British Columbia History Resources
Local Library & Archival Sources
Compiled by Dr. Patrick A. Dunae
Vancouver Island University
Revised September 2008
Vancouver Island University Library Resources
- Government Documents
- Newspapers and "Vertical Files"
- Scholarly Journals
- Reference Works (Royal Commissions, Electoral Histories, etc.)
- Bibliographies & Indices
- Local (i.e. Community) Histories
- Audio-Visual Collections
- Maps & Atlases
- Census Records, 1881-1921
- Nineteenth Century Directories
- Resources on Education and Childhood History
Other Nearby Resources
I. Vancouver Island University Library
1a. British Columbia Sessional Papers
The British Columbia Sessional
Papers contain a wealth of information on an extraordinarily
wide-range of topics. Microfilm copies of volumes from 1872 to
1947 are available in the Vancouver Island University Library
and are catalogued as J110/S48.
VIU Library holds "hard" copies of
the B.C. Sessional Papers for the years 1891, 1893, 1896-1919;
1921-1938; 1952-1974. The volumes are shelved in the Government
Publications section of the Library, under the call # LEG-SP 6746.
Volumes for the years 1910 - 1950 are also available at the Nananimo Harbourfront branch of the Vancouver Island Regional Library [VIRL].
A number of provincial government ministries have created digital versions of early reports. Reports for the Department of Mines go back to 1874. Reports for the British Columbia Forest Service go back to 1911.
1b. Canada. Sessional Papers
The Dominion (i.e. federal) government had jurisdiction
over many activities in British Columbia, such as fisheries, coastal
shipping, navigational aids, postal services, customs, immigration
and aboriginal affairs. Federal government reports relating to
these activities were often printed and included in volumes of
Canada's Sessional Papers. VIU Library doesn't hold
copies of federal Sessional Papers; however, the Library
does have an extensive run of the Annual Reports of the Department
of Indian Affairs. The DIA Reports are invaluable
sources for information on the aboriginal peoples of British Columbia.
Microfiche copies of the DIA Reports for the years 1867/68
- 1974/75 are located in the Library's Microforms/Newspaper room
in the microfiche drawer with the call # E 92 A1 C34. A searchable, online edition of the Indian Affairs Annual Reports, 1864 - 1990 is available from Library and Archives Canada.
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Contemporary newspapers are proverbial "gold
mines" of information. VIU Library holds a number
of newspapers on microfilm - e.g. the Nanaimo Free Press
(1874 onwards) the Victoria Daily Colonist (1858-1895), the Victoria Daily Times (1896-1918)
and the Vancouver Sun (1912 +). A general index to the Victoria Daily Colonist, 1858-1921, created by
Leona Taylor and Dorothy Mindenhall, is available online. It is entitled Index of Historical Victoria Newspapers.
The Library holds a microfiche copy of the British
Columbia Archives' Newspaper Index, 1858-1899. Although
the index is somewhat quirky and eclectic, it's still one of the
best sources for information on people and events from the last
century. The index is catalogued as AI 21 B78.
The Library also has copies of the Provincial Archives' defunct Vertical Files, consisting of newspaper clippings, obituries, ephemera and miscellaneous research notes. The Vertical Files are contained on 164 reels of microfilm. The reels are filed in the microfilm cabinet and catalogued as FC 3805. Before plunging into to these records, consult the guide to using the Vertical Files.
In addition, VIU Library has microfilm copies
of the British Columbia Newspaper Index, compiled by the
B.C. Legislative Library, for the period c. 1900-1980 [36 reels];
and 1981-1990 [16 reels]. This microfilm index is catalogued
as AI 21 B7.
A complete list of British Columbia newspapers will
be found in the Union Catalogue of British Columbia Newspapers,
an inventory compiled by the British Columbia Library Association
in 1987. This catalogue indexes newspapers by name, by date of
publication, by place and by geographic area. The catalogue is
on microfiche [Call # Ref AN 5 U55 1987].
Note: TheNanaimo Harbourfront Branch of the Vancouver Island Regional Library also holds a good range of newspapers on microfilm.
It has the Victoria Daily Colonist from 1895 onwards,
plus the Legislative Library's index to Victoria and Vancouver
papers, c. 1900-1980. As well, the VIRL has newspapers from Cumberland
(c. 1910 + ), Comox (1930 + ), and other Vancouver Island communities.
Students wishing to consult the VIRL newspaper holdings should
telephone beforehand (753-0469).
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3. Scholarly journals and periodicals
The Library holds copies of the major historical
journals, including the British Columbia Historical Quarterly
[microfilm, 1937-1958], The Beaver, British Columbia
History [formerly called British Columbia Historical News] and the interdisciplinary scholarly journal,
BC Studies. Students should also consult national journals such as the Canadian Geographer, the Canadian Historical Review and Histoire
sociale/Social History, which frequently publish articles
and reviews relating to this region.
BC Studies has a paper
self-index (1968 +), which is shelved with bound volumes of the
journal. The BC Studies website also includes an on-line subject index to essays and reviews the journal has published.
On-line indexes of many other journals and periodicals are available through MARLIN, the VIU Resources and Library Information Network.
4a. Government documents
Government royal commissions and commissions of inquiry can be valuable historical resources. Official commissions of inquiry were conducted on occasion by both federal and provincial governments. Federal royal commissions looked into matters relating to immigration, fisheries, shipbuilding, labour unrest, penitentiaries, aboriginal affairs and other matters deemed to fall within the Dominion government's jurisdiction.
The transcripts and summary reports of commissions of inquiry are often rich in detail. Microfiche copies of federal royal commission reports from 1868 to 1976 are available in the Library. They are located the microfiche cabinet in the main reference room and are catalogued as MIFE JL 94 C3. For the titles and a brief description of these inquiries, students should consult George Fletcher Henderson, Federal Royal Commissions in Canada: A Checklist, 1867-1966 (1967). This checklist is catalogued as Ref Z 6464/C74/H4.
For details on provincial government inquiries and royal commissions, students should consult Marjorie C. Holmes, Royal Commissions and Commissions of Inquiry under the "Public Inquiries Act" in British Columbia, 1872-1942: A Checklist (1945) and Judith Antonik Bennett, Royal Commissions and Commissions of Inquiry under the Public Inquiries Act in British Columbia, 1943-1980: A Checklist (1982). The Holmes checklist is located at Ref FC 3820/G67/H6 and the Bennett checklist is at Ref FC 3820/G67/B45. Students should also consult Lise Maillet, comp. Provincial Royal Commissions & Commissions of Inquiry, 1867 - 1982: A Select Bibliography (Ottawa, National Library of Canada, 1986) [Ref JL 198/M34].
Transcripts of some provincial commission reports are available at the British Columbia Archives in Victoria; occasionally, reports were printed in the British Columbia Sessional Papers. For more information, consult the subject index to the Sessional Papers, 1872-1916
The provincial legislature did not begin Hansard reports (i.e. verbatim transcripts of the debates of the legislature) until 1972. However, a guide to legislation and subjects of debate may be found in the Index to the Journals of the Legislative Assembly of B.C., 1872 - 1971. The index is shelved at Ref J110/J613.
For information on operations and concerns of government prior to Confederation, students should consult the definitive edition of the Journals of the Colonial Legislature, 1851 - 1871 (1980), edited by James E. Hendrickson [Ref J110/A2/1851/vols. 1 - 5]
For information on provincial elections, including general elections and by-elections, students must consult the Electoral History of British Columbia, 1871 - 1986, a wonderfully detailed work published by the B.C. Legislative Assembly. This book is catalogued as Ref JL 439/A15/E54. An online edition of the Electoral History of British Columbia, 1871 - 1986 is also available.
Students should be aware of the historical bibliography
that was published by the University of Victoria in 1970 under
the title Navigations, Traffiques & Discoveries, 1774 -
1848: A Guide to Publications relating to the area now British
Columbia [Ref FC 3821/S8]. This book, compiled by Gloria
M. Strathern with the assistance of Margaret H. Edwards, is an
extremely useful starting place for identifying published material
relating to B.C.'s history prior to European settlement.
No less useful is the two volume Bibliography
of British Columbia published by the University of Victoria.
Volume I (edited by Barbara J. Lowther) is entitled Laying
the Foundations, 1849 - 1899 (1968). Volume II (edited by Margaret
H. Edwards and John C.R. Lort) is entitled Years of Growth,
1900 - 1950 (1975).
6. Local (community) histories
The best way to start a research project involving
local history is to consult Linda L. Hale and Jean Barman's British
Columbia Local Histories: A Bibliography (1991) [Ref
FC 3811/H34]. This bibliography is very thorough and is well-indexed.
(To follow on, students should consult Maureen Cassidy's admirable
"how to" manual, Local History in British Columbia:
A Guide to Researching, Writing and Publishing for the Nonprofessional
(1983) [FC 3809.5 C3]).
A Researcher's Guide to British Columbia Nineteenth
Century Directories: A Bibliography & Index
(1988), compiled by George Young and edited by John Lutz at UVic,
is also a good source for local history materials. This guide
is located at Ref FC 3806.2/Y68 in the Library.
Some other standard references for local or regional
history are G.P.V. & Helen B. Akrigg, British Columbia
Place Names (1986) [Ref FC 3806/ A57]; Lynn Middleton, Place
Names of the Pacific Northwest Coast (1969) [Ref FC 3806/M53];
and Captain John T. Walbran's British Columbia Coast Names:
Their Origin and History (1909; new edn., 1971) [Ref FC 3806/W35].
The Library holds an impressive collection of sound
recordings. This collection of several hundred oral history interviews
(on compact disks with, in many cases, typed transcripts) contains
a wealth of local history on subjects ranging from pubs and
hotels to schools and local government. Many of the CDs [catalogued
as FC 3849/N3/A232...] were recorded on audio cassettes by the Nanaimo Historical
Association. Other CDs [catalogued as HD 9555/B72/C63...] were
recorded by the Coal Tyee Society.
Visual records include a number of "slide sets"
on topics such as "Women on the Frontier, 1862-1914"
and "Views of the Cariboo Road." These 35 mm. slides,
produced in the 1970s by the B.C. Teachers' Federation and the
Research Project on B.C. Photography, and are available in the
Library's Curriculum Lab [call # LB 1044.9 L48...].
Useful maps, graphs, tables, and historical notes
will be found in A.L. Farley, An Atlas of British Columbia:
People, Environment, and Resource Use (1979) [G1116/F37].
The sumptuous three volume Historical Atlas of Canada
(1987 - 1994) [G116 S1/H58] also contains many maps, notes, and
graphs that relate to the history of B.C. and Vancouver Island. Vancouver: A Visual History (1992) by Bruce Macdonald [G1174 V3 S1 M32] contains excellent maps and graphs.
9. Census records, 1881 - 1921
Vancouver Island Census Records, 1881, 1891 and 1901
An online, searchable database is available for the Vancouver Island portions of the 1881, 1891, and 1901 census of Canada. The census records are accessible through the viHistory.ca web site. The 1881 census offers detailed information on nearly 19,000 First Nations and non-native people residing on Vancouver Island and adjacent Gulf Islands. The 1891 census documents over 36,000 people. The 1901 census documents nearly 50,000 people. Explanatory notes and maps accompany both census databases.
1881 - 1901 Census Schedules for British Columbia [microfilm]
1881 Census: A microfilm copy of the British Columbia portions of the 1881 nominal census is available in the Library [HA 741.5 1881 B7 R.1:C13284].
1891 Census: the 1891 census of British Columbia is available in the VIU Library on microfilm [HA 741.5 1891 B7 R.1:T6290].
1901 Census: The Nominal Census of British Columbia for 1901 is available on
microfilm in the Library [HA 741.5 1901 B7 R.1:T6428].
An online version of the entire 1901 census of Canada is available on the Library and Archives Canada web site.
Published summaries, tables and abstracts of Canadian censuses, 1911-1921
Data relating to British Columbia will be found in the official census publications. These publications are located in the Government Publications section of the library.
- Fifth census of Canada, 1911 (5 vols.) - [catalogued as CS1911 98-1911]
- Sixth census of Canada, 1921 [microfiche] [CS1921 98-1921]
Directories listed the names, occupations and addresses of adult householders in British Columbia communities. The earliest directory was compiled by Edward Mallandine in Victoria in 1860. The First Victoria Directory is available online from Libary and Archives Canada. The Nanaimo Harbour Front branch of the Vancouver Island Regional Library holds many early directories in its British Columbia and Northwest History Collection.
11. Specialized resources re: History of education and childhood
British Columbia's History of Education web site is a gateway to resources and information relating to the history of schools
and the development of education systems in British Columbia. The Homeroom includes a comprehensive bibliography on the history of education in British Columbia.
A guide to library and archival material relating to the History of Education and Childhood in British Columbia is available on the History 349 [Education and Childhood in Canada] Resources page.
II. Other nearby resources
1. Vancouver Island Regional Library: Nanaimo Harbourfront Branch VIRL's British Columbia & Northwest Collection
The Vancouver Island Regional Library holds an impressive
collection of books and pamphlets relating to the history of British
Columbia and the Pacific Northwest. The collection is particularly
strong on the history of Vancouver Island. Although none of the
books may be borrowed for home use, some of the titles can be
requested at VIRL branch libraries and may be consulted there. Students should consult VIRL reference
librarians (753-0469) for further details on this valuable local
resource.
Vancouver Island University, the City of Nanaimo,
the Nanaimo Historical Association and the Nanaimo District Museum
jointly support the Nanaimo Community Archives. The archives
manages a large collection of municipal and non-governmental records,
a collection that includes maps, photographs, printed materials
and documentary art. An on-line inventory of a portion of the collection is accessible
on the web page of the Nanaimo Community Archives.
Information is also available from the Archives manager,
Christine Meutzner (tel. 753- 4462).
The largest collection of material relating to the
history of British Columbia and Vancouver Island is held by the
British Columbia Archives
in Victoria. The British Columbia Archives is located on Belleville Street, across
from the Parliament Buildings and close to the exhibition hall of the Royal British Columbia Museum.
Artifacts held by the Nanaimo District Museum can
also be useful tools to help interpret local history. The Museum
routinely organizes thematic exhibits, but only a portion of its
collection is on display. Students who wish to examine artifacts
in the collection should make an appointment with the curator, David Hill-Turner (tel. 753-1821).
Other sources
In addition to the resources noted above, historical information and data is available from many other sources, such as personal interviews with local pioneers and records held by the local School Board and in the library of the Provincial Court House. Certainly no one should complain of a lack of primary sources for their research projects.