Finding and Using Materials in Rare Books and Special Collections

UBC Library's Open Collections portal features digitized versions of a great selection of RBSC content, including western manuscripts and early printed books; ancient artifacts; rare maps; Japanese Maps of the Tokugawa Era; Charles Darwin letters; Florence Nightingale letters; materials on British Columbia history, immigration and settlement, and the Canadian Pacific Railway Company from the Chung Collection; historical photographs; and more.

From the Open Collections home page, enter keywords or browse all available digital collections. Advanced Search is also available.

We'll use the Japanese Maps of the Tokugawa Era as an example for how to search through Open Collections.

Select "J" for "Japanese Maps of the Tokugawa Era."

 

Select "Japanese Maps of the Tokugawa Era."

 

Perform keyword searches within the collection.

You can filter your results, most helpfully by date and creator, in the left column.

 

​You can download by selecting the down arrow in the upper left corner of the image pane.

 

If you would like to look at the map in person, make a note of the call number / identifier in the item metadata of the map below the image.

Give the call number (e.g. G7964 .E3 1689 I8) to the person at the front desk of Rare Books and Special Collections, and we'll bring it right out to you.