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Archival photograph of factories and an industrial area

Special Collections

Vancouver Public Library has a comprehensive collection of materials to help with local history research. Much of this material can be found in Special Collections at the Central Library.

Located on Level 7 of the Central Library, we are open Tuesday to Saturday, from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Special Collections houses:

  • The Northwest History Collection of rare, unique and historically valuable books, periodicals, directories, pamphlets and maps relating to the history of British Columbia and the Pacific Northwest.
  • The Historical Photographs Collections of BC and Yukon, a portion of which is accessible online – see below for more information.
  • The Rare Books/Book Arts Collection, a collection of rare books and locally produced fine press books.
  • The Marion Thompson Collection of Children’s Books, a collection of materials representative of the best of publishing and illustrating for children, dating from 1728 to the 1950s.

Featured Collections

What's at Special Collections

VPL Collections

BC Artists Files

VPL Central Branch maintains files with clippings and ephemeral material on BC artists and galleries. They can be found on Level 7 in Special Collections. Available by in-person request.

Use the BC Artists Files page to determine whether VPL has a file on the BC artist or gallery you are researching. 

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British Columbia city directories from 1860 to 1955. Directories include detailed historical information about British Columbian communities.

Access:
Everywhere for everyone
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Finding tool for historical information about BC in books, magazines and newspapers in the Vancouver Public Library collection.

Access:
Everywhere for everyone
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A selection of historical images of Vancouver and British Columbia from the 1880s to the 1980s.

Access:
Everywhere for everyone
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Find information about notable buildings in Vancouver. Includes listings of heritage buildings.

Access:
Everywhere for everyone
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The Vancouver Public Library created This Vancouver to share the stories of Vancouverites and the history of Vancouver communities through images, audio clips, and videos. 

Access:
Everywhere for everyone
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Discover signature collections such as the Historical Photographs collection featuring more than 40,000 digitized images, the Vancouver Building Register, and the British Columbia Index. 

Access:
Everywhere for everyone

Digital Library Resources
Newspapers and Magazines Subject Icon

Digitized newspaper archives covering The Province (1898 - present), The Vancouver Sun (1912 - present) and The Times Colonist (1884 - present).

Issues from most recent 3 months not available in this collection. See Canadian Newsstream for current issues.

Access:
Everywhere for Vancouver residents
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Search and view community newspapers from around BC published between 1865 and 1994. This collection makes many of BC's earliest newspapers freely available in digital format

Access:
Everywhere for everyone

Location

Central Library

350 West Georgia Street
Vancouver BC V6B 6B1
Canada

Contact Us

Information Services

604.331.3603

Historical Photographs

604.331.3603
info@vpl.ca

Library and Archives Canada

604-666-9699
vancouver@bac-lac.gc.ca

Special Collections Hours
Sunday: Closed
Monday: Closed
Tuesday: 10:00 am – 5:00 pm
Wednesday: 10:00 am – 5:00 pm
Thursday: 10:00 am – 5:00 pm
Friday: 10:00 am – 5:00 pm
Saturday: 10:00 am – 5:00 pm
Library and Archives Canada Hours
Sunday: Closed
Monday: Closed
Tuesday: 12:30 pm – 3:30 pm
Wednesday: 12:30 pm – 3:30 pm
Thursday: 12:30 pm – 3:30 pm
Friday: Closed
Saturday: Closed