Applications open for UBC Library’s EDI Scholars-in-Residence Program 2025/2026

Applications open EDI Scholars-in-Residence Program 2025/2026 Deadline to apply June 30, 2025, 12 p.m. PT

Applications are now open to join the 2025/2026 Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) Scholars-in-Residence Program, an initiative by UBC Library and the Irving K. Barber Learning Centre.

The EDI Scholars-in-Residence Program is open to individuals who hold degrees in any discipline. Scholars will a spend a residency at the Irving K. Barber Learning Centre to participate in public engagement with a clear impact on equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI). The Scholar will have an established record of research or activities related to EDI. Applications from academic, governmental, policy, and arts sectors are invited.

Each residency will be four (4) months in duration, and will take place either during Term One (September to December) or Term Two (January to April). Scholars will hold one public event during their residency as well as informal one-on-one conversations with students, staff and faculty, either in-person or virtually. Public lectures presented through the EDI Scholar-in-Residence program take place in the Antonio and Marissa Peña Learning and Events Room in IKBLC, with support from the Peña Fund.

Apply online by June 30, 2025 (12 p.m. PT).

For more information on program eligibility and benefits, please visit the program website.

 

Apply now

 

Leon J. Eekman Materials

This blog post is part of RBSC’s blog series spotlighting items in the Phil Lind Klondike Gold Rush Collection and the Wallace B. and Madeline H. Chung Collection.

While the Wallace B. and Madeline H. Chung collection is best known for its large Canadian Pacific and Chinese immigration holdings, it also contains a wide variety of miscellaneous photos and materials from across Western Canada and Pacific Northwest. These can often allow us insight into lives that indicate the differences of experience between immigrant communities in BC, particularly between European colonists and other groups. Today we will be discussing the life of a Belgian-Canadian whose materials are found in the Chung Collection, Leon Eekman.

[Portrait of Leo J. Eekman] RBSC-ARC-1679-CC-PH-11113. Chung Collection. 1909. B&W Photograph


Leon (Leondart, Leendert, Leonard) John (Jan, Jean, Jeens) Eekman was born on December 12, 1880, in Brussels Belgium, likely of Flemish background. He was from a large middle-class family with at least four brothers and one sister. When he was young he served as a sergeant in the infantry stationed in Liège, Belgium, before arriving in Canada around 1905, first to Manitoba and then settling in Victoria, British Columbia. A well-educated man with fluency in English, French, German, Flemish, conversational Dutch, and Walloon, Eekman soon found work as a language tutor. As a result he quickly became acquainted with colonial society, including the family of Chinese merchant Loo Gee Wing, subject of a previous blog. By 1908 he was also working as a surveyor and draftsman, well-established enough to employ a Chinese domestic servant, Ah Guan 關亞均, which was common among the colonial well-to-do.

This young man was a likely cook, gardener, and/or servant to Eekman or Holdcroft Family [Portrait of 關亞均, Ah Gwan] RBSC-ARC-1679-CC-PH-11088. Chung Collection. 1908. B&W Photograph


His movements over the next few years suggest a complex transatlantic life; in 1909, he returned to Europe via New York City aboard the SS Oceanic, to attend the 1910 Exposition Universelle et Internationale de Bruxelles re-entering Canada in September 1910. He was at that point recorded as a tourist with no stated intention of permanent residence. Despite this, he made his way back to Victoria, where he had lived before. The differences between his easy crossing of borders and those of Chinese Canadians during a time of tightening exclusion are a noteworthy comparison here.

 

Front of Leon J Eekman’s 1910 Brussels International Exposition Pass. [Exposition Universelle & Internationale de Bruxelles 1910] RBSC-ARC-1679-CC-PH-11108. Chung Collection. 1910. B&W Photograph on board


Shortly after his return, Eekman married Marion Holdcroft on November 10, 1910, in Victoria, after courting her in previous years. The wedding took place at the home of his in-laws, and through this union, he became connected to the Holdcroft family, a well-respected colonial lineage with English roots. Marion’s father, John Holdcroft, was the Assistant Surveyor of the City of Victoria, a role that Leon himself would later hold. Marion’s maternal relatives had been English merchants in Brussels, later starting a toy company. In their early years of marriage, Leon and Marion lived with her parents at 1268 Walnut Street, and Leon continued his work as a language tutor and surveyor. Around 1912, he became a naturalized British subject, further solidifying his ties to Canada. During this period the ability of Asian diaspora communities in BC to naturalize had been slowly restricted, likewise showing a diverging experience of legal belonging.

 

Leon (left) and likely Walter (right) Eekman surveying. [Leo J. Eekman] RBSC-ARC-1679-CC-PH-11078. Chung Collection. 16 Jul. 1907. B&W Photograph


When World War I broke out, Leon enlisted with the Gordon Highlanders (50th Reg.) He later served in the Canadian Army Medical Corps (CAMC), working under Colonel Murray McLaren at a field hospital in Étaples, France. His brother, Arie Eekman, also served in the same conflict in the Netherlands Army as a Militia Sergeant of the First Corp. Motor Service in Delft. Leon’s role involved the grueling and dangerous task of transporting wounded soldiers from the battlefield to medical facilities. His service was not without hardship; in October 1915, he contracted tuberculosis, which would shape the remainder of his service.

Leon Eekman in uniform, Nov 1914. [Portrait of Leo J. Eekman] RBSC-ARC-1679-CC-PH-11080. Chung Collection. 21 Nov . 1914. B&W Photographic Postcard


Fearing anti-German sentiment in Victoria impacting his family due to his surname, Eekman wrote a public letter to the Victoria Daily Times from the front in June 1915, proclaiming his British loyalty and that of his family. By May 1916, his health had deteriorated to the point that he was medically discharged and sent to the Esquimalt Convalescent Home, followed by six months at the Tranquille Sanatorium. Still wanting to serve, Eekman was frustrated in his attempt to serve as a translator; he suspected discrimination due to his German-sounding name. His military discharge became permanent in July 1918, and he returned to civilian life in Victoria.

Leon (right) and colleague in front of Victoria City Hall. [Building and plumbing inspector and assistant building and plumbing inspector] RBSC-ARC-1679-CC-PH-11092. Chung Collection. 1930. B&W Photograph


After the war, the Eekman family settled at 1303 Hillside Avenue. Leon petitioned the city to restore his pre-war position in the survey department, which he had left upon enlisting. This is a position that would have been excluded to non-whites by statute during this period. Over time, he became a provincial draftsman and later served as the Assistant Building Inspector for the City of Victoria. Beyond his professional life, he was deeply involved in religious and civic activities. A passionate evangelical Christian, he was active in the Shantymen’s Association, ministering to working men in remote (particularly mountain and coastal areas) of British Columbia. His religious fervor extended into his participation in the Canadian Protestant League, a controversial anti-Catholic organization. He frequently wrote newspaper columns and letters to the editor, engaging in heated theological debates, often garnering response letters about his all-to-frequent contributions.

Leon (2nd from left) and other mission workers of the Shantyman’s Association, Lake Cowichan BC, 1925. [Ye must be born again truck] RBSC-ARC-1679-CC-PH-11095. Chung Collection. 1925. B&W Photograph


During World War II, Eekman was appointed Acting Belgian Consul for Vancouver Island and Haida Gwaii, where he assisted in the registration and conscription of Belgian diaspora men for the war effort. He requested every Belgian-Canadian house fly the Belgian and British flag to show loyalty. In April 1946, after 40 years of service with the city, he retired although his diplomatic work continued until 1947. He was a part of the welcome committee for Princess Juliana of the Netherlands when she visited Victoria, and in 1948 he was awarded the Order of Leopold II for his service to Belgium. In his later years, he continued to write emotional public letters and became a vocal critic of government policies, particularly opposing CMHC’s affordable housing initiatives in Saanich, which he felt discriminated against taxpayers. He also spoke out against age discrimination in the workforce.

The Eekman Family home served as Belgian Consulate during WWII. They displayed the two flags as Eekman had requested all Belgian Nationals do in his consular district. [Consulat de Belgique = Belgian Consulate] / L. J. Eekman. RBSC-ARC-1679-CC-PH-11090. Chung Collection. 1944. B&W Photograph


In 1949, Leon made a four-month trip to Europe, likely his first since World War I, visiting relatives in England and the Continent. By 1950, he had resumed his role as Honorary Belgian Consul for Vancouver Island. He remained an outspoken and controversial figure in the community until his death in 1954. His obituary in the Times Colonist on September 25, 1954, detailed his lifetime of contributions to Victoria and beyond. His memory lived on through his two surviving children, including Walter Gordon Eekman (born in 1912), continuing the family’s presence in Victoria for generations to come.

In 2005 some personal materials of Leon Eekman were purchased from Wells Books in Victoria, before being donated to the University of Manitoba Archives in 2015. They offer insight into how Dr. Wallace Chung may have acquired these materials.

While they can often challenge us, stories like that of the Eekman family allow us to view the range of experiences of BC residents across time. We invite you to engage with the digitized and physical materials of the Chung Collection and other holdings at Rare Books and Special Collections that may have relevance to genealogical or historical research.

 

Sources

University of Manitoba Archives, Leon J Eekman Fonds. https://umlarchives.lib.umanitoba.ca/leon-john-eekman-fonds

Leon John Eekman. Personnel Records of the First World War. Library and Archives Canada. RG 150, Accession 1992-93/166, Box 2848 – 49. Item 374921. Canadian Expeditionary Forces (CEF)

Victoria Daily Times and Victoria Times Colonist, Newspapers.com

New Books at the Law Library – 25/04/01

LAW LIBRARY level 3: HV8157 .R62 2024
D. Boyington, Diversity and Indigenous Peoples in Canada, 5th ed (Emond Montgomery Publications, 2024).

LAW LIBRARY level 3: KE5006 .B87 2024
J.W. Burchill et al, Ancillary Police Powers in Canada: A Critical Reassessment (UBC Press, 2024).
Online access: https://resolve.library.ubc.ca/cgi-bin/catsearch?bid=13640083

Collection Spotlight: April is National Poetry Month

Poetry has the power to inspire, delight, and spark imagination in readers of all ages. This month, we’re celebrating with a special spotlight on children’s poetry picture books. Explore our featured collection and discover books that bring poetry to life in fun and engaging ways!

Just a few highlights (click the cover to take you to the catalogue record for the item):

New Books at Education Library: April 2025

Welcome to our April Booklist! This month, we’re featuring over 90 new titles, including young adult novels, picture books, and more. Check out our latest arrivals and find something new to enjoy!

Click on the book cover to visit the Google Books page for more details and previews. Clicking on the title will take you to the item’s UBC Library catalogue page to check availability or place a hold.

D810.C88 F54 2024 The Enigma girls : how ten teenagers broke ciphers, kept secrets, and helped win World War II / Candace Fleming.

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GC21.5 .E97 2023 Explorons l’océan.

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PZ7.B5319 Ah 2024 Ahoy! / Sophie Blackall.

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PZ7.H389 Sr 2024 Still Sal / Kevin Henkes.

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PZ7.G39235 Rn 2024 Ruin road / Lamar Giles.

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PZ7.D47925 Sh 2024 Shadowed / Carl Deuker

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PZ7.1.E4745 Wan 2024 Wander in the dark / Jumata Emill.

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PZ7.1.H86326 Ho 2024 How it all ends / Emma Hunsinger.

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PZ7.1.R4276 He 2024 Heatwave / Lauren Redniss.

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PZ7.1.S6796 On 2024 On the bright side / Anna Sortino.

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PZ7.1.R57747 Be 2024 Better left buried / Mary E. Roach.

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PZ7.1.M4354698 Es 2024 Escaping Mr. Rochester / L.L. McKinney.

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PZ7.1.H5617 Wi 2024 Wild about you / Kaitlyn Hill.

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PZ7.1.J6185 Bl 2023 Bladestay / Jackie Johnson.

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PZ7.1.S857 Gr 2024 Girls like her / Melanie Sumrow.

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PZ7.1.J623 Cl 2024 The color of a lie / Kim Johnson.

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PZ7.1.L785 He 2024 Here & there / Thea Lu.

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PZ7.1.D935 At 2024 The atlas of us / Kristin Dwyer.

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PZ7.1.R67 Em 2023 Emmett / L.C. Rosen.

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PZ7.1.B447 Ac 2024 Across so many seas / Ruth Behar.

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PZ7.1.T44775 In 2024 Into the sunken city / Dinesh Thiru.

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PZ7.1.H3918 Dt 2024 Diet Soda Club / Chaz Hayden.

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PZ7.1.C3166 Cr 2024 Crashing into you / Rocky Callen.

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PZ7.5.S86 De 2024 Deep water / Jamie Sumner.

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PZ7.7.F654 Ne 2024 Next stop / Debbie Fong.

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Reading at the Seed Library: Pollinators

Blog written by Rachael Huegerich
March 31, 2024

Pollinators like bees, butterflies, wasps, hoverflies, and hummingbirds are vital within BC ecosystems. Fortunately, there are lots of ways your garden can attract pollinators. Want to read more about these important creatures? Check out the display at the seed lending library at the Education Library, just past the reference desk. While you’re there, feel free to “borrow” some seeds, too!

 

Omar, the bees and me

By Helen Mortimer & Katie Cottle

PZ7.1.M6765 Om 2022

Omar, The Bees and Me encourages children to look after nature in local communities planting wild flowers to form bee corridors.

Themes around cultural identity are also explored through Omar (a new boy from Syria) and Maisie’s friendship.

The publisher, Owlet Press, also offers teaching resources to accompany the book.

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A flicker of hope

Written by Cynthia Harmony; illustrated by Devon Holzwarth

PZ7.1.H37175 Fl 2024

Lucía loves to watch the monarchs’ migration from her home in Mexico with Papá.

But this year, the monarchs’ journey north holds extra weight; Papá is heading north, too, to look for work.

He promises her that when “the weather turns cold and the monarcas return, our winged ancestors will guide me home.”

So while he spends the summer months harvesting produce on faraway farms, Lucía watches the skies for signs of the monarchs’—and her papá’s—return.

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Bruno the beekeeper: a honey primer

By Aneta Františka Holasová; translated by Andrew Lass

SF523.5 .H6513 2021

With glowing, honey-hued illustrations and friendly text, this homespun year-in-the-life of a busy beekeeper and his bees is a definitive picture book primer—whether for families contemplating a new hobby or for readers just curious to know how bees make honey.

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What’s the buzz?: keeping bees in flight

By Merrie-Ellen Wilcox

QL565.2 .W538 2015

Whether they live alone or together, in a hive or in a hole in the ground, bees do some of the most important work on the planet: pollinating plants.

What’s the Buzz? celebrates the magic of bees–from swarming to dancing to making honey–and encourages readers to do their part to keep the hives alive.

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The honeybee

Written by Kirsten Hall; illustrated by Isabelle Arsenault

PZ8.3 .H146 Hn 2018

Illustrations and rhyming text follow endangered honeybees through the year as they forage for pollen and nectar, communicate with others at their hive, and make honey.

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Un jardin pour Tipiti le colibri

Written by Lucie Papineau; illustrated by Lucie Crovatto

PZ23.P364 Jr 2020 (French collection)

Camille et Paolo le petit perroquet s’adorent. Ils font tout ensemble!

Un matin de printemps, ils aperçoivent une drôle de mouche qui vole en vrombissant.

Une mouche avec un… bec?

Ainsi débute cette grande aventure remplie de fleurs, de bourdons, de papillons et de passionnantes découvertes! Tous les pollinisateurs illustrés au début et à la fin de ce livre sont cachés dans le jardin de Camille et Paolo.

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Traveling butterflies

By Susumu Shingu

QL561.D3 S5513 2015 (Canadian Children’s Book Centre)

Traveling Butterflies indulges the awe these creatures inspire by taking a poetic, meditative look at the monarch’s life cycle.

In a lyrical voice that seamlessly blends fact and storytelling, the book zooms in to show a monarch’s progression from an egg the size of a dewdrop through growth, metamorphosis and preparation for their journey south.

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Seeds, bees, butterflies, and more!: poems for two voices

By Carole Gerber; illustrated by Eugene Yelchin

PZ8.3.G297 Sd 2001

A honeybee and a bumblebee have a chat.

A rose offers a worm a bit of its compost.

A mouse assures a root of its importance.

These fun rhyming poems for two voices are blooming, bursting, and buzzing with personality.

 

Giving Day 2025

On UBC Giving Day, April 3, we invite you to help keep UBC Library a vibrant hub of knowledge and inspiration. Join us in fostering a strong library that will continue to serve the UBC community and beyond for generations to come.

Introducing the Phil Lind Klondike Gold Rush Collection!

We are excited to announce the launch of a long-awaited addition to our Open Collection: the Phil Lind Klondike Gold Rush Collection!

Donated to the UBC Library in 2020 by UBC alumnus Philip B. Lind, the collection is an extraordinary collection of photographs, maps, books, artifacts, and other unique materials that document the events and experiences of the Klondike Gold Rush period.

The Argonaut Brand high grade evaporated vegetable, sliced onion.

The Digitization Journey

Digitization of the collection began in spring 2022, marking the start of a two-year effort to process over 3,000 items. Our team worked meticulously to digitize a wide array of materials, such as stereographs, sheet music, souvenir playing cards, and even coins.

A personal favourite to digitize was the 1943 movie poster for Columbia Pictures’ “Klondike Kate—Queen of the Gold Rush.” The vibrant colours were a welcome surprise after boxes of black and white photographs! However, movie posters posed unique challenges: their large size meant they required two people to safely move onto the bed of the TTI (learn about how we digitize with the TTI). One was so oversized that it did not fit on the scanning table,  requiring careful maneuvering and extra support to ensure a successful capture.

Klondike Kate—Queen of the Gold Rush.

Collaboration with RBSC and the Chung | Lind Gallery

Throughout the digitization process, we worked closely with Rare Books and Special Collections (RBSC) in coordinating digitization of the items with construction of the Chung | Lind Gallery. Materials selected for display in the gallery were prioritized for digitization, and this also provided an opportunity to digitize additional gallery items from the Wallace B. Chung and Madeline H. Chung Collection.

One particularly exciting project involved preparing photo albums for the gallery’s digital touch table. Balancing visual appeal and authenticity within technical specifications was a rewarding challenge, and we look forward to seeing visitors engage with these materials in an interactive format.

John G. Lind in front of cabin with dog. (Frame cropped out.)

A Milestone for Open Collections

The debut of the Phil Lind Klondike Gold Rush Collection in Open Collections marks another milestone: it is the first collection to be uploaded directly to DSpace, the new backend digital repository for UBC Library. The Digitization Centre has been in the process of migrating collections from CONTENTdm, and the Lind Collection provided an invaluable opportunity to test the integration of DSpace into the Open Collections infrastructure. As with any new system implementation, there were challenges along the way, but the experience has been a valuable learning opportunity for our team.

Explore the Collection

After 3 years of careful digitization and preparation, it is very exciting to see the Phil Lind Klondike Gold Rush Collection live in Open Collections. We invite you to explore the collection and discover the stories captured in these fascinating historical materials!

A Yukon dog team.

New Books at the Law Library – 25/03/25

LAW LIBRARY reference room (level 2): KE850 .K25 2024 B. Kain, Good Faith in Canadian Contract Law (LexisNexis Canada, 2024). LAW LIBRARY level 3: KE3365 .K435 2024 N. Keith, Safety on Trial: Understanding and Improving Workplace Safety Law in Canada (LexisNexis Canada, 2024). LAW LIBRARY level 3: KEQ723 .P7713 2023 M. Provost, Youth Protection Law […]

UBC Library digitizes the Phil Lind Klondike Gold Rush Collection

A person writing in a notepad with a pencil, next to an open book on a red fabric cushion.

UBC Library has made the Phil Lind Klondike Gold Rush Collection openly accessible through Open Collections, publishing a digitized version of the collection online. Donated to UBC Library in 2020 by UBC alumnus Philip B. Lind, the Lind Collection is an unparalleled rare book and archival collection of materials dating from the Klondike Gold Rush. The library began planning for the digitization of the collection soon after its donation, to facilitate scholarly and public access to the materials.

Larissa Ringham, Digital Projects Librarian, managed the digitization project, working closely with Elizabeth Edgerton, Digital Initiatives Assistant, who digitized the majority of the items in the collection over the 2-year span of the project.  “I feel like the digitized Lind Collection is such a valuable component, a corollary to the Chung|Lind Gallery,” says Ringham. “I’m excited for people who go to the Gallery and discover our Open Collections, and vice versa. There may be people who have never heard of the Gallery who stumble across an item in Open Collections through a Google search and learn about the Gallery.”

Claire Malek, RBSC Archivist, and Jacky Lai, Archives and Circulation Assistant, organized the materials and created archival descriptions for each of the collection’s approximately 1,400 items, which include books, photographs, postcards and printed textual records. Through the digitization process, more than 6,500 images were scanned.

Since the Lind Collection first arrived at UBC Library, Malek has begun building relationships and connecting with organizations and community members in the Yukon and the Northwest Territories.

“I know [these organizations] are also very excited for the Lind Collection to be digitized and to have it be available online rather than needing to come to Vancouver—come out to UBC—to see it in person. It’s really exciting for us to be able to share it both up north and all around the world,” says Malek.

The digitization of the Lind Collection and its distribution on UBC Open Collections heralds another long-awaited achievement for UBC Library’s digitization team. Over the last several years, the team has been working to migrate the library’s digital collections to DSpace, one of the most-used open source digital repository software in the world. The Lind Collection is the first UBC Library collection to be migrated and represents a new era for UBC Open Collections.

“The Lind Collection is going to be one of the crown jewels of UBC Library’s Open Collections,” says Mimi Lam, Digital Projects Librarian. “We have this amazing physical collection that has now gone through all these digitization steps, and we can now share it with the world. It’s been an amazing thing to witness and be a part of for sure.”

 

View the collection