Library and Archives Canada Unveils Preservation Campus

The Preservation Campus, located at 625 Du Carrefour Boulevard in Gatineau, Quebec, consists of two buildings: the Preservation Centre and the Preservation Storage Facility. The two buildings are connected by a walkway.

• was inaugurated in November 2022;
• has achieved LEED® Gold Certification;
• is the first net-zero carbon archival preservation facility in the Americas;
• has already won 12 awards for its overall project, architecture and ingenuity, including two prestigious awards of excellence from the Association of Consulting Engineering Companies of Canada in 2023, as well as Best Constructed Project from the P3 Awards;
• has a high, windowless design that helps limit energy use;
• has a storage capacity of more than 21,000 cubic metres, equivalent to eight and a half Olympic-size swimming pools;
• is the largest automated archival facility in the world;
• is divided into six large vaults that:
  • are 10 metres wide, 58 metres long and 28 metres high;
  • are used to store paper, microfilm and motion picture film;
  • have an automated storage and retrieval system that uses a lift and a crane operated by staff to remove and return documents;
  • are equipped with sophisticated systems that control light, temperature, humidity and airborne particles;
  • enable documents to be preserved in their original state for 500 years!

The Preservation Centre:

• was inaugurated in June 1997;
• had an open house in 2017 and 2018;
• consists of an exterior glass and steel structure that creates a buffer zone to protect the interior concrete structure, where the vaults are located;
• is equipped with a system that detects and extinguishes fires;
• is equipped with 48 vaults, each 350 square metres in size, to store and protect historical records against several hazards;
  • The majority, specifically 46 of the vaults:
    • are maintained at a temperature of 18 degrees Celsius and between 35 and 50% relative humidity;
    • are used to store textual documents, maps, plans and drawings, electronic records, film, photographs, medals, oil paintings, globes, video cassettes and audio records.
  • The other two vaults:
    • are maintained below freezing (-18 degrees Celsius);
    • are used to store colour and black-and-white film.