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.
Picturesque Victoria, British Columbia
Posted on Jan 28, 2013 by Rob
From the book Picturesque Victoria, British Columbia. These photographic souvenir books were popular with tourism and development organizations from the late 19th and in to the 20th century. Have a look at the entire book here. Part of the British Columbia Bibliography project.
Keenlyside
Posted on by pughchr
This image is from the Augustus Pemberton collection, one of two collections donated to Rare Books and Special Collections by John Keenlyside in 2008. We are currently digitizing both collections, and they should appear on the Rare Books and Special Collections website in the near future. The image is of a calendar of prisoners who […]
The Prolific David Conde
Posted on Jan 22, 2013 by pughchr
One of our current projects is to digitize the David Conde fonds in partnership with the University of Tokyo. We are discovering first hand that David Conde was a hugely prolific journalist who had much to say about a lot of subjects. As such, the David Conde fonds contains vast quantities of manuscripts for books […]
RG 10: Department of Indian Affairs Letterbooks Project
Posted on Jan 15, 2013 by Peter D James
Update on project: Due to various reasons, the RG 10 Departmental Letterbooks Project did not move beyond the pilot stage. The RG 10 Departmental Letterbooks Project is a collaborative venture between the University British Columbia Library and the University Library, University of Saskatchewan to digitize, describe and provide online access to a volume of Department […]
Kinesis Digitization Project
Posted on Jan 11, 2013 by Larissa
A new year brings with it new projects, and we’re excited to spotlight an upcoming digitization project with valuable local content. Kinesis is an important local women’s newspaper that was published by the Vancouver Status of Women organization from 1974 to 2001 (the early iteration of the publication is entitled Vancouver Status of Women). It […]
Digitization projects – current and upcoming
Posted on Dec 19, 2012 by Larissa
In order to track the digitization projects that are underway, we’ve put up a Gantt chart on our site that shows the timelines and overlap of all current projects. We will be updating this regularly, so check out our http://diginit.library.ubc.ca/projects page under the Current tab to view the most recent Digital Initiatives project list. Note […]
Early 20th Century View Of Stanley Park, Vancouver, British Columbia
Posted on Nov 29, 2012 by Rob
A beautiful glass plate negative from the Rosetti studios in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. This image depicts Siwash Rock located on the northwest edge of Stanley Park in Vancouver. These negatives have a great depth to them yielding lustrous digital images. Check out the other images in the collection (N.B. We are in the process […]
Story of Victor Wong
Posted on Nov 14, 2012 by Mayu
Victor Wong is a WWII veteran from Victoria, BC. He was one of thousands of Chinese immigrants enlisted by the Canadian forces during the war and assigned to the British forces. The British territories in Asia had been occupied by Japan, and English speakers of Chinese origin were sent there to engage in guerrilla warfare […]
CP Hotel menus
Posted on Nov 09, 2012 by Larissa
Have you ever ordered food from hotel room service and were shocked when your clubhouse and coffee came to $30? Well, it looks like steep room service prices aren’t a recent phenomenon. Take this 1962 menu from the historic CP Empress Hotel in Victoria. Billed as a typical winter menu for the hotel dining room, […]
Baseball at internment camps
Posted on Oct 23, 2012 by Mayu
The Japanese Canadian Photograph Collection (JCPC) chronicles the experiences of Japanese Canadians / Nikkei in British Columbia including their internment during World War II. These photographs from the JCPC are a testament to the popularity of baseball at internment camps. (Left: at Lucerne, B.C. in the Yellow Pass, Bottom: at an unidentified camp) Baseball was […]
