Asian Library Since 1959, the Asian Library, located in the Asian Centre since 1981, houses one of the largest research collection in Asian languages in North America. Its holdings in
Chinese,
Japanese,
Korean,
Hindi,
Tibetan,
Persian,
Punjabi,
Sanskrit,
Urdu and
Indonesian exceed 710,000 volumes as of June 2020. As of April 2022, the library includes 203,000 Chinese language books and ebooks, 250,000 Japanese language books and ebooks, 42,000 Hindi language books and ebooks and 38,000 Korean language books and ebooks. Subject material about Asia in English and other European languages, as well as Asian materials in non-Asian languages, are kept in Koerner Library and other branches. Asia-related
law materials are located in the Law Library. Monographs in
Tamil,
Malayalam,
Bengali,
Gujarati,
Kannada,
Marathi,
Rajasthani,
Assamese,
Nepali and
Tibetan are shelved in the Irving K. Barber Learning Centre. Special materials include Japanese government publications, research materials on
Chinese Canadian settlement in British Columbia and the Pearl Delta Area as well as
Japanese Canadian studies collections. The Asian Library's rare book collection, mainly from the Puban collection, ranks first in North America. The Chinese collection ranked third in North America in number of volumes at the time of publication of
Endymion Wilkinson's
Chinese History: A Manual in 2000. The architecture of the Asian Centre building, in which the Asian Library is located, is based on a traditional
pagoda, and the building was designed by Donald Matsuba at the cost of $1.6 million Canadian dollars. The building was intended to be a centennial gift funded by the
Government of Japan, serving as a symbol of Asian-Canadian and
Canada–Japan relations. The Asian studies idea was created by Geoffrey Brian Hainsworth and a few of his colleagues.
Irving K. Barber Learning Centre/Main Library UBC's Main Library underwent major renovations beginning in 2002. In phase one, the north wing was demolished and rebuilt. It now houses the bookstacks of the facility. Once the renovated north wing opened, the old south wing and "heritage core" of the Main Library was closed, with the south wing being demolished and the heritage core stripped to the original frame and exterior from 1925. The South Wing was officially opened to the public on February 25, 2008, with the heritage core opening in late March 2008. The building is now known as the
Irving K. Barber Learning Centre, named in honour of donor
Irving K. Barber. Notable features include the first
Automated Storage and Retrieval System (ASRS) in Canada, referred to as the "library robot." The system increases the amount of storage space available, but has been criticized for preventing browsing. The
Irving K. Barber Learning Centre houses the Rare Books and Special Collections (RBSC) and University Archives divisions (level one) and the Music, Art and Architecture Library (levels three and four). The Chung Collection, a designated national treasure, is located in the RBSC space, and focuses on the
Canadian Pacific Railway, the
Asian experience in Canada, and West Coast history and exploration. The Learning Centre is also home to the Chapman Learning Commons on level three, located in the restored historic core of the old Main Library. Artwork on display around the Learning Centre includes pieces from noted artists such as John Nutter, Kevin DuBois and
First Nations artist Brent Sparrow. The Institute for stained glass in Canada has documented the
stained glass at the UBC Main Library.
Okanagan Libraries UBC Library also serves the university's
Okanagan campus in
Kelowna. Two library buildings on campus are interconnected with the southern "Library" building containing the Okanagan Library with open collections and access to
Okanagan Regional Library, while the northern "The Commons" building containing media labs, special collections and archives. In 2014–15, the Okanagan campus Library had 688,000 library visits and answered more than 17,000 in-person inquiries at their Library Service Desk. The Okanagan Library assumed responsibility for campus writing services in 2014, and launched a new Writing & Research Services unit. 2014 also marked the launch of UBC Okanagan's special collections program, with collections relating to the history, literature and culture of the
Okanagan Valley. In 2014, UBC Okanagan's students voted in a referendum to contribute up to $10 million toward the expansion of the campus’ Library and Learning Centre. The renovations will add 45,000 square feet of space, more than doubling the size of the existing library. In Fall 2015, the Innovation Library - a collaboration between the UBC Okanagan Library and the
Okanagan Regional Library - opened to support the Okanagan campus' students, faculty, and staff, as well as community researchers in the Okanagan. The Innovation Library is located downtown in the Okanagan Regional Library's Kelowna Branch. In 2017, UBC Okanagan partnered with numerous local museums and archives throughout the Okanagan region to initiate the Digitized Okanagan History project. The project digitizes historical photographs and records related to the history of B.C.'s Southern Interior, and provides access to them online.
Walter C. Koerner Library Koerner Library, designed by
Arthur Erickson, was built in 1997, replacing Sedgewick Library. Koerner houses humanities and social sciences, government publications, journals and microforms, and numeric data files, the Map & Atlas Collection, and the UBC Research Commons. It is home to nearly 1.3 million items. Its
postmodern architecture contrasts with the
Gothic Revival design of the original Main Library (now the Irving K. Barber Learning Centre) on the other side of Main Mall. Koerner is also home to the university's
Interlibrary loan program.
Woodward Library The Woodward Library's collection covers a broad range of disciplines in support of learning and research in the Faculties of Applied Science, Dentistry, Forestry, Land & Food Systems, Medicine, Pharmaceutical Sciences and Science. The collection covers a range of subject areas, including agriculture, animal welfare, biology, botany, chemistry, computer science, dentistry, earth and ocean sciences, engineering, food science, forestry, mathematics, medicine, nursing, nutrition, pharmacy, physics, public health, statistics, wood science and zoology. Woodward Library has the largest biomedical collection in Western Canada and a strong history of medicine and science collection.
X̱wi7x̱wa Library X̱wi7x̱wa (pronounced whei-wha) Library is one of the only Aboriginal branches of a university library in Canada. Located adjacent to the
First Nations Longhouse, it houses a collection of 12,000 items, including to 6,000 books and 450 videos relating to
First Nations in British Columbia, and resources on
Indigenous peoples from across Canada and internationally. The name comes from the
Squamish Nation word meaning "
echo." The name was gifted by Chief Simon Baker of the
Squamish Nation. Established in May 1993, the X̱wi7x̱wa Library became a branch of the UBC Library in 2005. The library is the result of a 1984 Stauffer Foundation Grant to the Native Indian Teacher Education Program (NITEP) that provided funds to build the collection. This collection was then gifted to the X̱wi7x̱wa Library when opening in 1993. The library also received a $1 million gift by William and June Bellman the same year. The classification used by the library reflects efforts to decolonize the current library classification systems. The library uses a British Columbia variant of the Xwi7xwa classification system, developed by Kahnawake librarian,
Brian Deer, for the National Indian Brotherhood in the 1970s. ==Other branches and units==