As an institution, the library has experienced profound transformations across history. Shifts in technology, education, and social values mean that the library is no longer solely an institution of intellectual discovery, but one of leisure, recreation, and community engagement, too.
UBC Open Collections holds many materials which map the history of the library, including catalogues of past library holdings, annual library reports to the UBC Senate, and historical images depicting the interiors, exteriors, staff, and patrons of UBC libraries.
[Main Library] (Alma Mater Society Image Collection, 1956)
However, the Open Collections items that most thoroughly chronicle the institutional evolution of the library are Biblos and the UBC Library Staff Bulletin, both housed within the UBC Publications Collection.
UBC Library Staff Bulletin
The UBC Library Staff Bulletin (published as the UBC Library Bulletin), whose run in Open Collections spans from 1968 to 2005, was a newsletter for library staff featuring official library news and communications from on-campus and beyond.
UBC Library Bulletin, February 1976
Biblos
Biblos, which ran from 1964 to 1973, aimed to bridge the gap between UBC’s numerous library branches through announcements, comics, and written pieces submitted by staff.
How many miles? (Biblos, November 1969)
The Biblos editorial committee encouraged staff to “mak[e] [their] opinions known” (Biblos, October 1964), and many did just that, playfully airing their grievances about patrons, faculty, and even their co-workers.
Message to [Faculty Members]… (Biblos, September 1969)
Changes in Technology
One of the historical changes most clearly illustrated by the UBC Library Bulletin is the evolution of libraries’ use of technology. Though electronic resources like online catalogues, databases, and audiobooks are commonplace in libraries today, the bulletins remind us that patronizing the library was a wholly different experience fifty years ago.
“Books on Tape for the Blind”
In 1971, staff from UBC’s Crane Library for the Blind participated in a project to read books on tape for blind students, with the cassettes to be made available for interlibrary loan across Canada. Today, audiobooks may be ubiquitous, but this initiative was an example of the early accessibility work of the Crane Library.
UBC Library Bulletin, December 1971
“Card Catalogue Conversion to Computer File Begins”
The November 1977 bulletin reported that, alongside the Library of Congress, UBC Library had begun the process of converting their card catalogue to computer files.
Card Catalogue area of Main Library (UBC Archives Photograph Collection, 1970s)
This transition marked a massive shift in the field. UBC Library’s original computer filing system would likely seem crude compared to current digital cataloguing, but the ability to make edits to library records as needed proved vastly more convenient than their previous system.
UBC Library Bulletin, November 1977
UBC Library even held a ceremony to commemorate the last card entered into their physical catalogue!
Ceremony for the last card inserted in UBC Library catalogue (UBC Archives Photograph Collection, 1979)
“The Electronic Library is Coming”
Illuminating just how much more convenient the search for information has become, 1993’s October bulletin announced that UBC Library was on its way to becoming an “electronic library”, stating that they would be acquiring electronic materials like CD-ROMS and promising “free access to students for up to 20 minutes daily to electronic mail”.
UBC Library Bulletin, October 1993
Shifting Social Values
Even some of the seemingly mundane communications found in these publications reveal the social attitudes and issues of their time.
“MMMMMMMMM?”
1973’s July bulletin addressed the use of the salutation Ms., noting that while some staff continued to use Miss and Mrs., others “prefer[red] to have their marital status undefined”. It recommended that salutations be omitted from staff communications, evidencing the long-fought-for autonomy and self-determination women were finally beginning to experience.
UBC Library Bulletin, July 1973
Tracing Historical Events
Some library communications even alluded to the political conversations occurring during their respective eras.
“Russia VS. Soviet Union in the Subject Catalogue”
In August 1986, the UBC Library Bulletin announced that the library would be following the Library of Congress’s lead and revising the “Russia” subject heading to “Soviet Union”. The author emphasizes the complex and taxing nature of this revision process—one that they would unfortunately have to reconsider just a few years later.
UBC Library Bulletin, August 1986
Enduring Workplace Dynamics
While these materials evidence just how much a field can transform over the years, staff’s quippy blurbs and doodles, like the one below, demonstrate that interpersonal annoyances, institutional grievances, and playful camaraderie in the workplace are universal and enduring.
We are threatened (Biblos, October 1964)
Librarians: the real MVPs
One thing that remains unchanged throughout this history is the endlessly resourceful nature of librarians, who expertly adapt within an ever-changing industry.
Librarian Joan Sandilands helping student in Library (UBC Archives Photograph Collection, 1977)
Librarians remain unparalleled researchers and problem solvers, and have continued to provide an invaluable service across many decades.
Please lend to me! (Biblos, October 1964)
