Digital strategy is a top priority for Ingrid Parent, the new University Librarian – photo by Eugene Lin
UBC Reports | Vol. 55 | No. 7 | July 2, 2009
By Glenn Drexhage
If fate hadn’t intervened a few decades ago, Ingrid Parent wouldn’t be returning to her alma mater to serve as its 14th University Librarian.
In 1970, Parent earned her BA in Honours History from UBC, with a thesis on nationalist trends in 19th century Central Europe. The stage seemed set. “If I had received a scholarship to an American university where I was accepted, I expect that I would now be a history professor somewhere instead of a library professional,” Parent says.
Thankfully for UBC, that didn’t happen. Instead, the following year, Parent earned a library science degree (also from UBC). After graduation, she relocated to Eastern Canada where she held increasingly senior positions, culminating in the role of Assistant Deputy Minister at Library and Archives Canada (LAC).
Now, a mixture of the personal and professional have drawn her back to the West Coast. “Speaking from the heart, it felt like coming home – arriving with a lot of experience and expertise gained over the years.”
Parent took over the helm of UBC Library on July 1, shortly after winning an award from the Canadian Association of Research Libraries for Distinguished Service to Research Librarianship. In addition, she’s also just been named the president-elect for the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions, and will serve as president from 2011-2013.
At UBC, the library’s digital plan will be a top priority for Parent. She notes that digital activities typically involve three functions: collecting electronic publications and archival records, providing new and more efficient types of digital services, and digitizing print and other materials. Parent aims to continue developing these at UBC Library in partnership with other organizations.
She brings ample experience to the task, as she co-led the development of LAC’s Canadian Digital Information Strategy “That strategy goes beyond libraries and addresses the fact that Canada is falling behind other countries in innovation and concrete progress,” she says. The goal of the national endeavour is to provide a “framework for future action in all matters digital” (more information can be found at www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/cdis).
However, the inexorable growth of the information highway has led some observers to question whether libraries will survive and thrive in the age of the Google generation.
Parent isn’t so sceptical. As she notes, libraries and other cultural institutions have content that is indispensable to search engines and other commercial content providers. “Therefore, libraries are not irrelevant, but are key players in benefiting from new technologies to make information more readily available to users,” she notes.
When she isn’t working, Parent enjoys gardening, tennis and skiing, along with the occasional cooking experiment. She’s hugely interested in historical maps – which she collects – and also loves reading. She’s currently working through Ken Follett’s World Without End, set in 14th-century England, and Grown Up Digital by Canadian e-guru Don Tapscott – an apt illustration of Parent’s fascination with the past and passion for the future.
