Microlog and the “Canadian Public Policy Collection” – A Comparison

Abstract

There has been some discussion of late, in academic library circles, surrounding the relative merits of Microlog (Micromedia-ProQuest) versus the Canadian Public Policy Collection (CPPC -Gibson Library Connections). Microlog is a long-standing resource, with over 200,000 titles, that provides fiche copies of Canadian government documents (federal, provincial, and municipal) to subscribers. Microlog also creates the MARC records and makes them available for uploading into library catalogues. CPPC is an online collection of over 22,000 think tank and policy institute reports, along with a selection of federal and provincial government documents. This paper provides a comparative analysis of Microlog and CPPC to help clarify their roles in academic library collections. This analysis considers measures of growth, coverage, and content, as well as additional features associated with each of these collections. The analysis concludes that these collections are largely distinct and tend to be more complementary than competitive.