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.
Leonard Frank’s Photography and the Early Days of UBC
Posted on Nov 29, 2022 by Lisa Wilson Palmour
Leonard Frank (1870-1944) was a German Jewish photographer best known for his photographs documenting occupational lifeways in British Columbia. UBC’s Open Collections holds over 400 photographs created by Frank. They span across a few different collections including the MacMillan Bloedel Limited fonds, the Capilano Timber Company fonds, the Uno Langmann Family Collection, and the UBC […]
Illustrations in the Historical Children’s Literature Collection
Posted on Nov 22, 2022 by Lisa Wilson Palmour
The Historical Children’s Literature Collection is a digital repository of 85 items from UBC’s Rare Books and Special Collections. Publication dates range from the 1790s to 1890s, and include fairy tales, educational books, classic literature, religious texts, fortune-tellers, nursery rhymes, and more. The collection gives us an idea of topics and stories that were popular […]
New Collection: Images of Natural History Specimens from the Beaty Biodiversity Museum
Posted on Nov 15, 2022 by Lisa Wilson Palmour
When the Beaty Biodiversity Museum approached us about digitizing a collection of natural history images, we couldn’t possibly say no. This new digital repository of 848 natural history images was completed in September and is now available to view on Open Collections. The collection includes an array of insect and fish illustrations, as well as […]
Celebrating the Legacy of E. Pauline Johnson – Tekahionwake
Posted on Nov 08, 2022 by Lisa Wilson Palmour
If you’re looking for some autumn reading, we suggest delving into the books of legendary poet E. Pauline Johnson (Tekahionwake) (1861-1913). There are dozens of items connected to Johnson in Open Collections; four are digitized copies of her written works, and several more are ephemera connected to her life and legacy. Johnson was a mixed […]
COVID-19 Web Archiving Collections
Posted on Nov 01, 2022 by Larissa Ringham
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/ Since early 2020 the UBC Library has embarked on a project to collect and preserve web content related to the unique local events and impacts surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic. From the updates of […]
Explore Open Collections: Halloween Through the Ages
Posted on Oct 25, 2022 by Lisa Wilson Palmour
Happy Halloween! To help get ourselves ready for spooky season, we did a digital dive into our holdings looking for all things Halloween. Follow along as we exhibit what we found from across different eras in our digitized periodicals. What can we learn about Halloween? Have traditions changed over time? Don’t forget to click on […]
Dipping into the Hawthorn Fly Fishing and Angling Collection
Posted on Oct 18, 2022 by Lisa Wilson Palmour
The Harry Hawthorn Fly Fishing and Angling Collection is approaching 70 years old. It holds more than 2200 books on fishing related subjects, with 63 of them digitized. The collection itself was dreamed up in 1953 by eight UBC professors who were on a fishing trip together at Upper Campbell Lake. They decided to start […]
World Tour in the early 1930s: The Empress of Britain World Cruise
Posted on Oct 11, 2022 by Josephine Lai
Prior to air travel, cruises used to be one of the more popular ways to travel abroad, especially in the 1920s and 1930s. Launched in 1930, the Royal Mail Ship (R.M.S.) Empress of Britain took around-the-world tours to a whole new level. In the 1930s, the most luxurious world tour package allowed passengers to spend […]
Building Digital Collections in support of Teaching & Learning
Posted on Aug 25, 2022 by Kin Man Leung
~~~ The UBC Library Digitization Centre embraces new technologies, methods of access, workflows and preservation strategies while building sustainable digital collections to support and enrich the educational, cultural and economic endeavors of the University, the people of British Columbia and communities beyond. ~~~ In support of the University’s teaching and learning, the Digitization Centre works […]
Exploring Open Collections: Kamishibai Propaganda Plays
Posted on Aug 18, 2022 by Kin Man Leung
The Kamishibai Propaganda Plays are an extremely rare collection of World War II-era propaganda plays from Japan. This digital collection contains 52 Kamishibai plays created between 1938 and 1945, from a private collection of Professor Sharalyn Orbaugh of the UBC Department of Asian Studies. Produced by quasi-governmental organizations and publishers in support of Japanese government […]
