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Digitizers’ Blog

A Tale of Two Feminist Periodicals: Exploring Pedestal and Kinesis through Open Collections

By Michaela Chan on October 15, 2026

When Pedestal was launched in September 1969 by the Vancouver Women’s Caucus (VWC), it was Canada’s first feminist periodical. VWC emerged from the New Left student-led political movement at Simon Fraser University in the late 60s, a culture that valued direct action, anti-authoritarianism, and social non-conformity and promoted causes like civil rights, Black Power, gay […]

Posted in Carousel, Digitizers' Blog, feminism, Kinesis, Pedestal, Periodicals | Read More | No Comments

Truth and Reconciliation in the Archives: Representation of Indigenous Stories in Open Collections

By Michaela Chan on October 1, 2026

TW: Colonization, Residential schools This week Truth and Reconciliation is top of mind, prompting reflection on how Indigenous history, including records about residential schools and Survivors, are represented within Open Collections. BC’s history is a major area of focus for the Digitization Centre, and Open Collections includes a large number of records showcasing this history, […]

Posted in BC history, Carousel, Digitizers' Blog, Indigenous stories, open collections, Truth and Reconciliation | Read More | No Comments

New Collection: BC Dairy Historical Society

By Katrina Yaskowich on September 17, 2026

It’s been a productive year at the Digitization Centre and today we’re honoured to present the BC Dairy Historical Society collection. This digitized collection was compiled by the British Columbia Dairy History Society (BCDHS) to support its mandate to research, document, archive, and publish the history of British Columbia’s dairy industry. The collection includes records […]

Posted in BC Dairy Historical Society, British Columbia History, Carousel, Digitizers' Blog, new project | Read More | No Comments

Photo Preservation & National Save Your Photos Month!

By Katrina Yaskowich on September 3, 2026

Did you know that the month of September is National Save Your Photos Month? Since this topic is especially near and dear to our hearts, here are some examples of photo collections we are thankful to have in our collections. Stick around until the end for some tips on how to preserve your own personal […]

Posted in Carousel, Digitizers' Blog, Uno Langmann Family Collection | Read More | No Comments

Celebrating 300,000 Items in Open Collections!

By Katrina Yaskowich on August 25, 2026

UBC Open Collections brings together locally created and managed digital content from the library’s open repositories: cIRcle, digitized collections, Explore Archives at UBC and UBC Borealis. The content digitized by us here at the UBC Digitization Centre began as material held at various UBC Library branches including Rare Books and Special Collections, the University Archives, […]

Posted in Carousel, digital preservation, digitization project, Digitizers' Blog, how we digitize | Read More | No Comments

New Collection: The Democrat

By Katrina Yaskowich on August 20, 2026

This week we are pleased to announce that there is a new collection available on Open Collections! The Democrat was the official publication of the British Columbia New Democratic Party (NDP) from 1961 until 2014. It provided NDP members and other readers with news of party activities, information on a wide range of public policy […]

Posted in british columbia, Carousel, Democrat, Digitizers' Blog, History(B.C.) | Read More | No Comments

Crime, Cults, and Murder in Open Collections: Sources on Historical Crime

By Katrina Yaskowich on August 6, 2026

The staff at the Digitization Centre provide suggestions and insights into how researchers can learn more about historical crime in BC on UBC Open Collections. Whether you’re interested in crime, cults, legal records or Gold Rush era con-men, this blog post offers researchers a place to start looking when looking into the darker sides of BC’s history.

Posted in BC Historical Books, BC historical newspapers, BC sessional papers, Carousel, chung collection, Digitizers' Blog, John Keenlyside, Phil Lind Klondike Gold Rush Collection | Read More | No Comments

Teach Me How: Basic Advanced Searching

By Katrina Yaskowich on July 23, 2026

This week we are taking a dive into Open Collections to highlight more tips and tricks for doing research in UBC Open Collections. This blog post covers some more advanced search techniques, so if you have not already, we strongly recommend you check out our previous blog posts on how to search Open Collections. Example […]

Posted in BC historical newspapers, Carousel, Digitizers' Blog, Searching Open Collections, Teach Me How | Read More | No Comments

The Periódico Unión Cívica Collection: From Dictatorship to Democracy in the Dominican Republic

By Katrina Yaskowich on July 9, 2026

Today we are highlighting a new and exciting collection on Open Collections. The Periódico Unión Cívica collection is a rare Spanish-language periodical that offers rich insights into the politics of the Dominican Republic in the immediate aftermath of the Rafael Trujillo dictatorship. Physical copies of this newspaper are also held at the National Archives of […]

Posted in Carousel, Collections, Digitizers' Blog, open collections, Union Civica | Read More | No Comments

Crane Library Part 2: Accessibility, Technology, and Innovation

By Katrina Yaskowich on June 25, 2026

This post explores multiple creative new technologies for the blind you can read about in Open Collections, some of which were developed by UBC students, professors, or alumni.

Posted in BC Newspapers, Carousel, Digitizers' Blog, UBC Alumni, UBC Archives Photographs, UBC Publications | Read More | No Comments