Vancouver Public Library Local History Collections

The Vancouver Public Library's Special Collections Division manages a variety of local history collections. Several of these are now searchable through an instance of our Andornot Discovery Interface, at https://localhistory.vpl.ca

The searchable collections include historic photographs, a registry of Vancouver buildings, and an index of newspaper articles related to the history of British Columbia, totalling almost 70,000 records. More information about these collections is provided on the home page of the new site.

Researchers may search by keywords, relying on the advanced algorithms of the search engine to find relevant materials, or start a search by browsing indexes of names, places and topics to view specific items of interest.

All search results may be refined by facets such as material type, date, names of people and places, and more. The 40,000 photographs may all be viewed immediately online, and historic buildings have links to maps and current street views of their locations.