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The Library of Parliament is at the heart of democracy
É
milie Bourguignon
took her first tour of
Parliament Hill in
elementary school
and remembers
being wowed by the grandeur
and importance of the historic
buildings. So, it feels particularly
fitting that she’s now in charge of
the tours that captured her own
young imagination as the
parliamentary tour manager for
the Library of Parliament.
Bourguignon joined the Library
more than three years ago, after
several years at the Senate of
Canada. Her job involves recruiting and managing tour guides and
supervisors, and making sure the
tours of East Block, West Block
and the Senate of Canada go off
without a hitch. Her team also
welcomes visitors to the immersive
experience that allows Canadians
to explore Centre Block while it is
closed for rehabilitation. She says
working for an institution at the
“heart of democracy” gives her a
sense of pride and fulfilment in
her work.
“I love working on the Hill. I
think Parliament as an institution
is so important,” she says. “The
Library is a non-partisan institution and we work with the House
and the Senate; you get to contribute to the work of Parliament and
facilitate access for Canadians.”
The Library is Parliament’s
knowledge centre; it collects and
stores historical information,
maintains a comprehensive collection developed to meet the evolving needs of parliamentarians,
and its employees support parliamentarians with research and
analysis on current policy issues.
But the Library is more than just
a library — it also manages the
public tours program, provides
educational resources to Canadian
teachers and students, and runs
the parliamentary boutique.
“People hear library and assume
you have to be a librarian to work
here but that’s not the case,” says
parliamentary librarian Christine
Ivory, the organization’s chief executive, who notes that she herself
isn’t a librarian by training. Ivory
began her career in international
affairs, working for a non-governmental organization that did
parliamentary development work
in emerging democracies before
returning to Canada and joining
the Library of Parliament.
“We are a national library, we do
have librarians, but it’s also a very
diverse and eclectic workforce,”
Ivory says. She notes that the tour
guide program, which recruits
bilingual university student-aged
Canadians from across the
country, is the “entry point into
Parliament for many people,”
and is often a springboard into
full-time positions such as researchers, clerks and staffers in the
offices of members of Parliament.
One thing that this diverse
workforce has in common?
“There are a lot of people who are
parliamentary enthusiasts,” Ivory
says. “There’s a lot of curiosity in
this organization; you’ll overhear
people spontaneously talking
about policy issues.”
Whether you’re someone on
their first day or someone
who’s spent 35 years
working here, walking up
those steps, entering that
space, it doesn’t get old.
— Christine Ivory
Parliamentary Librarian
Émilie Bourguignon, manager, parliamentary tours (left), and Christine Ivory, parliamentary librarian, at the
Library of Parliament.
Being a knowledge organization,
the Library invests in professional
development through internal
training programs and more informal “food for thought” sessions
that are either employee-led or
bring in external guest speakers,
Ivory says.
Bourguignon says she
