Library and Archives Canada to preserve the Naughty & Nice Lists

Canada's library and archives realm is a centre of excellence for conserving historical documents that are very important to Canadians, but also to Santa, such as the First printed account of Hudson's discoveries in the Canadian Arctic, and the first map of Hudson's Bay and adjacent territory.

"LAC knows how to look after archives related to my corner of the world, so of course I'll entrust them with my other documents!" – Santa

Having his materials safely stored gives Santa the peace of mind he needs to focus on preparations for his big world tour on December 25.

The lists have always been stored at the North Pole and were designed for that kind of climate. So Santa decided that the antechamber of the cold storage room would be the perfect place to store them, given similar conditions to those in his village.

If Santa needs to do some research on the children on his naughty and nice lists, our genealogy experts will be able to suggest some strategies and search tools, or maybe even search a database on his behalf.

A LAC employee, who prefers to remain anonymous, makes the most delicious cookies, and promised Santa a generous serving each time he visits us. Anyone who's interested can look for the recipe in our Canadian cookbooks collection.

Santa declared that he was very inspired by the modern architecture of the Preservation Centre, and he plans to use it as a model when he renovates his village!

The reindeer, and Comet in particular, love the geographic setting of our Preservation Centre in Gatineau and our other service points across the country. They also like making new friends when they drop in.

The digitization team works hard, hand in hand with the technical elves, to find ways to digitize the lists so Santa can access them from the comfort of his home, and thereby limit his annual travels. Even Santa has to be mindful of his environmental footprint!

When he listened to our latest podcast, Santa discovered that LAC has the biggest collection of Canadian Christmas and seasonal music. He's thrilled to be able to listen to his favourites during his visits!

Santa appreciates having access to our experts regardless of where he might be in Canada! The reindeers are particularly excited about being able to munch carrots on the roof of the Vancouver Public Library, our most western service point!

Over time, LAC's collection of toy registries and other types of reference works (catalogues) has become an essential resource for Santa and his elves. As well, they love going through them and seeing some of their old inventions that have become classics!