially called “the cabouse”.
Is it too late to do something? Is it still useful to do something? The ball is now in the court of the cultural and scientific community and of information science professionals, archivists and librarians. It’s up to you whether it’s worth pushing the wheel to try to get the train back on track.