For the first time, people can easily read firsthand and online about daily life in Fort Victoria in the mid 1850s. UVic Libraries, Faculty of Humanities and Department of History have launched two new online additions to our history: the Fort Victoria Journals (1846-1850) and a digital collection of BC’s earliest maps.

The Fort Victoria Journals (http://fortvictoriajournal.ca)
The originals reside in the Hudson’s Bay Archives in Winnipeg and are the only surviving daily record of the activities of Fort Victoria and its interactions with First Nations.

The Historical Cartographic Collections (http://library.uvic.ca/dig/carto.html)
These collections include three rare gems. A selection of 250 maps from the National Archives of England (1775-1870) shows the development of the BC territory from the early Spanish and English explorers onward. Another selection includes primarily hand-drawn coloured maps, many created by the first colonial surveyor Joseph Despard Pemberton, with some very detailed maps from the 1840s to 50s showing the development of Victoria and the lower Island. The Victoria Fire Insurance Plans map collection includes plans from Victoria, Oak Bay, Saanich and Esquimalt from 1891 to 1916.

The lower level of the McPherson Library will be closed for a private reception to launch two new online additions to our history: the Fort Victoria Journals (1846-1850) and the Historical Cartographic Collections, a digital collection of BC’s earliest maps.

Archives and Special Collections, the Maltwood Prints and Drawings Gallery, group study rooms, general study areas and graduate student carrels located on the lower level will not be accessible from 4:00 p.m. – 6:00 pm on Wednesday May 2. All other floors of the McPherson Library will be open as usual.

The Diana M. Priestly Law Library in the Fraser Building and the Curriculum Library in the MacLaurin Building are other study locations open during this time.

Thank you for your cooperation.

The UVic Libraries' catalogue will be undergoing a system upgrade beginning April 30 until May 4, 2012. 

During this time, the Library catalogue will be unavailable. However, backup catalogues and backup Course Reserve lists will be in place. Users will be automatically redirected to the backup catalogues. Summon, the search engine for all libraries’ collections and catalogues, will be available.

Online renewals will not be possible during the upgrade.

We encourage you to return or renew your items by Saturday, April 28. Go to “My Library Account” https://webapp.library.uvic.ca/cgi-bin/mcpherson-vwebv-login.cgi?login

During the upgrade we will be unable to process Main Reserve Requests or Main Media Bookings. In order to ensure library resources are available for summer classes, please submit requests to the library by Monday, April 23 for classes beginning in May:

Main Library reserve requests Reserve Services Supervisor, 250-721-8268
Music & Media reserve requests Music & Media Manager 250-721-8231
Video Bookings Music & Media Manager 250-721-8231

“Victoria Visionaries”, an upcoming lecture series with Robert Amos includes the artists Herbert Siebner, Jack Wise, Pat Martin Bates and Walter Dexter. The University Archives continues to develop its holdings of artists and art history of the Vancouver Island region, which are fully available to researchers. In particular, the Limner’s Archives document the history and activities of the Limners, a Victoria-based artists’ collective formed in the late 1960s. The group has counted 18 artists among its membership, including painters, potters and sculptors, printmakers, collagists, a calligrapher, a textile artist and a poet.
Jack Wise archival fonds: http://memorybc.ca/jack-wise-fonds;rad
The Limners artists’ collective fonds: http://memorybc.ca/limners-fonds;rad
Robert Amos’ digitized freelance arts and culture reviews and commentaries (1982-1986) https://dspace.library.uvic.ca:8443/handle/1828/3731

More information about the lecture series: http://artopenings.ca/Art_Openings.ca/Victoria_Visionaries.html

Link: http://library.uvic.ca/hours/default.html

UVic Libraries begin exam period hours today, April 10th.

McPherson Library is open extended hours during exams, as follows:
Monday - Friday 07:30 AM - 12:00 AM
Saturday & Sunday 10:00 AM - 12:00 AM

Research help from a librarian is now available as follows:
Monday - Friday 11:00 AM - 05:00 PM
Saturday & Sunday 12:00 PM - 04:00 PM

You can also ask questions via text, chat, and telephone or by contacting your subject librarian.

Learning Commons partners also have special exam hours, please view their websites for more details.

Exam hours run until April 25th. Intersession hours begin April 26th.