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.
Digital Collections Reading List
Posted on Apr 04, 2017 by kristina mcguirk
When we came across a “tribute list” in our collections, we couldn’t stop thinking about the Hunger Games trilogy—(Hey! Suzanne Collins! We’d be pretty into another series of districts set on a different continent, or in another time period)—and we realized there were a lot of other times we thought of books related to the collection, too. […]
Newspapers: Now & Then
Posted on Mar 28, 2017 by kristina mcguirk
Our collection of BC Historical Newspapers brings a lot of traffic to our website—and it feeds a lot of our blog posts, too! We get lost flipping through the pages of time, but the papers always find a way to bring us back to the present. For instance, the way newspapers were totally the precursor […]
An Ode to IKBLC
Posted on Mar 23, 2017 by kristina mcguirk
Digitizing content for our digital collections happens five days a week in the basement of the Irving K Barber Learning Centre (IKBLC) on UBC’s Vancouver campus. While we pass many hours in the Digitization Centre (here’s a bit about our work space from 2014), most of the digitization crew also spends a lot of time in IKBLC in general: the building […]
Say Cheese!
Posted on Mar 16, 2017 by kristina mcguirk
Our collections feature thousands of photos, from natural wonders to family portraits, but it’s rare to see the person behind the lens—or even the lens itself. Practically, it makes sense, but nonetheless we love seeing the vintage models and often-smiling faces behind them.
Explore Open Collections: UBC Publications
Posted on Mar 09, 2017 by kristina mcguirk
What do the Science Undergraduate Society, UBC Botanical Garden, and Frederic Wood Theatre have in common? They’re all part of our UBC Publications collection! You might expect to find yearbooks, student handbooks, and the Ubyssey—and you wouldn’t be wrong—but UBC Publications also includes a diverse assortment of reports and publications from university organizations. Check out what’s been going on the last 100 […]
World Travel Photo Album
Posted on Mar 02, 2017 by kristina mcguirk
We can’t deny it (nor do we want to!): we have an inspiring collection of travel-related items. The Chung Collection’s Canadian Pacific Railway Company materials kindle the romance of adventuring the continent by train or the globe by cruise ship, and many travelogues, maps, photographs, and other ephemera are are nestled in our other collections. There’s one particular item that’s causing some serious wanderlust right now: […]
It’s Reading Week here at UBC!
Posted on Feb 20, 2017 by kristina mcguirk
It’s hotly debated whether students use this week to catch up on the homework they’ve neglected, or indulge in the reading-for-fun they put off during the term, or to do absolutely no reading and enjoy all the other activities that Vancouver has to offer. Ironic or not, we’re running with reading as this week’s theme for exploring our collections. Before we share a few of […]
Love and Croquet
Posted on Feb 14, 2017 by kristina mcguirk
After scrolling through just a few pages of the many images in the Tremaine Arkley Croquet Collection, it quickly became apparent that croquet just had to be the topic for our Valentine’s week post. Because croquet is definitely flirty. As evidenced even in our own collection by the many items surrounding the period, the sport was wildly popular in the Victorian era: a time […]
Color Our Collections 2017
Posted on Feb 06, 2017 by kristina mcguirk
Following #ColorOurCollections last year was so much fun, we decided to bring some pages to our blog. We’ve selected from a few sources to show off just a bit of the variety in our digital collections, and we think we’ve found a little something for everyone, from landlocked to nautical and town to country—including persons, places, things, and […]
A Ramble in British Columbia
Posted on Feb 02, 2017 by kristina mcguirk
There are over 1,300 items in B.C. Historical Books, a collection showcasing the history of British Columbia from 1783 to 1952 (and, eventually, beyond). Early works include travelogues that tell tales of grand landscapes, meeting strangers, and surviving in the wilderness. One book that caught our attention is B.C. 1887 : A Ramble in British Columbia. Have you read the Lazy Tour […]
