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Section title: Our Collection

This page describes the Library and Archives Canada collection and provides links to information on the Collection Development Framework, Digital Collection Development Policy, Acquisitions and Collection Management.

 
List item Over 71 000 hours of short and full-length films, documentaries, silent films and "talkies", in black and white and in colour. The oldest film in our collection was made in 1897;
List item Over 2.5 million architectural drawings, plans and maps, some of which date back to the beginning of the 16th century;
List item About 3.18 million megabytes of information in electronic formats, including more than 9500 Canadian periodicals and books available online;
List item Millions of books in various languages for all tastes and ages, from rare first editions and livres d'artiste to children's classics and popular fiction;
List item Over 21.3 million photographic images, captured since the 1850s;
List item Textual records and publications for federal, provincial, territorial and foreign governments;
List item Over 270 000 hours of video and sound recordings;
List item Over 343 000 works of art, including watercolours, sketches, miniatures, oil paintings and caricatures;
List item The largest collection of Canadian sheet music in the world, documentation related to music in Canada and about 200 000 recordings on disks and records of all formats, piano rolls, reels and spools, and eight-track tapes;
List item The Canadian Postal Archives;
List item An impressive collection of medals, seals, posters and coats of arms;
List item Textual archives for various individuals and groups who have contributed to Canada's cultural, social, economic and political development;
List item National, provincial and territorial newspapers from across Canada, from dailies to student newspapers, and from Aboriginal magazines to ethnic community newsletters;
List item Periodicals, microfilms, manuscripts and theses; and
List item Portraits of over one million Canadians since 1689.
 
To access online resources from Library and Archives Canada's collection, click on "Browse Selected Topics" in the left-hand menu.
 
AMICUS and ArchiviaNet
 
In addition to our Digital Collections and Virtual Exhibitions, search AMICUS and ArchiviaNet for access to further materials.
 
List item AMICUS
Provides bibliographic information about books, periodicals, music, video and other published materials in Library and Archives Canada's collection. AMICUS also shows holdings for other Canadian libraries.
 
Descriptions of selected special collections are also available.
 
List item ArchiviaNet
Provides access to our archival holdings from governmental and private sources, including textual documents, maps, works of art, photographs, videos and films, sound recordings, architectural drawings, stamps and medals.
 
For an overview of the collections in ArchiviaNet, read Who We Are and What We Do.
 
Acquisitions
 
List item Acquisition of Private Sector Records
List item Regional Archival Records of the Government of Canada
List item Acquisition of Federal Government Records
List item Recent Private Sector Acquisitions
List item Recent Public Sector Acquisitions
 
Collection Management
 
List item Preservation Collection of Canadiana
List item Collection Management Policy of the National Library of Canada: A Summary (1993)
List item National Library of Canada Collections Management Policy: Official Publications of Foreign Governments (2002)
List item Networked Electronic Publications Policy and Guidelines (1998)
 
Special Collections
 
List item Election 2006 - Harvested Web sites
List item Literary Archives Holdings
List item Canadian Children's Literature Service
List item Electronic Collection: A Virtual Collection of Monographs and Periodicals
List item Microform Collections
List item Printed Collection, Music Division
List item Music Archives
List item Recorded Sound and Video
List item Newspapers
List item The Rare Book Collection
List item Jacob M. Lowy Collection
List item Canadian Directories