Here at the Digitization Centre we are fascinated and excited by the vast amount of primary-source material that our digitization work exposes us to. Whether a document of historic significance, a beautiful illustration, or even a particularly fine typeface, we are frequently amazed by the materials we’re working to share with the world. So much so, that not only will we crowd around to ogle a particularly interesting specimen, but we’ve started decorating our workplace with copies of some of our favorites. But why stop there? Surely, we can’t be the only ones geeky enough to appreciate such “gems” in our collections, and so we’ve decided to share them here with you. Below you will find some of our favorites, hand-picked by staff from both existing and upcoming collections. We hope you enjoy them as much as we do!
TIP: To view full resolution versions of the images on any size screen, click to view in Open Collections.
Explore Open Collections: Charles Darwin Letters
Posted on May 14, 2019 by Risa Hatanaka
Charles Darwin (1809-1882), a world-famous naturalist who introduced the concept of natural selection, was known to have exchanged letters with colleagues to discuss their shared interests in nature and animals. In one of our Open Collections, Charles Darwin Letters, you can browse 52 digitized letters written to and from Darwin. This post will explore two […]
Developing the UBC Web Archive Collection
Posted on May 07, 2019 by Rebecca Dickson
This is part of a series on web archiving at the UBC Library. For all posts about web archiving, please see https://digitize.library.ubc.ca/tag/web-archiving/ From May 2017 to April 2018, as part of my work as a Digital Projects Student Librarian and a Professional Experience Student at the Digitization Centre, I worked with Larissa Ringham to develop […]
British Columbia Beaches
Posted on Apr 30, 2019 by Kelly Stathis
Now that the rainy season is finally ending, we’re ready to enjoy British Columbia’s beautiful beaches. For this post, we gathered together historic photos of B.C. beaches, from right here in the Lower Mainland to Powell River. Starting locally, we found several photos of beaches at and near UBC in the UBC Archives Photograph collection. […]
Celebrate World Book and Copyright Day
Posted on Apr 23, 2019 by Kelly Stathis
Today is World Book and Copyright Day, an international event in support of books, reading, and literacy. This year, the focus is on protecting and supporting Indigenous languages, in conjunction with the International Year of Indigenous Languages. You can read more about World Book and Copyright Day on the United Nations and UNESCO websites. In […]
Celebrate National Poetry Month
Posted on Apr 16, 2019 by Kelly Stathis
Since this April is National Poetry Month, we’ve gathered together selected poetry and related items from Open Collections for your enjoyment! Our recently added Historical Children’s Literature Collection includes several poetry chapbooks. This chapbook, The butterfly’s ball, and the grasshopper’s feast, includes beautiful engraved illustrations: Our BC Historical Books collection also contains several […]
Maps in Open Collections
Posted on Apr 09, 2019 by Kelly Stathis
The Digitization Centre has digitized several collections of maps, as well as several collections that contain maps among other materials. This post provides a summary of those collections, showcasing some of our favourite maps from Open Collections! Greater Vancouver Regional District Planning Department Land Use Maps This collection contains more than 1,800 maps of the […]
Cycling through the centuries
Posted on Apr 02, 2019 by Kelly Stathis
Now that spring is well underway, we’re thinking about ways to enjoy the beautiful sunshine! For this post, we’ve gathered together our favourite images of bicycles from Open Collections. Recently added to the Uno Langmann Family Collection of British Columbia Photographs, this photograph album documents Clara Wilson’s cycling trips across Canada. Check out the full […]
Explore Open Collections: Tremaine Arkley Croquet Collection
Posted on Mar 26, 2019 by Kelly Stathis
The Tremaine Arkley Croquet Collection contains 1,483 paintings, illustrations, engravings, advertisements, photographs and other ephemera depicting the game of croquet, dating from the 1760s to the 1950s. Tremaine Arkley, formerly a U.S. National Croquet Team player, donated the collection to UBC Library in 2011, with a second accrual in 2013. Funding for digitization was provided […]
Library catalogues in Open Collections
Posted on Mar 19, 2019 by Kelly Stathis
Have you ever wondered about what library catalogues used to look like – or what books were in your local library’s collection many decades ago? We’ve come across a handful of historical library catalogues in Open Collections, which we’ve gathered here for your perusal. You can click on the title or cover of any of […]
Exploring British Columbia’s historic towns through Open Collections
Posted on Mar 12, 2019 by Kelly Stathis
Many images in Open Collections show places that, while once centers of railway or mining activity, are no longer as populous as they once were. This post explores historic towns in British Columbia. Some resources describe these as “ghost towns” – towns that were abandoned, have a very small population today, and/or primarily exist as tourist […]
