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Archival description
Only top-level descriptions Libraries--British Columbia
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Administrative and reference files

  • GR-3472
  • Series
  • 1978-2010

The series consists of editions of the newsletter "Library Developments," copies of the Library Act, and a variety of memoranda and circulars sent to the director of the Library Services branch from other government branches and divisions. Many of the files appear to have been kept as reference material by the Library Services branch and do not relate directly to the branch’s routine functions. The records outline general government policy concerning use of technology, emergency procedures, awards, training needs, retrieval of records in times of litigation, and the online publication of government employees’ email addresses. Very few of the memoranda were sent specifically to the Library Services branch and were usually addressed to all directors within the Ministry.

British Columbia. Library Services Branch

Community issues and standards case files

  • GR-3466
  • Series
  • 1985-1999

The series consists of records documenting the work of the Library Services branch on community issues, including negotiations with Access Copyright and the provision of library services to First Nations reserves. The series also consists of records documenting the branch’s 1987 New Approaches task force. The series consists of executive briefing notes, reports, correspondence, news clippings, and audio recordings of public hearings in municipalities province-wide.

The New Approaches task force was created following a request by the Union of BC Municipalities and the BC Library Trustees Association to examine provincial public library services. The task force sought the views of local governments, library boards, library professionals and the public in order to determine priorities and areas for improvement. A final report was published in 1988 and included recommendations for the creation of a province-wide interlibrary loan program and changes to service delivery. As a result, programs such as the book delivery service “Open Shelf” were eventually phased out. The series consists of the task force’s interim and final reports, as well as material collected during the research phase.

British Columbia. Library Services Branch

Deputy Provincial Secretary records

  • GR-0497
  • Series
  • 1930-1946

This series consists of the personal files of the Deputy Provincial Secretary, Paschal de Noe Walker, 1930-1946. Records deal with health and welfare facilities (hospitals, industrial schools, etc.), social services, elections, libraries, museums and a variety of other programmes and services administered by the Provincial Secretary's department.

British Columbia. Dept. of the Provincial Secretary

Library program and service case files

  • GR-3465
  • Series
  • 1978-2012

The series consists of correspondence, population estimates, briefing notes, press releases, presentation notes, budget estimates and student files created between 1950 and 2012 by the Library Services branch and its predecessors the Public Library Commission and the Library Development Commission. The series is divided into two subseries. The first subseries consists of Community Librarian training program (CLTP) records and the second subseries consists of records relating to grants and public library programming.

The first subseries (accession 96-6091) consists of student files for the Community Librarian training program. The CLTP was a distance education program that was open to public library staff, volunteers and board members. The program was discontinued in 2014. Student files typically include certificates of completion, grades, correspondence and related documentation. The subseries is arranged chronologically by year of enrollment and then alphabetically by student surname. In many cases, files were re-opened at a later date.

The second subseries (accessions 90-2812, 91-2611, 91-3650, 92-9822, 93-6954, and 96-1146) consists of files documenting the relationship between public libraries and the Library Services branch. Many files document discontinued programs, including Current Contents, Your Choice, Books-by-Mail, and Internet Access for Public Libraries. Records also relate to grant funding, the provincial audiobook program, the Writers in Libraries program, small library automation, union catalog development, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation mobile computing program, and the delivery of books to rural areas and remote school libraries. Records include statistics and formulas for grant calculation, as well as correspondence, press releases, program policies, and funding applications. The subseries also includes copies of the Ministry newsletter “BC Public Libraries in the News,” which featured articles on events, initiatives, and programming in public libraries across the province before publication ceased in 2001. The subseries consists of a number of files related to the National Film Board’s film “Journey from Zero,” which focused on the work of librarian Howard Overend as he traveled along the Alaska Highway to the Yukon border delivering books to remote school libraries. The film premiered in Dawson Creek in May 1962.

British Columbia. Library Services Branch

Library Services minute books and other material

  • GR-1511
  • Series
  • 1919-1977

This series include records of the Library Services Branch and its predecessors, the British Columbia Library Development Commission and the Public Library Commission (PLC). Includes PLC minute books (1919-1960) and correspondence and reports regarding local and regional libraries (1934-1977). Also includes statistical summaries, miscellaneous reports, and manuscript history of the Capilano Public Library Association by Eleanor Godley. 16 mm film of Fraser Valley bookmobile (ca. 1920's) transferred to PABC's Sound & Moving Image Division [Acc.# F1984:5/1]. This series may be used in conjunction with GR-1387 [British Columbia. Library Services Branch, 1919-1979].

British Columbia. Library Services Branch

Library-related organization case files

  • GR-3468
  • Series
  • 1973-1978

The series consists of records documenting the relationship between the Library Services branch and library associations, including the British Columbia Library Association, the Provincial and Territorial Library Directors Council, the Electronic Library network, the Canadian Copyright Licensing Agency, and the Canadian Library Association. The series consists of final reports, correspondence, briefing notes, association publications, evaluations and questionnaires, meeting minutes, publicity material, and information on various library association initiatives between 1973 and 2006. The series also includes nominations to the BC Book Prize.

British Columbia. Library Development Commission

Municipal library case files

  • GR-3469
  • Series
  • 1978-2002

The series consists of records documenting municipal library development across the province. The records date predominantly to between 1989 and 1999 and include constitutions, bylaws and agreements, financial statements, budgets, agendas, and minutes. In some cases, files also include annual reports. The series is arranged alphabetically within each accession by the name of the municipal library. The records of accession 92-9822 are heavily interfiled with files from GR-3470. Accession 92-9822 also includes correspondence relating to the provision of library services to the Songhees and Esquimalt First Nations. The series is covered by ORCS 21900-20

British Columbia. Library Services Branch

Provincial Secretary executive records

  • GR-0496
  • Series
  • 1929-1947

This series consists of executive records of the Provincial Secretary, covering a wide variety of topics. The Provincial Secretary's department was responsible for a broad range of legislation and activities - including the civil service, provincial elections and (until 1946) health and welfare services. These records comprise part of the former Provincial Secretary's Central Registry. This registry consisted of general correspondence, policy directives, branch reports, inter-departmental memoranda, circulars, grant applications, and a host of miscellaneous documents.

The finding aid consists of two parts. Part I is a box/file list showing the original order and arrangement of the records. The records fall into six categories or subseries:

A. General correspondence: correspondence inward (with replies), reports, circulars, etc.
B. Appointments: correspondence, commissions, oaths of allegiance of coroners, magistrates, and other appointed officials.
C. Resident Physicians: correspondence re: grants paid to physicians in isolated communities
D. Grants: correspondence and reports pertaining to grants paid to various community groups and charitable organizations, service clubs, etc.
E. Workmen's Compensation Board: circulars, etc.
F. Contemporary card indexes: alphabetical subject index cards. Part II: Subject Index

Part II of this finding aid consists of a subject index compiled by the Provincial Archives of BC. The index indicates the main topics or subject areas - e.g. Provincial Infirmary, Elections, Industrial Schools, etc. which are documented in GR-0496. The index does not claim to be comprehensive or exhaustive, but it should help researchers to locate documents which concern particular institutions or activities.

British Columbia. Dept. of the Provincial Secretary

Public library association case files

  • GR-3470
  • Series
  • 1978-1999

The series consists of records documenting the relationship between the province’s public library associations and the Library Services branch and its predecessors. Associations featured in the series include the Association of BC Public Library Directors, the British Columbia Library Trustees’ Association, Peace River Associated Libraries and a variety of associations within small municipal libraries. The series consists of financial statements, meeting minutes, trip reports, annual reports, correspondence, and letters of congratulation to long-serving library trustees. The records predominantly date from between 1983 to 1999.

The arrangement of the series maintains the creator's original order. Provincial and national library associations are arranged alphabetically, and local associations associated with municipal libraries are arranged alphabetically and chronologically by file year. The series is covered by ORCS 21900-30

British Columbia. Library Services Branch

Reading centre case files

  • GR-3471
  • Series
  • 1985-1999

The series consists of constitutions, bylaws, financial statements, budgets, agendas and minutes for reading centres across the province. The series also includes a variety of annual and statistical reports. Although many of the reading centres operated in a similar fashion to municipal libraries, they were staffed by volunteers and had limited hours of operation. They served remote BC communities and were often the only library service to which community members had access. The series is arranged by reading centre and is covered by ORCS 21900-40.

British Columbia. Library Services Branch

Regional, integrated, and federated library system case files

  • GR-3467
  • Series
  • 1978-2003

The series consists of correspondence, draft agreements, meeting minutes, financial statements, surveys, reports, manuals, and petitions related to library systems across the province. The records were created by the Library Services branch and its predecessors, the Public Libraries commission and the Library Development commission. While early records date to 1930, the series predominantly consists of records dating from 1956 to 2003.

The series consists of records documenting the Cariboo-Nicola-Thompson system, which was the province’s first integrated library system, as well as the Fraser Valley, Peace River-Liard, Kootenay, Greater Vancouver, and Okanagan systems. The series also consists of records relating to the founding of the InterLINK system in the early 1990s. The series documents both the formation and dissolution of regional systems, including a petition from the Surrey library to leave the regional system and establish its own municipal branch. Many files include financial statements and statistical reports from libraries, and some files include interfiled architectural plans. Correspondence covers a variety of topics, including the formation of regional systems, applications for grants, library programing, the migration of union catalogues, the delivery of library service to First Nations reserves, and patron concerns. The series includes information on meetings and workshops, as well as copies of annual surveys and reports. The series is covered by ORCS 21900-50.

British Columbia. Library Services Branch