British Columbia's Information, Science and Technology Agency

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About the BC Archives

Welcome to the British Columbia Archives, located in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada.  The British Columbia Archives is the central archives service for the government of British Columbia, and provides research access to records of enduring value to the province for both the provincial government and public clientele.

Our archival holdings include: government documents and records; private historical manuscripts and papers; maps, charts and architectural plans; photographs; paintings, drawings and prints; audio and video tapes; film; newspapers; and an extensive library of publications with a strong emphasis on the social and political history of British Columbia and the Pacific North West.

British Columbia has numerous community archives, whose addresses can be obtained through the Archives Association of British Columbia.  Additional information on the holdings of these archives can be accessed through the B.C. Archival Union List (BCAUL).

The British Columbia Archives is part of Information Management and Corporate Policy Division, Information, Science and Technology Agency, Government of British Columbia. 

Notices:

In the News	New Provincial Archivist Appointed - October 28, 1998
Service Changes	New Reference Room Hours - The BC Archives is resuming regular hours by re-opening with full service on Wednesdays. Effective June 3, 1998, full service hours will be Monday to Friday 9:30 to 4:30 p.m. Exceptions: The Reference Room will revert to partial service (no staff on duty, open to researchers with current registration only) on the third Wednesday of each month beginning in September 1998, to allow for staff training and completion of access oriented initiatives.
Access and Use	Electronic Access - Please review Conditions For Electronic Access On-Site Research - Prior to visiting the BC Archives in person, please review the Advanced Preparation section of the Reference Room Orientation Guide. Research Access and Use - Conditions for non-commercial use of archival materials Commercial Use - Pan Video Productions Limited is the marketing agent for the BC Archives regarding the commercial use of BC Archives information resources. See also answers to Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) on this topic. Announcement - New Copying and Reproduction charges effective 1 September, 1998.

On-line Information Resources

What's New	New Additions, Enhancements, and Initiatives to this on-line service. Last updated 98/10/01.
Virtual Exhibitions	Including: Victoria, 1889, Moving Image Collections
Time Machine	The Amazing BC Archives Time Machine features 11 educational galleries covering B.C. History topics drawn from the Province's K-12 social studies curriculum. The galleries have been designed for use by school children, their teachers and parents; however the content will also appeal to anyone interested in British Columbia's history.
Historical Vital Event Indexes	Consists of a searchable database of indexes to British Columbia marriage registrations for the years 1872 to 1921, and British Columbia death registrations for the years 1872 to 1978.
Visual Records Collections	Covering photographs, paintings, drawings, and prints), and providing access to the Visual Records Database (containing over 105,000 textual descriptions, and featuring over 50,000 images on-line). See also: Images Added Recently.
Cartographic Records	Consisting of selected images of historical maps with related textual information.
Research Library	Including the North West Collection, with over 10,000 publications catalogued on-line currently. In addition to full text searching through the master index, specific subject, author, and title search indexes are available from the overview page. Also available is a listing of holdings of British Columbia newspapers on microfilm.
Textual Records	Primarily related to textual material, including both government and non-government records holdings, consisting of approximately 5400 catalogue descriptions with hypertext subject cross references and over 1200 related finding aids.

Services and Research Assistance Inquiries

Services	Access and Use,  Location and Contacts,  Hours of Operation,  Registration Procedures,  Research Orientation Guide,  Copying and Reproduction Services.
Virtual Reference Room	A hypertext orientation image map, a Research Orientation Guide, and Reference Room Research Guides.
Research Assistance Inquiries	Inquiries related to collections may be submitted via email or electronic form, as well as by mail or fax.
Notice to Researchers	Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy.

Comments or Suggestions

We appreciate your comments and suggestions related to this on-line service, and welcome any feedback you may provide in order to improve it. See also: Electronic Access Project Background, Web Site Statistics

Information, Science and Technology Agency Links

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