Northern BC Archives & Special Collections

Identity area

Identifier

NBCA

Authorized form of name

Northern BC Archives & Special Collections

Parallel form(s) of name

  • NBCA
  • Northern BC Archives
  • Northern B.C. Archives

Other form(s) of name

    Type

    • Educational
    • Community

    Contact area

    Northern BC Archives & Special Collections Primary contact

    Type

    Address

    Street address

    Northern B.C. Archives & Special Collections, Geoffrey R. Weller Library, University of Northern British Columbia, 3333 University Way

    Locality

    Prince George

    Region

    British Columbia

    Country name

    Canada

    Postal code

    V2N 4Z9

    Telephone

    250-960-5592

    Fax

    Email

    Note

    Description area

    History

    In February 1992 informal discussions began regarding the establishment of an archives to preserve the University's history. In 1996 a committee drafted "The Plan for a UNBC Archives" that expanded on these ideas and outlined the need to establish an archives of Northern British Columbia that would preserve, acquire and provide access to public and private records related to the history and culture of Northern BC. Hence, the position of Archivist was created, and the Northern BC Archives was officially opened in November 2000. The Archives also houses rare book collections and maintains the University's artworks and artifact collections.

    Geographical and cultural context

    Central and Northern British Columbia: north to south from the Yukon border to Williams Lake; and east to west from the Alberta border to Haida Gwaii.

    Mandates/Sources of authority

    The mandate of the NBCA is two fold: to serve the historical, administrative, legal and teaching needs of the University of Northern British Columbia; and to acquire, preserve and provide access to materials which document the history and culture of Northern British Columbia.

    Administrative structure

    The Northern B.C. Archives is an administrative unit of the Geoffrey R. Weller Library within the University of Northern British Columbia.

    Records management and collecting policies

    Buildings

    The Northern B.C. Archives is located on the 4th floor of the Geoffrey R. Weller Library building on the Prince George campus of the University of Northern British Columbia.

    Holdings

    • 2,719+ linear metres Archival Textual Material;
    • 33,000+ Photographic Images;
    • 1,000+ Sound and Moving Image Recordings;
    • 9,795+ Rare Books;
    • 500+ Artworks in the University Artworks Collection.

    Finding aids, guides and publications

    Northern BC Archives Research Guide: https://libguides.unbc.ca/ld.php?content_id=35059551
    Subject Guides: https://libguides.unbc.ca/archives/home/archives_by_subject
    Print finding aids available for select holdings.

    Access area

    Opening times

    Monday to Friday, 8:30am-4:30pm; closed weekends and statutory holidays.

    Access conditions and requirements

    Personal or academic use of the historic photographs, audio and video materials is welcomed under the standard fair use and educational use clauses of Canadian Copyright Law. Commercial use is, however, forbidden without the express permission of the copyright holder. For information on obtaining written permission from the copyright holder, please contact the UNBC Archives.

    Accessibility

    The Northern BC Archives is a fully wheelchair accessible facility with elevator service from the Library's main floor.

    Services area

    Research services

    The Archives does not conduct in-depth research into holdings on behalf of the client. The Archives will, however, assist clients in developing their queries; identifying holdings that meet their requirements; and will conduct retrievals of all accessible materials on their behalf.

    Reproduction services

    Information about Northern BC Archives & Special Collections reproduction policies and services is available here: https://libguides.unbc.ca/archives/home/reproductions

    Public areas

    The Northern BC Archives has a spacious reference room complete with two publicly accessible computer terminals and a large common work table.

    Control area

    Description identifier

    CA - UNBC - NBCA

    Institution identifier

    NBCA

    Rules and/or conventions used

    Canadian Council of Archives "Rules of Archival Description" (revised 2008)

    Status

    Revised

    Level of detail

    Full

    Dates of creation, revision and deletion

    Revised on 15 Oct 2020 by KS.

    Language(s)

    • English

    Script(s)

      Sources

      Maintenance notes

      Access points

      Access Points