Oversize Photographic Copying Pilot Project

From 2 October 2006 to 6 April 2007, the Archives will run an Oversize Photographic Copying Pilot Project. The Oversize Photographic Copying Pilot Project is a six-month pilot project which will allow researchers at the British Columbia Archives to use their own photographic equipment (either digital or non-digital) to photograph oversize materials from the BC Archives textual records holdings for the purposes of research or private study. For more information, see Notice of Oversize Photographic Copying Pilot Project.

At last - credit and debit cards now accepted:

Payment may now be made by VISA, MasterCard, American Express, as well as by cheque or money order. Debit card payments are accepted for on-site researchers. For more information see Copying and Reproduction Services.

Effective 14 August 2002, the British Columbia Archives will be moving Wednesdays from full service to partial service hours (i.e. the reference room will be open from 0930-2100 hours but there will be no staff-provided services).

Land grant registration forms, maps and related documents for British Columbia crown land grants. An on-line index for grants issued between 1869 and 1930, providing volume, grant and microfilm reel numbers, is available at Crown Grant Search (http://srmapps.gov.bc.ca/apps/rd/crowngrantsearchrequest.do)

Copies of final divorce orders, as filed in all British Columbia court registries between 1901 and 1983 and deposited with the British Columbia Vital Statistics Agency. The index provides access to these orders as well as the location and date of each divorce. It is the only centralized index to British Columbia divorces prior to 1968.

These records were created by the Income Taxation Branch to track location of probates and payment of succession duties. They constitute the only centralized probate index for British Columbia prior to 1980. The index cards provide the name of the registry where the estate was probated, or, if not probated, settled by letters of administration or other means. They supplement GR-1417, which only indexes probated wills for the province and Victoria probates.

The above records are all available on self-serve microfilm in the Reference Room. To send a request for a copy of a document or documents please see Access and Research Inquiries. The Specific Citation Reference Inquiry/Reproduction Package fee will apply.

BC Archives Moves Forward into a New Organization - see More Details

See the announcement regarding the establishment of the Friends of the British Columbia Archives, or visit the Friends of the British Columbia Archives web page for more details.

Press Release: BC Archives Amazing Time Machine Continues to Win Awards 1 October 1999

New Provincial Archivist Appointed - 28 October 1998

The Sound Recordings Index contains descriptive entries for 2,580 sound recordings held by the Archives. This is an ongoing project, and further descriptions will be added to the index on a regular basis.

The Baptisms index contains information from microfilms of baptismal registries submitted to the Vital Statistics Agency covering the years 1836 to 1885; however, only information older than 120 years can be released. There is no access to the microfilm rolls, those interested in viewing original entries are referred to the appropriate Church as identified on the record.

The Fonds Descriptions Index contains 2115 descriptions of Fonds held by the Archives. A fonds consists of the whole of the records created and/or accumulated by a single records creator. They include records in all media and include records from all catalogues at the BC Archives.

Payment may now be made by VISA, MasterCard, American Express, as well as by cheque or money order. Debit card payments are accepted for on-site researchers. For more information see Copying and Reproduction Services.

British Columbia Crown Land Grants 1851-1930; GR-3096, GR-3097, GR-3139, GR-3140

This page provides an introduction to the Sound Recordings collections.

As a preliminary step towards developing and implementing a fully integrated web site, the new logo for the Royal BC Museum Corporation has been added to the BC Archives web site.

The Moving Images Index contains descriptive entries for 3,200 moving image titles (about 7,000 separate items) held by the Archives.

In order to ensure the widest possible access, the BC Archives search engine is now accessible by a different URL http://search.bcarchives.gov.bc.ca/search Please update your bookmarks as this is now the default address. The old search engine address http://www.bcarchives.gov.bc.ca:9000/search will continue to be supported, however.

In honour of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II’s Golden Jubilee as Queen of Canada and her visit to British Columbia in October of 2002, the BC Archives presents an on-line exhibit on previous royal visits to the province.

Periodic updates to on-line Library Catalogue have commenced. These updates will be done on a more regular basis as new cataloging is completed.

This page provides an introduction to the Moving Image collections.

The new search engine is in full production, replacing the old main search engine as well.

After four weeks of on-line trial (which resulted in both programming and tuning adjustments), the new search engine is now being moved into its first phrase of operation as a replacement for the older individual Vital Event search interfaces.

A preview release of the new BC Archives Search Engine is available for public use. It will run in parallel with the existing search engine for an interim period of time as it undergoes broader usage and final tuning. It offers many new features, not the least of which is concurrent searching of all indexes including those of interest to genealogists.

Death Registrations for the year 1981, Marriage Registrations for the year 1926, and Birth Registrations for the year 1901 have now been added the on-line Vital Event Indexes, as of 2 January 2002.

A list of titles published by the British Columbia Archives, with details on availability and purchase.

Electronic forms Application for Permission Form, Still Images and Documents, and Image Reproduction Order Formare available in Adobe PDF format. To use, download, print, fill out, and return them to the BC Archives.

A new server was put into production to provide better performance on the web site.

A new Information Management section has been added to the BC Archives web site. It reflects the integrated nature of the archives and corporate records management programs, and consolidates a number of related information resources.

Some Vital Event registration records are now available in digital image format for on-line purchase, and delivery via E-mail. See the Vital Event Image Gateway FAQ for more details.

The Friends of the British Columbia Archives is an incorporated, non-profit organization concerned with the heritage of British Columbia and its people.

The BC Archives Web Site has been updated in terms of visual look, and organization.

The BC Archives Web Site will be unavailable periodically on 14 August 1999 while the system is in the process of being upgraded. Effective this date, the BC Archives will no longer be providing electronic access to its holdings via the Internet Gopher protocol.

The index to birth registrations for 1872-1898 (publicly releasable 100 years after the date of birth) is now available on the BC Archives web site through the Vital Events page.

The BC Archives will no longer be offering electronic access to its holdings via gopher, effective the summer of 1999. The specific date will be posted when it is finalized. All relevant information will continue to be available on the BC Archives web site at http://www.bcarchives.gov.bc.ca.

A guide to Genealogy resources at the BC Archives provides an outline of the more important resources available. On-line resources appear as blue hyper-links.

This register lists research agents available for contracted services in the area of independent research. Listing in this register does not constitute accreditation by the BC Archives. Any agreement for research must be between the patron and the search agent solely.

Announcement - New Provincial Archivist Appointed - 28 October 1998

The Time Machine provides Internet access to BC historical documents, images and other multimedia information in a format designed for school children.

Journey along with characters like Billy Barker and other early prospectors seeking their fortune in the Cariboo Gold Rush. Step back into the past to visit communities in BC such as Victoria's Chinatown, Doukhobor settlements, or the town of Ocean Falls. Visitors to the site can also learn more about First Nations and their cultures. Examine the lives and contributions of BC women, or look through the eyes of BC artists as you tour the virtual galleries.

The project, consisting of 300 web pages of text, and thousands of images selected from the holding of the BC Archives, was developed under the auspices of Industry Canada's SchoolNet Digital Collections Program.

The Inquiries Related to Collections page now includes more detailed instructions for clients wishing to submit an inquiry through electronic mail or the on-line form.

Updated information on on-line information resources and Vital Events target release dates, changes to service hours, changes to reproduction and copying fees.

On Wednesday, 8 April 1998, the system was upgraded to provide faster access and performance.

The BC Archives home page has been improved with a new look. Updates and further information is available on conditions for access and use. Further Information is available on the target release date for the Vital Event Birth Registration Index.

Conversion of non-government catalogue card information is nearing completion with over 2300 items now on-line. Non-government finding aids are now being added to the system.

A listing of holdings of British Columbia Newspapers on Microfilm - Available as of 17 February 1997

Cataloguing information for non-government textual records holdings is being added incrementally to the on-line system. Conversion of additional non-government finding aids is currently underway, with updates being added periodically as they become available. Note: searches of the Textual Records Catalogue or Textual Records Finding Aids will include both government and non-government material. See Textual Records.

Consists of a searchable database of indexes to marriage registrations older than 75 years and death registrations older than 20 years. These registrations, beginning in 1872, contain valuable information for research in genealogy, family history, social history, sociology and demography.

The British Columbia Archives web site, formerly the British Columbia Archives and Records Service (BCARS) web site, has been updated to reflect recent changes in organizational structure. In addition, the main URL for this site is now http://www.bcarchives.gov.bc.ca . While support for the old URL will be continued for a limited time, users are advised to update their bookmarks and associated links.

Search results from the Visual Records Database now have the capability of displaying contact sheets of thumbnail images. The contact sheets may be customized to display all images listed from the search or just selective images. Users may also customize the size of the contact sheet in terms of the number of images per row, and the number of rows displayed.

The Research Library now has an overview page, which also includes a built in search form for accessing the master, subject, author, and title indexes of the on-line library catalogue.

The listing of recent images scanned into the image database has been changed from Gopher over to the WWW. The listing will continue to updated daily as new material becomes available.

For users with forms capable WWW browsers, a form for searching has been added to access multiple indexes and to provide enhanced presentation.

A shortcut toolbar has been added to the top of each page to aid navigation within this site.

Unsure of a geographical name, or its location? See information available from other sites regarding geographical names within British Columbia.

Legislation, policies and standards for recorded information management - Available as of 30 November 1995

A brief Overview of Textual Records with hypertext subject cross references.

Consisting of selected images of maps with related textual information.

Cataloguing information for approximately 2500 collections, with over 1000 additional finding aids.

In addition to full text searching of the catalogue through the master index; specific subject, author and title searching capability is now available as of 18 March 1995.

Check out the most recent images scanned into the image database. This listing is updated daily when new material becomes available.

Inquiries, Feedback and Comments via Forms - 24 February 1995

Usage statistics for the WWW and Gopher servers - 11 February 1995

Visual Records Collections by Subject - Updated and Expanded 11 February 1995