chung collection
Japanese Canadian Communities in BC: Before Relocation
Ever since the first Japanese immigrants arrived in Canada in the late 19th century, Japanese Canadians have created their communities in their settlement areas. They came to a new country to find employment and to improve their economic situation. In Open Collections, we have many resources about the history and lives of Japanese Canadians. This […]
The Canadian Rockies
Did you know that mountains cover 75 per cent of British Columbia[i]? Like the beaches we introduced in April, mountains offer beautiful scenery in summer. Today, we will focus on the Canadian Rockies depicted and described in our digitized photographs, illustrations, and books in Open Collections. Uno Langmann Family Collection of British Columbia Photographs […]
British Columbia Beaches
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
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 […]
Maps in Open Collections
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 […]
Library catalogues in Open Collections
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
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 […]
Happy Valentine’s Day from the Digitization Centre!
With Valentine’s Day coming up this week, we’ve gathered together Valentine’s Day content from our collections. From the Chung Collection, check out these “Saint Valentine Dinner” menus and concert programs from 1927-1930. Click any cover below to view the full menu in Open Collections: Not sure what to say to your valentine on Thursday? […]
Canadian Pacific Railway hotels in B.C.: Part 2
This two-part series features some of the earliest Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) hotels in British Columbia. Many of these hotels have since closed down but formed an important part of early Canadian railway history. You can view Part 1 here. In previous blog posts, we profiled the two largest surviving CPR hotels in B.C.: Hotel […]
Canadian Pacific Railway hotels in B.C.: Part 1
This two-part series features some of the earliest Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) hotels in British Columbia. Many of these hotels have since closed down but formed an important part of early Canadian railway history. In previous blog posts, we profiled the two largest surviving CPR hotels in B.C.: Hotel Vancouver and the Empress Hotel. Mount […]