Today L is Libraries, Academic - in British Columbia!
Blogging about British Columbia Genealogy Resources
Just a line - Victoria, BC, postcard, Image MSC130-4456-02, courtesy of the British Columbia Postcards Collection, a digital initiative of Simon Fraser University Library. Creative Commons 3.0 Unported.
In British Columbia, I would say libraries - public and academic - have been in the forefront of digitizing documents, books, photographs and more and offering them up for free for which genealogists and family historians are very grateful! (Of course, we'd always like "more, please", but we mostly do know how much thought, time, money and staff work goes into producing these resources.
Many libraries are very conscious of the genealogy and local/regional history that's being done and are quick to answer questions or to suggest other sources. Right now, many have enhanced their online offerings and their 'Ask a Librarian' services as students are at home studying. Bless those librarians! And everyone behind the scenes now at a library.
Over the last A-K days I've already included a number of libraries in my articles. Here I'm discussing public university academic libraries only. In BC, we have many public universities and a few private ones. Usually you can visit any of the public university libraries to see on-site books and journals; you can ask permission and make arrangements to see items in special collections; in some cases, you can use a pass to access student use databases. And often there are exhibitions and events.
Depending on your topic, there may be research guides online and there will be guides to library collections and services. Watch for mention of Open Access databases. Anyone can use these. Under the University of the Fraser Valley below is a link to their Open Access database list.
If you are looking for information on former students or staff, you may need to contact the university archives too.
Be watchful for information on copyright and usage rights. Free doesn't mean you can use it, although usually research purposes are covered in library statements. In one collection, there may be more than one statement covering use. If in doubt, ask the librarian or archivist.
At the moment, I'm only interested in online offerings and I'm highlighting a few.
First, if you are in British Columbia, you have free access to Points to the Past, which offers over 30 historical databases from Gale. This is an agreement between Gale and SFU, UBC and UVic. Includes 19th Century British Newspapers, Slavery and Anti-Slavery: A Transnational Archive, U.S. Declassified Documents Online. Download the flyer with the database list here.
Second, search or browse ARCA (treasure chest), a portal to post-secondary collections in BC
Includes BC History Digitization Program projects, like the North Pacific Cannery Collection, and the Terrace Public Library's Eleanor Muehle Newspaper Archive. List of participating institutions to date: https://bceln.ca/services/shared-services/arca/participating-sites
Depending on your topic, there may be research guides online and there will be guides to library collections and services. Watch for mention of Open Access databases. Anyone can use these. Under the University of the Fraser Valley below is a link to their Open Access database list.
If you are looking for information on former students or staff, you may need to contact the university archives too.
Be watchful for information on copyright and usage rights. Free doesn't mean you can use it, although usually research purposes are covered in library statements. In one collection, there may be more than one statement covering use. If in doubt, ask the librarian or archivist.
At the moment, I'm only interested in online offerings and I'm highlighting a few.
First, if you are in British Columbia, you have free access to Points to the Past, which offers over 30 historical databases from Gale. This is an agreement between Gale and SFU, UBC and UVic. Includes 19th Century British Newspapers, Slavery and Anti-Slavery: A Transnational Archive, U.S. Declassified Documents Online. Download the flyer with the database list here.
Second, search or browse ARCA (treasure chest), a portal to post-secondary collections in BC
Includes BC History Digitization Program projects, like the North Pacific Cannery Collection, and the Terrace Public Library's Eleanor Muehle Newspaper Archive. List of participating institutions to date: https://bceln.ca/services/shared-services/arca/participating-sites
BRITISH COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES
Capilano University: North Vancouver campus.
Two main collections online - CapU's History and Student Work.
Emily Carr University of Art and Design, Vancouver campus.
ECU community and items related to the University’s history - theses and other publications; prints; archival photos of exhibitions.
University of the Fraser Valley - Abbotsford and Chilliwack campuses.
HarvesIR database, staff and student publications, Abbotsford Sumas and Matsqui News (ASMN) all known to exist: 1922-1983; South Asian Migration: 1906-1915 and the Newman Western Canadian Cookbook Collection (Yes, I'm going to feature this on its own soon.)
A-Z linked Open Access Database list: https://libguides.ufv.ca/az.php?t=15491
Kwantlen Polytechnic University, campuses in Surrey, Langley and Richmond.
KORA - search and browse staff and student publications.
Simon Fraser University - campuses in Burnaby, Surrey and Vancouver.
Special Collections and Rare Books - Digital collections include - BC Historical Postcards, BC Multicultural Photograph Collection from Vancouver Public Library, BC Labour Heritage Centre Oral History, The Doukhobor Collection, Newspaper Collection (over 950,000 pages).
University of British Columbia, Vancouver and a campus in Kelowna.
Rare Books and Special Collections.
Search or browse the Open Collections online -free newspapers, photographs, rare books, BC Government Sessional Papers, theses and publications.
Vancouver Island University, Nanaimo, with campuses at Cowichan, Parksville-Qualicum Centre, Powell River.
Digital Collections include books, articles and photographs, oral histories, documents and more, for e.g. the Coal Tyee History Project, the Nanaimo History Project and Imogene Lim's collections - naturalization documents and restaurant menus (mostly Chinese restaurants in Canada/US).
Royal Roads University - on the former site of Royal Roads Military College, Victoria.
RRMC log books and photo albums are digitized and online. Learn more at the RRU Archives page. RRU research papers and theses online here.
University of Victoria, Victoria.
UVicSpace - research and other publications by faculty and researchers.
Digital Collections - from medieval to current, Asia to Europe, to Canada, especially BC and Vancouver Island, and from anarchists to UVic history. Of BC note - maps, colonial despatches, HBC maps; Chinese Canadian Collection; Greater Victoria Public Library Local History Collection; Victoria Fire Insurance Maps (BC Archives), Victoria Police Department Charge Books (Victoria Police Historical Society), First World War collections.
University of Northern British Columbia, Prince George with campuses in Quesnel, Terrace and Fort St. John.
Northern BC Archives and Special Collections - photographs, film, oral history, books. For e.g. the Upper Fraser Historical Geography Project, World War II Polar Bear Training Exercise Photograph Collection, Women of Northern BC, Prince George History. Explore topics here.
Includes linked finding aids for BC newspapers and directories online. Also for Northern BC fire insurance maps: https://libguides.unbc.ca/archivalresources/bcnewspapers
Thompson Rivers University, Kamloops and Williams Lake campus.
Some history and sports history and photos online, charter student photos on Flickr. (1970s - opened as Cariboo College) Research publications and projects, including Knowledge Makers, an Indigenous research network / journal.
TRUSpace, open access collections: TRU research/theses; WW I photos, local history of Kamloops, Secwepemc resources.
British Columbia Government Gazette, Volume 1 Number 1, 1863, page 1. Accessed at the University of Victoria's Digital Collections, Digitized from an original in the British Columbia Archives. Public Domain.
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