The Irving K. Barber Learning Centre at UBC funds digitization of British Columbia historical resources through BCHDP, increasing free public access to unique local heritage materials. View Irving K. Barber Learning Centre's website for more information.
The Irving K. Barber Learning Centre at the University of British Columbia supports knowledge access across British Columbia, including through the British Columbia History Digitization Program. BCHDP provides matching funds for digitization projects that make unique historical material from across the province freely available online. Eligible applicants include private and public institutions and agencies with preservation and access mandates, such as libraries, archives, museums, historical societies, post-secondary institutions and community-based organizations. In the funding ecosystem, this program is important because local heritage collections are often held by small organizations that lack enough capital, technical capacity or staff time to digitize fragile material. By supplementing applicant resources and requiring matching contributions, the Learning Centre helps turn local archives into durable public infrastructure, expanding education, research, cultural memory and community access across British Columbia.