Specials Library Visit

I walked from my hotel to the Main Branch of Vancouver Public Library. The library majestically stands on a whole city block. There is public transportation, and limited street parking.  Standing outside I was in awe, entering the large cylindrical building was amazing. There are eight floors, and so many people, employees and activity.  I entered the library at 10:06 am and the building was already buzzing. Although there is elevator and stair access, I took the escalator up to the seventh floor where the Northwest History Collection lives.  As Rubin and Rubin say,  a special library can be a library within a library. This type of library is more often seen in university libraries where there are medical or law libraries.  Rubin R.E., Rubin R.G. (2020) p.160. This was a Special Collection Library, within a public library.  There were two librarians working the floor when I visited.  One was there to answer phone calls and internet inquiries, and the other was the face of the collection. 

She was very happy to talk to me and tell me all about how the collection worked.  First she asked if I could  please put my water in my backpack, and to be aware there was a no ink policy on the 7th floor, pencil only. She told me most people who came were either coming to do genealogy research in the phone books, or authors doing research for books they were writing, looking at photographs and getting the historical details right.  While I was there there were two patrons doing research. One was on the computer, of which there were 6 available. The other was looking through the card catalog for photos.

The Northwest History Collection is open Monday through Saturdays 10a.m. to 5p.m. And holds history collections all the way back to the 1800’s.  There are directories, periodicals, books, newspapers on microfilm, maps, pamphlets, ephemera, historical canadian literature, children’s books from 1728-1950’s, over 250,000 historical photographs and an online collection too. https://www.vpl.ca/collection/special-collections

There were two microfilm machines, two large card catalogs, shelves of phone directories, and binders full of photos.  Behind the librarian’s desk I spied multiple map drawers. 

The librarians at the Northwest History Collections help patrons with retrieval of information, handling of old books and maps, as well as teaching how to use the viewing machines.  They take appointments as well as walk-ins. They loan materials to other institutions, manage a digital kiosk and are considered Library and Archive reference specialists. In front of the librarian’s desk there is a sign posted with the rules of the special library:

1. No food or drink of any kind is permitted.
2. Only pencil may be used; no pens or markers.
3. Collection items have to stay in the room.
4. Materials must not be marked in any way.
5. Photocopying is not allowed. However, most materials can be either photographed or scanned. Please ask for assistance.
6. Space is limited. If you are not here to use the collection, you may be asked to vacate to make room for others. (Vancouver Public Library, n.d.)

After I left, I wished I had asked to use the microfilm reader, and fingered through the card catalogs. But I spent a lot of time looking at old photographs. The cultural diversity in Vancouver dates so far back, it was amazing to see that history in photos. 

References:

Rubin R. E., Rubin R. G. (2020). Foundations of library and information science. (5th ed.) Neal-Schuman

Vancouver Public Library. (n.d.). Service notice. [Flyer]. {Vancouver, BC}. : Author.