Special Collections

Northwest History Collection

This is a heritage collection concerned with the history of British Columbia. Materials focus on the early history and exploration of British Columbia and the Northwest coast, the Yukon prior to 1898, early Oregon and Washington to 1846, Alaska prior to 1867, and the Klondike gold rush. The collection is particularly strong in the history of Vancouver and the Lower Mainland. The history of the First Nations people of British Columbia is emphasized as well as the history of ethnic groups. This collection includes early British Columbia newspapers on microfilm.

Formats include: books, pamphlets, maps, microfiche, microfilm, DVDs, video and audio cassettes, and CD-ROMs

Access to this collection: use the Library catalogue for books, maps, government publications, directories and audio-visual materials; use the Northwest Subject Card Index for pamphlets, newspaper and magazine articles, book chapters, and ephemera. This index also includes information about ships and shipping. Citations to material indexed after August 1998 can be found online in the British Columbia Index.

Historical Photographs

This is a collection of more than 240,000 black and white negatives and prints covering all aspects of life in British Columbia and the Yukon Territory from the 1860s until the 1970s. Approximately 90,000 images are accessioned (i.e. described and catalogued) and available for public viewing. Access to these accessioned photographs is provided through a subject card index. Photocopies of some of these images are available in binders in the Special Collections public area. The Historical Photographs Database provides access to a growing number of photographs from this collection, although the majority of the images are still only accessible through the subject card index and many can only be viewed in negative format.

City Directories

British Columbia City Directories are available in the following formats:

Online: 1860-1901: B.C. Directories are available digitally at: www.vpl.ca/bccd/index.php
Microfilm: 1860 - 1989: B.C.Directories are available on microfilm. There is no street cross reference from 1860 - 1889.
Print: 1981 - 1995/1996 : B.C. Directories are available in print. the last city directory published for Vancouver was 1995/1996. All back issues of B.C. city directories are housed in Special Collections.

Access to this collection: The Library catalogue provides some access to this collection. However, there are additional finding aids in the reference section of Special Collections that improve access to these directories:

City Directories: How to Use Them. A guide prepared by Special Collections staff.
The Directories Card Index. Created and maintained by Special Collections staff.
Canadian Directories: 1790-1987. Vol II by the National Library of Canada.

Rare Book Material

This collection includes a few early printed books, also finely illustrated and bound books. The collection is especially strong in travel journals of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Included in the collection is a selection of early magazines such as The Gentleman's Magazine and The Illustrated London News. A few books in this collection once belonged to the forerunner of the Vancouver Public Library, the Hastings Institute, which was established in 1869.

Access to this collection is via the Library catalogue.

Marion Thompson Collection

A collection of approximately 3,600 English language children's books of historic interest excluding Canadian books.

Access to this collection is via the Library catalogue.