Browsing UBC Open Collections, one can find several instances of comparison between Western Canadian mountain ranges and the Swiss Alps. This postcard book, for example, labels the Rockies as the “Switzerland of America”. 20 Beautiful View of the Canadian Pacific Rockies, The Road through the Switzerland of America (Uno Langmann Collection, circa 1920s) Like the […]
As an institution, the library has experienced profound transformations across history. Shifts in technology, education, and social values mean that the library is no longer solely an institution of intellectual discovery, but one of leisure, recreation, and community engagement, too. UBC Open Collections holds many materials which map the history of the library, including catalogues […]
In Part 1 of our two-part series about British Columbia’s ghost towns, we explored an influential event in the province’s labour history: the 1935 Corbin Miners’ Strike. This week, we’re taking a look at Barkerville’s Chinatown, one of the first established Chinatown neighbourhoods in Western North America. While often historically omitted from B.C.’s ghost town […]
One of our most popular blog posts of all time examines the captivating story of northern British Columbia ghost town Anyox, a former company-owned mining community abandoned in 1935. Anyox, B.C. (early 1900s) This week, we bring you Part 1 in a two-part series exploring lesser-known British Columbia ghost town stories. To kick off the […]
Ephemera, by its very definition, was never meant to stick around. Defined as items that have been preserved despite the fact that they were not intended to be at their time of production, the term is used to describe commonplace paper objects like flyers, menus, event tickets, postcards, and more. Valentine’s card (1919) from the […]
In our last post, we introduced the Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in people and the important role they played during the Klondike Gold Rush era, guided by photos from the Phil Lind Klondike Gold Rush Collection. This week, we examine the impacts the Gold Rush migration had on the Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in and their traditional territory, and meet ever-revered […]
The UBC Library Digitization Centre embraces new technologies, methods of access, workflows and preservation strategies while building sustainable digital collections to support and enrich the educational, cultural and economic endeavors of the University, the people of British Columbia and communities beyond.
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Last updated on May 7, 2025 @9:49 am