SCG diskette

Question

I suspect this is somewhere on the ftp site but I can't find it - so any assistance would be appreciated. We're looking for the updated Standard Classification of Goods data.

Answer

1) It is available on the Web at
http://www.statcan.gc.ca/concepts/class-prod-standard-type-eng.htm

2) You are right - the SGC is on the DLI FTP site:

/dli/standard_classifications/scg_ctb

The latest edition is for 2001, and can be found in file scg01.zip.

3) Found this on the website. Would it be what you're
looking for?

http://www.statcan.gc.ca/subjects-sujets/standard-norme/scg-ctb/scgindex-ctbindice-eng.htm

Inquiry on EA Variables from the 1996 Census Analyser

Question

We have a researcher who is experiencing difficulty with an EA variable taken from the 1996 Census Analyser. Can anyone verify what exactly is being measured in the variable for ‘gross rent spending 30% or more of household income’ for EAs in the 1996 Census. 1991, 2001 and 2006 data is not causing any problems, but I am unsure how to proceed in answering our researcher’s question regarding the 1996 entry.

Note: she is using the V1609 and V1607 variables for her calculations.

Answer

It is the count of tenant-occupied household which spend 30% or more of household income on rent. I went back to the B20/20 file, to see if there was a more informative footnote for that field, and the footnote in the
B20/20 file is just as misleading as the item label.

"Gross Rent as a Percentage of Household Income" refers to the proportion of average monthly 1995 total household income which is spent on gross rent (for tenant-occupied dwellings). Calculation - Gross Rent X 100 Total annual household income in 1995 12.

This implies that the item contains a proportion - it doesn't, it contains a count.

Concordances for SOC to NOC

Question

We have a researcher who needs to convert the 1991 SOC codes for occupations in the NPHS to NOC codes. I have not been able to find any direct concordance from 1991 SOC to the NOC. Have I missed something?

My searches have led me to conclude that this will actually involve two steps:

1 -- convert from the 1991 SOC to the 1980 SOC via 12F0028XDE

2 -- then convert from the 1980 SOC to the NOC 12F0029XDE

If there is a more direct method for doing this, I would appreciate being introduced to it!

Answer

There's a concordance on the DLI ftp side, in
/standard_classifications/concordance

As far as I can tell, the socnoce.xls and nocsoce.xls files are NOC to/from the 1991 SOC, and the soc1980_noc.txt and noc_soc1980.txt files are to/from the 1980 SOC.

Also, a tool from Standard Division will help the conversion from NOC to NOC-S. The following URL:
http://www.statcan.ca/english/Subjects/Standard/soc/2001/nocs01-index.htm explains the difference between NOC and NOC-S.

The tool helps map NOC and NOC-S at the unit group level for 2006. This should save researchers some time, but note that some adjustment will be required when applying this to older data due to changes in NOC-S over time. (2006 does not add or delete any unit groups from the 2001 version, though there are some changes in unit group titles).

DSP & Switching from CODOC to LC

Question

This question is with regard to the increasing trend in the integration of government documents into a library's main collection.

One concern that the Depository Services Program (DSP) has concerning this change in the management of government documents collections is that the change may result in a shift of responsibility for the collection from a dedicated government documents librarian to a number of subject specialist librarians who may or may not be fully aware of the responsibilities that a Full Depository library has for the material received from the Depository Services Program. There are at least two areas of concern.

One is the requirement to catalogue all material received from the DSP. In some libraries, this requirement may be at odds with cataloguing policies and procedures for general collections with the result that publications judged to be ephemera such as brochures and pamphlets, for example, may not be catalogued at all. This inevitably diminishes public access and long term preservation to and for these publications which together are the primary intent of the partnership between the DSP and Full Depository Libraries (FDL). While I have been told that some Technical Services policies do not consider brochures and pamphlets worthy of being catalogued or even retained, in our view, these types of publications often contain important information for the public in a condensed form and as I have had occasion to observe, libraries that retain collections of these types of publications often have thereby, a very useful capsule history of government programs, services or activities for subject area treated by them. In any case, under the existing agreement with the DSP, FDL's are required to retain these publications and catalogue them (although "catalogue" is not the word used in the guideline).

A second concern is that with responsibility for DSP material distributed to any number of authorities within the library, instead of centralized under the authority of a government documents specialist, DSP Retention Guidelines may not be adhered to. Essentially, FDL's are required to retain all DSP material received unless an item is replaced by a newer edition or an alternate format.

My question to FDL's that have embarked on the integration of their government documents collections would be: "With DSP publications integrated into general collections, how do your bibliographic control systems ensure that DSP material will be catalogued and not be de-accessioned in a manner that would violate the terms and conditions entered into with the DSP"?

Responses

Our intention, if we go ahead with the integration, is to continue to have dedicated government publications librarians. We will have to give up a measure of control, for example, in cataloguing where we will no longer directly supervise the work. However, we do catalogue all materials received, including pamphlets - any plan we come with would have to include these - and that won't change. Our collection as a whole isn't weeded though some material may be sent to offsite storage.

******************
In response to your question, we do indicate in our catalogue records that an item was received via the DSP. As well, we use a stamp labelled "DSP" on the items, whether they are paper, microform, diskette, etc. to indicate that the item came to us via the DSP. The stamp usually appears on the outside of the item. We decided to do this so that if there were ever any weeding projects done by the subject librarians that they would know to leave the DSP items alone. I would then need to be consulted on whether or not an item could be removed and, of course, would use the DSP retention guidelines to make any decisions. If I recall correctly, we have not weeded any DSP items from the collection unless they have been replaced by another format, eg. microform. Even then, we tend to keep everything.

We still have a librarian responsible for Government Publications (myself) and I also have overall responsibility for the depository collection despite the integration of the collection and the mainstreaming of the technical processes, like acquisitions and cataloguing. Pamphlets and brochures are catalogued, classified and shelved.

******************
A liaison librarian will continue to be responsible for Canadian government documents and this includes sorting the material for the LC or CODOC collection [only monographs will go into our LC collection]. Pamphlets and brochures are still coded as they do not meet the guidelines for circulation from the LC collection.

The library also continues to have a full time government documents library assistant responsible for receiving government publications, checkin for serials/series and ordering of additional copies.

All government publications have a fixed field assignment and with the introduction of the library's new Endeca catalogue, a search, limited to government publications will provide both the CODOC and Library of Congress items.

A major special project this summer is to integrate the historical government publications and the main CODOC collection into one
sequence. Government publications is a valuable high use collection and the library's goal is to ensure ease of access.

Switching from CODOC to LC

Question

For institutions that originally used CODOC, but have switched to LC or Dewey, did you freeze the CODOC collection and switch to LC/Dewey only for incoming materials, or did you do some kind of reclassification project? If the latter, how big was the collection and how long did it take you?

I do know of some specific examples, but would like to know of more.

Responses

McMaster University Library recently switched from CODOC to LC. There is still a "core" CODOC collection. Links with government publications information follow:

Main bibliographic services page -
http://library.mcmaster.ca/cat-coll/catacq.htm

The background report will be found at -
http://library.mcmaster.ca/cat-coll/govpubreport.pdf

and, our core collection list -
http://library.mcmaster.ca/cat-coll/gpintegration.htm

***************
In 1993, we made a decision to integrate our government publications collection in with the rest of materials received by the library. We had been coding our documents using a modified version of CODOC and we had been coding them for a separate catalogue which no longer exists. One of the reasons for integrating and for choosing to LC classify and catalogue our government publications was that it was becoming increasingly difficult for people to identify what was and what wasn't a government publication. With the privatization of some government bodies and the constant author name changes, we decided that it would be best to treat these materials the same way that we do others, ie., classify them by subject and provide full catalogue descriptions with LC subject headings. The only exception was Statistics Canada publications which we thought were suited to CODOC (we imbed the Statistics Canada catalogue number into the CODOC number that we use).

We began by classifying and cataloguing new monographs and new serials. We have done some reclassification of older materials that are in the CODOC collection. The "ideal" would be to have all of these materials reclassified, however, it is a very time
consuming project. So, even 13 years after the decision was made to integrate, we still have quite a few of our older government publications, both monographs and serials, in a separately housed, coded collection in our library. We no longer have a separate
catalogue of government publications, ie., everything is listed in our library catalogue (we use the Sirsi system).

In addition to integrating the collection, we also "mainstreamed" many of the processes for government publications. The former Government Publications Unit which did the acquisitions and coding of materials was disbanded and staff were integrated into our
Acquisitions Unit.

I know that there are both pros and cons to integration. It is difficult for those who prefer to have government publications in one area so that they can be browsed easily. But, with constant government author changes, this wasn't possible anyway.

***************
University of Western Ontario, Western Libraries, is in the final stages of a complete conversion to LC of a CODOC collection at The D.B.Weldon Library. The collection size is apx.120,000 items now, although it was much larger at the outset.

When we began the project in 2003, we knew from the catalogue that we had 62,500 monographs and 11,900 serial records, but we did not know how many items that represented. That made it difficult to estimate processing costs, even with accurate time studies. We planned to re-class the print collection only, and leave microfiche and microfilm in CODOC.

We started the project by limiting the scope of the collection to reduce the size before re-classification. For one year we transferred material to low use storage or the rare book collection, without changing the CODOC. If something was suitable for the general circulating collection, it was re-classed to LC and transferred to the stacks. Librarians selected material for transfer, and 4 casual assistants (students) working under the supervision of a Library Assistant Holdings Specialist, processed the location changes in a workroom in The D.B.Weldon Library. ARCC, our low use collection storage facility and rare book collection, is attached to this library. That was a big advantage for the project.

While the collection size was being pared down, cataloguers in Library Technical Services worked on creating a scheme, an LC Expansion for Canadian Government Publications. Under the direction of a cataloguer, two students applied the new LC Expansion tables to review files of the Canadian material, placing the new LC call numbers in the 095 field.

Re-labelling CODOC to LC began on site in January 2004 with a crew of 3 students and the Holdings Specialist. Beginning with Canada, at CA1, and continuing in CODOC sequence, the crew found the new LC call number in the 095 field. The students created new labels, applied, taped, and shifted the material to the new LC sequence. Within 24 hours, the Holdings Specialist would flip the 095 and the 099 fields in each bibliographic record, and the new call number would appear in the catalogue.

The conversion of Canadian documents took about 2 years to complete. For the UK, UN, US and other material we used existing LC call numbers when possible. The new LC arrangement of the collection is interesting and successful. Canadian and international statistics are grouped together for easy access.

***************
My sense is that the push to convert from CODOC to LC is driven far more by “Technical Services” than by “Public Services” motives. This is not surprising given the trend to shrink Tech Services in recent years – and CODOC specialists have been a prime target for cutting. But, the move away from CODOC has profound public service implications. I have yet to encounter a Government Documents specialist who felt the public is better served by a ‘merged’ collection.

The merged collections I have seen just don’t make sense. I have seen, for example, historical Canadian Sessional Papers sitting right next to Presidential Papers of the United States! While my goal is not to defend CODOC as the perfect system, there IS some logic in its jurisdictional approach – certainly from a ‘gov docs’ reference perspective. In my experience (20 years and counting), researchers want information by topic, yes – but when it comes to government information, they want it at a specific jurisdictional level. CODOC supports this approach.

The concerns raised by the DSP’s Gay Lepkey (potential problems with cataloguing and retention of DSP material in an integrated collection) are in my view just a symptom of the larger problem he hints at – the loss of “dedicated government documents librarian[s]” in academic libraries. It seems to me that the ‘dumbing down’ of our collections (by converting them to LC) has gone hand-in-hand with the devaluation of government information specialists and specialized reference services. And to make matters worse, losing consolidated government documents collections makes growing the next generation of gov docs specialists that much more difficult.

At Queen’s, we are fortunate to have government documents ‘partnered’ with maps, air photos, and our data service, under one administrative unit: Maps, Data, & Government Information Centre (MADGIC). There are several MADGIC units in academic libraries across the country, most with dedicated specialists. In my view, the synergies realized by this grouping of resources and expertise vastly improve public service.

I can’t change the fact that many Academic Libraries are moving down the LC path when it comes to government documents. I can, however, make a plea for the continued hiring and mentoring of dedicated government documents specialists in academic libraries. If you don't use it, you lose it.

***************
I suggest that there is a middle way on this question:

First, certain core government publications need to be kept together in order to be used effectively. These include parliamentary
records, annual reports, estimates, public accounts, sessional papers, statutes and regulations, census and most other Statistics Canada publications.

Most of these are serials, but monographic materials might form part of this core.

If they are kept together, there is also the chance that government information expertise can be developed and maintained.

On the other hand, monographs may in many cases be more accessible through LC classification. This appeared to be the case in my working situation, where there were duplicate monographs in the government publications section and in the main collections.
These included anthropological papers, geological surveys, environmental reports, etc. By and large, those copies in the main
stacks were more heavily used, though it may have been due to generally superior cataloguing, including LC subject headings,
and not just LC classification.

Not to be forgotten are the many government documents that are too fragile to survive in the main stacks. These might survive
quite nicely in a government publications department, where pamphlet boxes are standard equipment. Given LC classification,
the choices are shelving in the main stacks, along with regular monographs and serials (and where long term preservation is
out of the question), or vertical files. These fragile materials include not only leaflets of minor or transitory value, but in
some cases important policy documents, speeches, etc.

***************

Updated Products - Geography

Please note the updated products listed below and the path to access them via the FTP.

1) Geography Boundary Files - Census 2006

The 2006 boundary files portray the official geographic limits used for census dissemination and are available for Provinces and Territories, Census Divisions, Economic Regions, Census Metropolitan Areas and Census Agglomerations, Census Consolidated Subdivisions, and Census Subdivisions. The boundary files are available in two formats: Digital Boundary Files and Cartographic Boundary Files. Digital Boundary Files depict the official boundaries of standard census geographic areas. The boundaries sometimes extend beyond shorelines into water, rather than follow the shoreline, to ensure that official limits are followed and that all land and islands are included. Cartographic Boundary Files contain boundaries of standard geographic areas that have been modified to follow shorelines. The files provide a framework for mapping and spatial analysis using commercially available geographic information systems (GISs) or other mapping software. A reference guide is included.

FTP: /dli/geography/arcinfo/
- cbf
- dbf

FTP: /dli/geography/mapinfo/
- cbf
- dbf

2) Standard Geographical Classification (SCG). Volume II. Reference Maps

The Standard Geographical Classification (SGC) is a system of names and codes representing areas of Canada. It consists of a three-tiered hierarchy - province or territory, census division, and census subdivision. This relationship is reflected in the seven-digit code. The SGC is used to identify information for particular geographical areas and to tabulate statistics. This volume provides a series of reference maps that show the boundaries, names, and SGC codes of all census divisions and census subdivisions in Canada, in effect on January 1, 2006. It also provides the names, codes and areal extent of census metropolitan areas, census agglomerations, and economic regions. A thematic map of the Statistical Area Classification (SAC) by census subdivision is included.

FTP: /dli/geography/reference-maps
- cd-csd-dr-sdr
- national-maps
- sgc-cgt

Official release of the 2006 Standard Geographical Classification (SGC) and 2006 Boundary Files

Official release of the 2006 Standard Geographical Classification (SGC) and 2006 Boundary Files - October 18, 2006

The 2006 Standard Geographical Classification and the 2006 Boundary Files for selected geographies are released today. Both products are available free of charge in electronic format only:
http://www.statcan.ca/start.html.

The final version of the 2006 SGC Volume I and the print version of the 2006 SGC Volume II will be released on January 16, 2007. Boundary files for the remaining geographic units (except urban area and designated place UA/DPL) will be released on February 14, 2007.

2006 Standard Geographical Classification (SGC):

The Standard Geographical Classification (SGC) is a classification of geographical areas used to collect and disseminate statistics. The 2006 edition replaces the 2001 edition as the official classification for geographical areas for the 2006 Census and other Statistics Canada surveys.

The classification is organized in two volumes: Volume I (Preliminary) The Classification and Volume II Reference Maps.

Volume I (preliminary) released today, contains tables of the names and codes of standard geographical classification units, organized by province and territory and by metropolitan area. Designed as a reference and coding tool, Volume I (preliminary) is available in PDF (12-571-PIE) and HTML (12-571-PWE) formats. The final version of Volume I, to be released on January 16, 2007, will contain additional tables as well as concordances between SGC 2001 and SGC 2006.

Volume I can be accessed at:
http://www.statcan.ca/english/Subjects/Standard/sgc/2006/2006-sgc-index.htm

Volume II (12-572-XWE) contains reference maps showing boundaries, names, codes and locations of the geographical areas in the classification. The reference maps show census subdivisions, census divisions, census metropolitan areas, census agglomerations, and economic regions. The maps can be downloaded for free in PDF format. On January 16, 2007, Volume II will also be released in print version.

Volume II can be accessed at:
http://www.statcan.ca/english/Subjects/Standard/sgc/2006/2006-sgc-index2.htm
The maps can also be accessed directly at:
http://geodepot.statcan.ca/Diss2006/Maps/SGC2006_e.jsp

A summary reference guide explaining the methodology behind the creation of these maps is also available (in PDF (92-149-GIE) or HTML (92-149-GWE) format):
http://geodepot.statcan.ca/Diss2006/Reference/Freepub/92-149-GWE/92-149-GWE2006001.htm
Please note that the summary reference guide released today will be undergoing improvements and enhancements in order to expand content. Subsequent versions of the reference guides will accompany the upcoming reference map releases in January and March 2007.

2006 Boundary Files:

The 2006 Boundary Files (92-160-XWE) portray the geographical limits used for census dissemination and provide a framework for mapping and spatial analysis. The geographical areas covered are those of the 2006 Standard Geographical Classification. There are two types of boundary files: digital and cartographic. Digital files depict the full extent of the geographical areas, including the coastal water area. Cartographic files depict the geographical areas using only the major land mass of Canada and its coastal islands. The files are available in three formats: ArcInfo® (.shp), MapInfo® (.tab) and Geography Markup Language (.gml).

Boundary Files are available for the following geographic units:

* Province/Territory
* Economic region
* Census division
* Census metropolitan area/Census agglomeration
* Census consolidated subdivisions
* Census subdivisions

Three supplementary hydrography layers are also available as a reference layer for the Cartographic Boundary Files (CBF). The following three hydrography layers have been released:

* Lakes and rivers (polygon)
* Rivers (line)
* Coastal waters (polygon)

The 2006 boundary files (3 formats) can be downloaded for free from the following link and are only available for download at the national level:
http://geodepot.statcan.ca/Diss2006/DataProducts/BoundaryFiles_e.jsp

A summary reference guide is also available (in PDF or HTML format):
http://geodepot.statcan.ca/Diss2006/Reference/Freepub/92-160-GWE/92-160-GWE2006001.htm
Please note that the summary reference guide released today will be undergoing improvements and enhancements in order to expand content and will be reissued in November. Subsequent versions of the reference guides will accompany the upcoming boundary file releases in February and March 2007.

Please note:

1) Users of Netscape and Firefox Internet browsers may have experienced difficulties with the download of the 2006 Road Network File. This technical issue has now been resolved on all download pages, however if users continue to experience difficulties please contact GEO-Help at 1-613-951-3889 to obtain a copy of the data on CD-R.

2) MapInfo users with versions that pre-date MapInfo version 8.0 may experience difficulties opening the Province/Territory and Economic Region cartographic boundary files. This is due to earlier versions of MapInfo having lower restrictions on the number of nodes per object and/or a multi-polygon object limit per record.

3) Any boundary challenges proposed as a result of this release will be dealt with on a case by case basis. For more information please contact GEO-Help at 1-613-951-3889.

Upcoming releases:

January 16, 2007: Reference maps - CSD/DA (without UA/DPL), C(M)A/CT (without UA/DPL), CT/DA, Non-tracted CA/DA (without UA/DPL)

February 14, 2007: Reference products (Illustrated Glossary, Geography Catalogue, Census Dictionary), Boundary files (CT, DA, DB (Dissemination Block), FED2003), Ranked Road Network File (RRNF), Correspondence Files, and Geographic Attribute File (GAF) and GeoSearch (without population and dwelling counts).

March 13, 2007: Population and dwelling counts - highlight tables, Thematic release maps - population and dwelling counts, Geography catalogue (2nd edition), Reference maps - CSD/DA (with UA/DPL), C(M)A/CT (with UA/DPL), Non-tracted CA/DA (with UA/DPL), Boundary Files (UA & DPL), GeoSuite, and Geographic Attribute File (GAF) and GeoSearch (with population and dwelling counts).

Definition of bootstrapping weighting

Question

Could someone please provide a definition of bootstrap weighting, and also why you would choose to use this type of weighting?

Answer

Here is an article on bootstrapping from ICSPR.

http://www.icp.ucl.ac.be/~opperd/private/bootstrap.html

'Daytime population' and 'Night time population' definitions

Question

I have done some searching on the 2001 census website, but cannot find definitions of what is meant by 'daytime population' versus 'night time population', as illustrated in the maps at:
http://geodepot.statcan.ca/Diss/Maps/ThematicMaps/placeofwork_e.cfm

Am I correct in guessing that:

Daytime population = (in the place of work tables) all those who worked full/part time with usual place of work in the CT/CSD (by place of work status) + those who worked at home (by place of work status) with place of residence in the CT/CSD + those who did not work in 2000 but with place of residence in the CT/CSD (place of work status)

Nightime population = population of the CT/CSD of residence

Answers and Responses

1. In short, night time population = place of residence and daytime population = place of work.

2. For those who may be interested to see these maps, thematic maps are available on
http://geodepot.statcan.ca/Diss/Maps/ThematicMaps/Index_e.cfm
for some Census Metropolitan Areas (the largest: Montreal, Toronto, Vancouver, etc.)

Finding concordance between 2001 DAs and 1996 EAs

Question

We compiled the total population in 2001 by provincial electoral district in working with DAs (dissemination areas). In order to calculate population increase by provincial electoral district between 1996 and 2001, I need to compile population by provincial electoral district in 1996. Therefore, I would need the concordance between DAs in 2001 and EAs (enumeration areas) in 1996, because DAs didn't exist in 1996. Does such a tool exist? Or has anybody an idea about how I can calculate in another manner the population increase between 1996 and 2001 by provincial electoral district?

Answer

The version of GeoSuite on the DLI FTP site contains the EA to DA correspondence table. After you install GeoSuite, you'll find in its directory two files: ea-sd_corr.mdb (which is an MS Access database) and ea-sd_corr.txt (which is an ASCII text file that is actually in CSV format). The heading of the fields in these files are: 1996EAuid, DAuid, PartFlag, BLOCKuid, EApop1996, EApop2001.

DA / CT Code Concordance

Question

Could anyone tell me if there is a DA / CT code concordance?

If I have a specific DA code, found in an .ivt file, e.g. 35390360192, I can identify that it is a London DA from the CD and CSD codes, but is there a simple way of finding where in London that DA is, without searching every CT in the Dissemination Maps?
A concordance, or listing under CT?

Answer

You can use GeoSuite 2001 to find in which CD a DA belongs. GeoSuite can be downloaded from the DLI FTP site and is located under the directory: geography/2001/geosuite.

I just did the following search to create a correspondence listing of DA-CD's in London.

A. From the main menu: Name Search

B. Enter Name: London and select (highlight) London CSD

C. Click NEXT and select Dissemination Areas (click on radio button)

D. Click NEXT and double-click on DAuid, scroll down to CTname and CT and double-click on both of them.

E. Click NEXT and the correspondence table will be displayed.

The code breakdown can be explained as follows:
The 2001 Census DA-level tables in B2020 use an eleven-digit code for DA's, while GeoSuite and GeoSearch use an eight-digit code. Here are the breakdowns of these codes given the above example:

DA-level 2001 Census Table: 35390360192

35 : Province
39 : CD
036 : CSD
0192 : DA

GeoSearch result for this DA: 35390192

35 : Province
39 : CD
0192 : DA

The definitons for CTname and CT are provided in GeoSuite.

CTname: The three-digit CMA code precedes the CTname (a number, not an actual name)

Census Tract Code (or CT in GeoSuite): each Census Tract is assigned a four-digit code.

Where does the 3599 come from? It is the four-digit Census Tract Code.

EA concordance file

Question

Is there a EA concordance file for 1996 and 1991 that has been produced by Stat Can?

Answer

Yes there is a concordance file, you can get it using the 1996 Geosuite. If you go in under Name search, use Canada, then ask for the EACorr on the next window you get the concordance list, it can be exported as a text file(or Lotus or Excel.)