August 13, 2025 – The Canadian Association of Research Libraries (CARL) is seeking a consultant for a short-term contract to advise on electronic document management and the long term archiving of both electronic and paper archives.
CARL was established in 1976 and is incorporated as a non-profit charitable organization under the Canada Not-for-Profit Act. Its membership consists of 29 major Canadian academic libraries as well as 3 federal institutions. CARL provides leadership on behalf of Canada’s research libraries and enhances capacity to advance research and higher education. It promotes effective and sustainable knowledge creation, dissemination, and preservation; and advocates for public policy that enables broad access to scholarly information.
Electronic Document Management
Currently, CARL utilizes two cloud-based solutions: Google Drive (Google Docs/Sheets/Slides) for active documents and Sharepoint for two intranets (one secure and one shared). Both have directory architectures, but these have fallen out of structural alignment. The current scale is: Google Drive: 24.5K files, 4.3K folders; Sharepoint: 140.3K files stored.
CARL is seeking professional support to optimize its current digital document management approach, and guidance on the long term preservation of its electronic records. The consultant would advise on contemporary best practices among similarly scaled not-for-profit organizations and provide recommendations on the following:
- records management policies and ensuring compliance with relevant regulations
- evaluating current document management processes, directory structures, and file naming conventions, and determining specific requirements (may involve recommending new document management solutions to better fit the needs of the organization)
- high-level retention policy for different record types
- information and cloud storage security management and disaster recovery planning
- guidance on long-term digital archiving solutions to ensure the accessibility and preservation of electronic records
- essential training for staff.
Paper Archives
With its 50th anniversary soon approaching, CARL is at the same time seeking professional advice with respect to its physical archives from the last five decades (43 boxes). The consultant would review CARL’s current archives and recommend any necessary changes regarding the appraisal, arrangement, description, and retention of the physical archival materials.
Project Timeline and Submission Requirements
The timeline for project work would start in Fall 2025 and be completed by the end of the 2025 calendar year.
The budget available for this project is limited. Quotes should include a per diem rate and an initial estimate for the number of days, as well as a CV or references that document your qualifications and relevant experience for this advisory consultancy.
This initial phase contract is intended to provide advice to CARL, but may lead to an implementation phase subsequently.
Please send your quote with brief accompanying text to by August 28, 2025.
Disclaimer
This RFQ does not commit CARL to select any firm, award any work order, pay any costs incurred in preparing a response, or procure or contract for any services or supplies. CARL reserves the right to accept or reject any or all submittals received, cancel or modify the RFQ in part or in its entirety, or change the RFQ guidelines, when it is in the best interests of CARL to do so.
Additional Information
If you require any additional information, please contact Katherine McColgan, Manager, Administration and Programs at .
