Identity area
Identifier
Authorized form of name
Parallel form(s) of name
NBCA
Northern BC Archives
Northern B.C. Archives
Other form(s) of name
Type
Educational
Community
Contact area
Type
Address
Street address
Locality
Region
Country name
Postal code
Telephone
Fax
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
The geographical collections mandate of Northern BC Archives is central and northern British Columbia:
- North to south from the Yukon border to Williams Lake
- 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
- 2,750+ linear metres of archival material
- 40,000+ photographic images
- 4,000+ cartographic materials
- 1,200+ audio recordings
- 1,200+ moving images
- 10,775+ rare books
- 500+ artworks in the University Art 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 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 retrieving accessible materials.
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 a publicly accessible computer terminal, archival flatbed scanner, photocopier, and a large common work table.
Control area
Description identifier
Institution identifier
Rules and/or conventions used
Canadian Council of Archives "Rules of Archival Description" (revised 2008)
Status
Level of detail
Dates of creation, revision and deletion
2020 October: Revised (KS).
2024 April: Revised (KS).
Language(s)
English