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History of the Book

Finding Materials

Materials in RBSC are most frequently arranged according to their subject matter, source, and document type and size; maps, books, A/V materials, framed artwork and archives are usually all kept in different locations. This means that collections are sometimes split up or rearranged. Collections that were acquired by RBSC at different times when standards varied may or may not be catalogued in such a way that is easy to "colocate" collections. There are a few strategies that can be used in order to get an idea of the entirety of many of our collections.

The resources below have been created specifically for this research guide. To learn more about finding and using materials at RBSC, see this guide.

Finding Books: Subject Headings

Try following one of these links or build your own subject search. These subject headings are used throughout the UBC libraries, not only for RBSC

Book and Reading

Bibliography                                                   

Books--History Bibliography--Dictionaries
Bibliography, Critical Bibliography--Methodology
Books and reading
Books and reading--Social aspects
Illustrations Typography
Book ornamentation Alphabets                                                    
Engraving Calligraphy
Engraving--History Paleography
Illumination of books and manuscripts Printing--Specimens
Illumination of books and manuscripts, Medieval Type and type-founding                                                                  
Illustration of books Type designers
Illustration of books--History Typesetting

Finding Archival Materials

Search for RBSC's archival holdings in Access to Memory (AtoM). This web applications does not often have digitized materials (there are a few exceptions) but rather features written descriptions of our archival materials. To find digitized materials try searching our Open Collections. After reviewing descriptions, you may wish to view the archives themselves. Take note of the "Reference Number" to help us find it for you ( an example is outlined in red below).

AtoM Search diagram

Searching for materials

AtoM Search diagram

Using the left pane to navigate a description

AtoM Search diagram