Explore unique highlights from UBC’s Open Collections, as well as insights into the work of the Digitization Centre. From announcements of new projects and collections to behind-the-scenes looks at our digitization process, we share the stories and hidden gems that inspire us in our efforts to preserve and make accessible diverse materials.
Punjabi Patrika : Local Newspapers as Windows into the Past
Posted on Apr 30, 2026 by Minghui Zhou
Local newspapers show what life was like at the time. They report on everyday events and issues, showing what people cared about. Ads and editorials reveal social values, the economy, and popular trends. They also reflect the opinions and biases of the people who wrote and read them, while showing how communities changed over time. […]
Tracing the History of Sandon Ghost Town through UBC’s Open Collections
Posted on Apr 16, 2026 by Minghui Zhou
Have you heard of Sandon, a historic former silver mining town, now known as a ghost town? If you’re traveling through the Kootenay region these days, it’s definitely one of the most popular heritage tourism sites to visit. As you set out on a scenic wilderness drive, winding along a rugged and twisting road, you’ll […]
Around the World with Canadian Pacific Railway Travel
Posted on Apr 01, 2026 by Minghui Zhou
Travelling and tourism are prominent topics in the Chung Collection. The collection contains more than 10,000 archival items, including documents, photographs, books, and other artifacts. Many of these materials relate to travel through the Canadian Pacific Railway Company and offer fascinating glimpses into British Columbia’s history. They reveal traces of the province’s early commercial and […]
New Westminster: Buildings That Endure and Those That Vanished
Posted on Nov 19, 2025 by Minghui Zhou
If you love exploring historic photographs and imagining the stories behind them, you may have noticed that information about old images is often scarce, and much of what we know may survive only in local archives or through community memory. Yet, these photographs remain powerful windows into the past, inviting us to rediscover forgotten stories. […]
Bloedel Limited Fonds, Part 2: The Powell River Company
Posted on Nov 06, 2025 by Minghui Zhou
Last week, we took a brief look at the origins of the Powell River Company. You can read that post here. To recap: The Powell River Company Ltd. operated from 1909 to 1959 and was once considered one of the largest forest products companies in the world, producing newsprint, paper, lumber, panelboard, and containers. This […]
Bloedel Limited Fonds, Part 1: The Powell River Company
Posted on Oct 23, 2025 by Minghui Zhou
In 2016, we briefly explored the MacMillan Bloedel Ltd. and its predecessor, the Powell River Company Ltd., which you can read here. A quick recap: MacMillan Bloedel Ltd. began in 1909 as the Powell River Paper Company Ltd. Over the years, it became one of the largest forest products companies in the world, producing newsprint, […]
A Closer Look at the Conservation and Digitization of Shakespeare’s Second Folio
Posted on Oct 09, 2025 by Lauren Wong
This blog post was written by Lauren Wong, with invaluable help and advice from Chelsea Shriver, Rare Books and Special Collections Librarian of UBC Library. In 2023, the Digitization Centre completed the digitization of Shakespeare’s First Folio, making it more accessible to people worldwide. We previously wrote a blog post about this achievement, which you […]
Menus from the Chung Collection : Banff Springs Hotel
Posted on Sep 25, 2025 by Minghui Zhou
This week we are time-traveling through taste. Our spotlight is on the legendary Banff Springs Hotel, a Chateau-style hotel perched in the Rockies that has been delighting visitors for more than a century. Built during the golden age of Canadian railway travel, this iconic resort was more than just a place to stay, it was […]
Yucho Chow, Part 2: Chow’s Enduring Impact
Posted on Sep 11, 2025 by Jill Henderson
In our previous blog post, we introduced the remarkable Yucho Chow, a 20th-century Vancouver photographer who pushed back against the discriminatory racial practices of the era by welcoming anyone—regardless of race or nationality—into his studio. The Wallace B. Chung and Madeline H. Chung Collection and the Uno Langmann Family Collection of B.C. Photographs, both available […]
Yucho Chow, Part 1: “Rain or Shine, Anything, Anywhere, Anytime”
Posted on Aug 28, 2025 by Jill Henderson
The early to mid 1900s marked a time of immense social exclusion for immigrants and people of colour in Vancouver, with most white-run businesses catering solely to Anglo customers. Much of the studio photography that has emerged from this era reflects this reality, obscuring the existence of the city’s immigrant families in the process. However, […]