Unraveling the history of education in the province of BC is a fascinating and complex undertaking. Knowing what kinds of information exist and where to find such information can help you to focus your data search and save time and effort. This section serves as a guide to non-student level government resources in education, held within the BC Ministry of Education, BC Provincial Archives and the provincial Legislative Library. These three main repositories contain correspondence, reports, minutes from meetings, policies and other government files.

1.1 Lay-out of this document

This guide is divided into two sections: 1. Introduction and 2. Data Repositories. Under section 2.0, you will learn what resources can be found in the BC Ministry of Education, the BC Archives and the Legislative Library, as well as how to access them.

1.2 What is archival research?

Archival research entails finding and analyzing original, primary sources such as unpublished documents and records. These data can generally be found in archives, but may also be part of current, operational government files, accessible through agreements made under the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act. They are usually filed according to the government department which created them. Therefore, a simple subject search will not likely generate the data needed to address your research question. For example, in order to find data on "multicultural education", one might search using a broad term, such as "education" and examine all administrative records of the Ministry of Education for a specific period of time. Such a search may, in turn, lead the researcher to seek out files from the Office of Cultural Heritage, Provincial Secretary, Immigration and perhaps even Tourism.

2. Data repositories

There are three main repositories of historical government information regarding education in BC: The BC Ministry of Education, the provincial Legislative Library, and the BC Archives. Within each of these repositories are a number of resources for accessing government records and files.

2.1 The BC Ministry of Education

Files and records that are less than ten years old are considered "still active" and are in the possession of the BC Ministry of Education. These data are accessible to the public, under a Freedom of Information (FOI) agreement. You will need to determine the years that you are interested in, as well as the general subject area and file types. If possible, determine the Ministry Branch that you believe would hold the records and contact them directly. For example, files relating to the design and publication of Integrated Resource Packages (IRPs) would reside with Content Standards.

If you are not able to decide to which Branch your files might belong, contact the Ministry Records Officer (currently Donna Coward) at (250) 356-0386, between the hours of 8:30 and 4:30.

2.2 The BC Provincial Archives

655 Belleville Street, Victoria, BC V8V 1X4
Phone: (250) 387-1952
Website: http://www.bcarchives.gov.bc.ca

The BC Provincial Archives is a significant repository of historical information relating to education in the province. It holds government records and other documents, manuscripts, books, reports, photographs, newspapers and audio and video recording, pre-dating BC's entry to confederation.

It is usually open from Monday to Friday, 9:30 to 4:30. Note that during the academic year, every third Wednesday is designated as "partial service". This means that the reading room is only open to registered researchers. You may not register or request materials on this day. It is a good idea to consult the website or to phone before visiting the archives, just to be safe.

When you enter the building, report to the security desk where, upon showing picture I.D. you will be issued a research pass. Each time you visit, you will be asked to sign in. You are not permitted to bring bags, coats and other non-essentials into the main reading room. These can be stored in lockers for which the keys may be obtained at the security desk. The main reading room has several tables that are reserved for the use of laptop computers.

Card catalogues, computers, finding aids and binders of administrative overviews are all directly accessible, as are micro-fiched newspapers and orders-in-council. All other materials, however, are behind the retrieval counter and must be ordered in quantities of no more than 4 at one time. Some materials may be stored off-site and you may need to return the next day for them. Others might be restricted and you will need to apply in writing for access to them. To check the status of records, see the "Information and Privacy Access Register", the first dark blue binder on top of the government records card catalogue).

Upon first visiting the archives, it is advisable to inform an archivist at the Reference Desk that you are a new researcher. Although archivists are usually very busy, they will be able to provide you with a quick orientation to services and will be able to point you to resources that you might otherwise have overlooked.

2.2.1 Archival Indexes (available on-site or on-line)

Card catalogue - The card catalogue will help you locate books, annual reports of the ministry and any other government publications that you might need.

Newspaper/Vertical File Index - Directory of microfiched newspapers. Located on brown bookcase outside of Microfilm Viewing Room.

Orders-in-council - These are Executive orders made by the Queen's representatives, such as the BC Lieutenant Governor-in-Council. Orders are identified by number, year of passage and are indexed by subject matter according to the corresponding legislation. These are accessed using a variety of indexes that are best searched on-line using the search words "order in council". The archives only hold orders dating prior to 1985. For more recent orders, call the Order-in-Council Office at (250) 387-4376 and request any orders that relate to the area of education in which you are interested.

Subject Area binders (dark blue - on top of the government card catalogues) - Binder number 18, marked British Columbia - Education will provide file numbers for records dating to the mid-1980s. Files are arranged by teaching subject, as well as administratively, ranging from the Council of Public Instruction to Teachers and Curriculum Development - to name but three of the categories.

Textual Records Finding Aids (blue duotangs - in the small shelves between the card catalogues and tables) - These guides are arranged by number. For example, GR 0451 means that it is an itemized listing of what is contained in Government Record 0451 (files from the Department of Education, 1939).

Visual Records Catalogue (glassed in room to left of Reference Desk) - There are a variety of indexes in this room and they are all organized differently (some by title, location, subject and collection name).

2.2.3 Other useful indexes

Dunae, Patrick. 1992. The School Record - A guide to government archives relating to public education in British Columbia, 1852-1946. (Dark blue, soft cover; kept at the Reference Desk)

Valerie Giles. 1992. Annotated bibliography of Education History in British Columbia. Victoria, BC: Province of British Columbia. (Beige, soft cover; accessed via card catalogue; Call number: NW 016.37 G472)

2.2.4 Other useful links

The BC Archives homepage allows you on-line access to several resources, including the Time Machine, Visual Records, Textual Records, and the Research Library. Under "Other Links" you will find 4 different categories containing particularly helpful information. Under Community Archives, check Addresses and the BC Archival Union List (BCAUL). Under Information Management, click on Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy for information regarding restricted or unclassified data. Before planning your trip to the archives, it is particularly important to check for hours of access. Under News click on What's new to check for any changes.

2.2.5 Sample search using the BC Archives website

Go to http://www.bcarchives.gov.bc.ca

Click on Search on the homepage banner.

Type your search term(s) (e.g. multicultural education) beside Enter search keyword(s)

Ensure All Indexes is selected under Select an engine to search

Click on Search (you may have to scroll down)

Results: (1 reference: Finding Aid)

- GR-1917 (Find.) Royal Commission on Education (1987-1988) records 1987-1988 (193K) Keyword(s) Found: 123, Size: 193857 Bytes

When you click on this entry, this is the first portion of the finding aid that will appear:

BRITISH COLUMBIA ARCHIVES
GOVERNMENT RECORDS FINDING AID
ACCESS UNIT REFERENCE DESK
STREET ADDRESS:655 Belleville Street,Victoria, BC,Canada
MAILING ADDRESS: P.O. Box 9419,STN PROV GOVT,Victoria, BC,V8W 9V1,Canada
PHONE: (250) 387-1952 FAX: (250) 387-2072
EMAIL: access@www.bcarchives.gov.bc.ca
FREEDOM OF INFORMATION AND PROTECTION OF PRIVACY ACT
These records may be covered by the Freedom of Informationand Protection of Privacy Act and access to them may be restricted in accordance with that Act. Researchers are advised to verify the access status of records they wish to consult PRIOR to visiting the BC ARCHIVES, by contacting the Access Unit Reference Desk.
GR-1917
British Columbia Royal Commission on Education Originals 1987-1988 9.49 m
The Royal Commission on Education was initiated on 14 March1987 "to inquire into and report on education in the Province from kindergarten through grade 12." Barry M. Sullivan, Q.C. was appointed commissioner. He worked with12 administrative staff and 17 commissioned researchers to gather information, analyze it and produce several published reports. GR-1917 contains written submissions, taped public hearings, student interviews, clipping scrapbooks, research papers and some administrative files. Transferred from the Commission office, 1988.

Table of Contents

Since only one item was found, it is clear that multicultural education is too narrow a search term for the archival records system. You will need to use a much broader term (perhaps even as broad as "education") in order to access all the records that might hold information of value to your research.

2.3 The Legislative Library

Room 212, Parliament Buildings, Victoria, BC V8V 1X4
Phone: (250) 387-6510 (Reference Desk)
Website: http://www.webpac.leg.bc.ca

The Legislative Library, located in the Parliament Buildings, Victoria, holds the largest collection of BC government publications and newspapers published in the province. There are approximately 155,000 books, 274,000 microforms, 1,000,000 government publications, 10,000 newspapers, and 3,500 periodicals in the collection.

2.3.1 Access

During sittings of the Legislature, the Library is open to members and legislative staff only. Public access is available Monday to Friday from 8:30-5:00 p.m. only when the house does not sit. On-line access to the Library catalogue, Newspaper and Periodical indexes is available at the Library website. All materials are behind the reference desk and must be requested from the librarians for viewing on-site only.

2.3.2 Indexes

Current Contents - A series of subject bibliographies that highlight topics of interest.

Gazettes - Gazettes are public notices that have been published by the British Columbia Gazette, the official publication of the provincial government dating from 1871. The Gazettes are organized by year.

Government Publications - Government publications are accessible through a subject index compiled by the Government Publications Division. The British Columbia Government Publications Monthly Checklist lists all government publications received by the library in the previous month.

Hansard - Since 1971, a verbatim recording of the legislative sittings has been kept. These (written) records are organized chronologically by order of sitting. They are indexed by subject and by the names of the Members of the Assembly.

Index to the Journals of the Legislative Assembly - These indexes lead you to the minutes of the sittings of the provincial legislature, prior to 1971.

Magazines - Articles are indexed by subject and can be accessed by catalogue or on-line.

Newspapers - News items related to BC are indexed by subject. News articles from 1971 to date are accessible by card catalogue across from the reference desk. Access to articles prior to 1971 is through request to the reference librarian.

Orders-In-Council - These are executive orders made by the Queen's representatives, such as the Lieutenant Governor-in-Council for BC Orders are identified by number, year of passage and are indexed by subject matter relating to legislation.

Recent Accessions - This index lists all new books that have been received by the Library in the previous month.

2.3.3 Sample on-line search of the Legislative Library

Go to http://www.webpac.leg.bc.ca

Click on Newspaper index

Ensure Subject Keyword is selected under Choose an Engine to search

Enter your search term(s) (for example): multicultural education

Result on your screen:

Your search: Multicultural education

Headings: 2

Selected	# of titles
Forum for action on multicultural education	1
Multicultural education	2
SEE ALSO: Education	52
SEE ALSO: Ethnic Relations	76

As with the sample archival search above, "multicultural education" may be too narrow a search term. You will need to look more broadly to "Education" and/or "Ethnic relations".