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.
Images of Foreign Culture in Edo-Period Japan
Posted on Nov 05, 2019 by margot chen
In a previous post, we introduced some maps from the Japanese Maps of the Tokugawa Era Collection. UBC Library’s Rare Books and Special Collections holds one of the world’s largest collections of maps and guidebooks of the Japanese Tokugawa period, ca. 1600-1868. This collection does not consist simply of maps of Japan. It also has […]
UBC Library-sponsored registration for DHSI 2020
Posted on Oct 29, 2019 by margot chen
DHSI – the Digital Humanities Summer Institute – is a training program held every summer at the University of Victoria. Delivered over a week, each course is an intensive series of classes interspersed with colloquiums, unconferences, and other community-based events, and provides an ideal environment for influencing teaching, research, dissemination, creation, and preservation in different […]
Main Mall then and now
Posted on Oct 22, 2019 by margot chen
The UBC Archives Photograph Collection has over 40,000 photographic images dating from the founding of UBC to the present day. They present a visual record of UBC’s growth and development, the evolution of student life, and campus events over most of the past century. In a previous blog post, Now & Then, we showed how […]
Explore Open Collections: History of Nursing in Pacific Canada: Part 2
Posted on Oct 15, 2019 by margot chen
This two-part series introduce the collection of History of Nursing in Pacific Canada. You can view Part 1 here. In previous blog posts, we profiled Ethel Johns Fonds, and Laura Holland Fonds. Lyle Creelman Fonds Lyle Creelman (1908-2007) was the Chief Nursing Officer of the World Health Organization from 1954–1968. She established national and international […]
Explore Open Collections: History of Nursing in Pacific Canada: Part 1
Posted on Oct 10, 2019 by margot chen
If you are a nursing and health history buff, there’s something you won’t want to miss, the collection of History of Nursing in Pacific Canada. This two-part series will explore some highlights of the collection. The History of Nursing in Pacific Canada digital collection was developed by the UBC Library, together with the UBC School […]
Launching Historical Children’s Literature Collection
Posted on Oct 01, 2019 by margot chen
The Historical Children’s Literature Collection contains more than 80 images of variations on classic children’s tales. Made possible by a UBC Teaching and Learning Enhancement Fund (TLEF) grant, this collection is a collaboration with the Library’s Rare Books and Special Collections, UBC’s iSchool, and the Department of English Language and Literatures. Particularly strong in chapbooks […]
Salmon in Open Collections
Posted on Sep 24, 2019 by margot chen
Autumn is the spawning season in B.C. when salmon fight their way upstream as they complete their final journey. On Campbell River in Vancouver Island or Capilano River in North Vancouver, you’ll be sure to spot salmon leaping their way back home. For this post, we gathered historical images related to salmon in B.C. from […]
The Digitization Centre Impact Report for 2018-2019
Posted on Sep 17, 2019 by margot
We are excited to present the Digitization Centre Impact and Activity Report for 2018-2019! This report highlights key projects, featured collections, partnerships, and user engagement trends for the 2018-2019 fiscal year. In 2018-2019, more than 190,000 users accessed our digitized items, corresponding to approximately 7.0% of the visitors to the entire UBC Library website. New […]
Women’s Education and One Hundred Poets Books
Posted on Sep 03, 2019 by Risa Hatanaka
As our previous posts described, One Hundred Poets (Hyakunin isshu, hereafter HNIS) is the most famous Waka (Japanese poem) anthology edited by Fujiwara no Teika (1162-1241). Did you know that HNIS was an important educational resource for Japanese women in the late Edo period (1700s-1867)? Our digitized collection has 24 books known to be used […]
Copyright and Digitization
Posted on Aug 27, 2019 by Risa Hatanaka
In our digital project workflow, we first evaluate copyright concerns for the submitted project proposal. Even if the collection contains historically important items to be digitized and preserved, we cannot approve the project if there are copyright restrictions or issues. This post will briefly summarize what you need to know about copyright and digitization. For […]