Okanagan Special Collections acquires books, pamphlets, maps, and archives with relevance to the region. Located on the lower floor of the Commons building, in COM004, our collections are available to everyone within the UBC community and beyond.
For access to the collection, box retrieval, or advanced research help, please email osc-contact@lists.ubc.ca to book an appointment.
Get access to an extensive collection of historic maps, rare books, archival materials, photographs and more at Rare Books and Special Collections (RBSC). The foundation of the collections is British Columbia: history, arts, culture, exploration, settlement, business, politics, ethnicity, and labour. These subjects are covered in considerable depth. RBSC also collects non-B.C. material in existing areas of strength, including Canadian history (particularly western Canada), Canadian literature, English literature, early children’s literature, Pacific and Arctic exploration, the history of cartography, music, the history of science and medicine, Chinese rare books, Japanese rare books and maps, and sports and leisure. Visitors need to apply for a free card and plan to visit during regular opening hours.
Not sure where to start? Visit the collection resources page.
Watch this short video for an introduction to the RBSC collection:
The X̱wi7x̱wa Library is the only Indigenous branch of an academic library in Canada, and is closely connected to the First Nations House of Learning.
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Pick up seeds for this year’s garden at the UBC Seed Lending Library! Anyone can "borrow" seeds free of charge, and learn about gardening, seed saving, and agricultural research and teaching at UBC. Visit the Woodward or Education Library on the Vancouver campus to get started.
The Asian Library at the UBC Vancouver campus has extensive books, films and other materials in Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Hindi, Urdu, Punjabi, Sanskrit, Tibetan, Indonesian, and Persian. You can keep up to date with upcoming events and exhibits here.
Visit the Koerner Library at the UBC Vancouver campus to check out historical BC newspaper microforms and maps. Perfect fodder for the genealogist!
The UBC Education Library has a unique, flexible space that community borrowers are able to book. Find out more here.