A Note on the Inventory of Curriculum Guides
The British Columbia Archives, the British Columbia Legislative Library, and the Library of The University of British Columbia each hold extensive collections of curriculum guides. The collections are not identical or complete. In 1992, however, The University of British Columbia assembled and microfilmed a relatively comprehensive collection of curriculum guides, using monographs and pamphlets from its collection and from the holdings of the British Columbia Archives and the Legislative Library. The microfilm Programmes of Study were described and arranged in accordance with Marjorie Holmes' authoritative guide, Publications of the Government of British Columbia, 1871-1947 (1948).
The microfilms are available in the Curriculum Library at The University of British Columbia and in several college and university libraries.
The microfilms are also available in the British Columbia Archives, which holds hard copies of most of the material microfilmed by UBC. But the British Columbia Archives also holds a substantial number of contemporary book lists, departmental bulletins, and single-subject guides which were not microfilmed. These items were arranged and described in 1991 by David Mattison, librarian in the Archives' Client Services Section. The publications were listed in an 18 pp. inventory and were catalogued in the Archives' Northwest [i.e. Library] Collection as: British Columbia. Ministry of Education. Inventory of Curriculum Guides, 1914 – 1980. [Call number NW 971.58 B863].
So, researchers looking for items not available on the UBC microfilm series will need to consult the hard copies at the Archives in Victoria. Researchers are advised to cite the call number of this material - NW 971.58 B863 - because it is not easily identified in the Archives' online catalogues or the Archives' card catalogues.
The consolidated Inventory of Curriculum Guides and Related Publications presented here on The Homeroom web site was created by amalgamating the 1991 list from the British Columbia Archives and the 1992 reel/item list prepared by the University of British Columbia.
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