Working with librarians, researchers, administrators, funders, and publishers, CRKN undertakes large scale licensing of scholarly content for academic institutions in order to expand research capacity in Canada. Currently, CRKN negotiates and manages over 50 licenses on behalf of its member institutions.

CRKN provides access to over 60 million pages of Canadian documentary heritage through the Canadiana and Héritage collections and preserves this heritage through the Canadiana Trustworthy Digital Repository (TDR), ensuring its integrity and accessibility as technologies change over time. CRKN also provides digitization services to our member and stakeholder community, providing best-quality digital reproductions of materials that adhere to metadata and technology standards.

CRKN’s professional finance staff, under the policy framework maintained by the Finance & Audit Committee (FAC), continue to administer over $130M in annual expenditures on behalf of member institutions. The FAC also reviews and supports CRKN’s internal risk management framework and budget development and monitoring process. This includes recommending budget and fee models which support CRKN’s ongoing sustainability, and projecting budget decisions out over a five-year horizon.

CRKN is fortunate to benefit from a flexible work arrangement, strong financial expertise, and resilient staff and committee members who have continued to keep our organization running smoothly. These traits were certainly highlighted throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.

Following the announcement of the first Ontario lockdown in March 2020, which affected the majority of CRKN staff, CRKN immediately moved into a remote work arrangement. With remote work already a feature of CRKN’s office planning, staff were well-equipped to complete nearly all their duties from home. Despite the rapid transition to a new work environment and, for some, the challenges of working from home, the flow of CRKN business remained uninterrupted thanks to the flexibility and commitment of our team.

CRKN was also able to continue its governance activities uninterrupted. A pre-existing model of holding committee meetings via video teleconference, and the quick action of staff to convert the 2020 CRKN Conference and Meeting of the Members to a virtual model, meant that committee business and member voting could take place on schedule. We thank our Board, committee, and task group members for their unwavering support of CRKN during this uncertain year.

Meanwhile, CRKN prepared for the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on member institutions. In collaboration with global consortia, information was shared with members in March 2020 on increases to the accessibility of vendor content. Foreseeing budget impacts on member institutions, CRKN targeted and achieved significant cost reductions and open access options for 2020 license renewals. Additionally, to provide support for member staff unable to complete their usual duties due to library closures, CRKN launched the CRKN Transcription Project. This pilot transcription crowdsourcing project provided engagement for member staff while enhancing discoverability for hundreds of pages of the Héritage collection.

Ultimately, financial sustainability was the backbone supporting this work. To prepare for the 2020-2021 financial year, the Finance and Audit Committee and staff developed two budgets – a COVID-19 budget taking into account current realities, and a budget forecasted for a typical financial year. With a widened perspective on budgetary possibilities, staff could make informed decisions on CRKN operations, and members and stakeholders could feel confident that CRKN had prepared for every possibility.

CRKN joins our community the world over in looking with hope towards a future after COVID-19. We are grateful to have weathered a global pandemic unscathed, and to be able to serve our membership confidently no matter the circumstance.