This website stores cookies on your computer. These cookies are used to collect information about how you interact with our website and allow us to remember your browser. We use this information to improve and customize your browsing experience, for analytics and metrics about our visitors both on this website and other media, and for marketing purposes. By using this website, you accept and agree to be bound by UVic’s Terms of Use and Protection of Privacy Policy. If you do not agree to the above, you must not use this website.

Skip to main content
People Departments Maps Buildings Rooms A-Z
University
of Victoria
Apply Library
Sign in Online tools Sign out
UVic Libraries

Collections & digital initiatives

Our collections

UVic Libraries provides diverse collections to support the research, teaching and learning needs of the UVic community. Learn more about what we lend.

Shift to electronic resources

In recent years, we have focused on developing our electronic collections. This includes ebooks, online journals and streaming services. These materials offer better accessibility, cost-effectiveness and access than print materials.

We prioritize electronic materials through an e-preferred strategy:

  • we purchase electronic versions when possible (and when appropriate for the resource)
  • we invest in perpetual access to ebooks and journal archives
  • we avoid digital rights management (DRM) restrictions when possible, which helps ensure seamless use

We continue to acquire physical materials:

  • when they are most suitable for a particular discipline
  • when materials are unavailable in electronic format

Data-driven collection strategy

To ensure our collections meet the evolving needs of the UVic community, we use evidence-based acquisition (EBA) for ebooks. This allows us to permanently add titles to our collections each year based on how often they are used by our faculty and students. These titles are selected from the hundreds of thousands of ebooks we subscribe to from respected publishers (including JSTOR, Taylor & Francis, Oxford and Cambridge).

We also regularly review our subscriptions (journals and databases) to ensure they are still relevant to our collections’ needs.

Collections priorities

We have a mandate to serve the entire UVic community. Our collections support academic curricula across all disciplines.

Resources by or about Indigenous Peoples are a key area of focus in our collection development practices. We recognize that Indigenous research and knowledge are of vital importance to the entire campus.

We value your input

We strive to anticipate our community’s needs. We welcome feedback on our collections, including suggestions for materials we should consider adding.

Unique digital collections

UVic Libraries hosts a wide range of unique digital collections on several different platforms. Our digital content ranges from the latest student theses and faculty publications to manuscripts from centuries past. Our digital repositories facilitate access to and preservation of digitized and born-digital materials.

Digital libraries (Vault & Internet Archive)

Vault is our primary digital library. It hosts rare and unique holdings from Special Collections & University Archives. Vault also hosts digitized material from UVic Libraries’ research and community partners.

Our Internet Archive collections provide access to research publications associated with the University of Victoria and other digitized holdings, including:

Institutional repository (UVicSpace)

UVicSpace is an open-access learning and research repository. It hosts published and unpublished digital scholarly works by the UVic community and its partners.

Digital exhibits (Spotlight & Omeka-S)

Spotlight is a digital exhibition platform that hosts and creates narrative around digital objects. Librarians, archivists, researchers and community members can create engaging exhibits on this platform.

Omeka-S supports faculty and students. They can create digital exhibits, engage in experiential learning and share their work widely.

Web archives (Archive-It)

Our Archive-It web archiving service helps the Libraries to harvest, build and preserve collections of digital content relevant to our community.

Data repository (Dataverse/Borealis)

Our Dataverse Collection of research data repositories serves our faculty, researchers and students. Dataverse is a general-purpose repository, suitable for all disciplines. It accepts a wide range of data types and formats.

Special Collections & University Archives (AtoM)

The Access to Memory (AtoM) database contains descriptions of our Special Collections & University Archives records.

Journal hosting (Open Journal System)

The University of Victoria provides an online journal hosting service using the Open Journal Systems (OJS) software.

Digital preservation

Our digital preservation unit works to ensure enduring access to digital assets of cultural and scholarly significance. Our current era is characterized by vast volumes of digital content and rapid technological evolution. Preserving important digital assets has never been more pressing.

We prioritize key content groups for preservation. These can range from electronic theses to web archives.

For information, please contact Corey Davis, Digital Preservation Librarian.

Our framework

The UVic Libraries' Digital Preservation Framework describes our approach to safeguarding digital materials. We work in alignment with UVic’s strategic objectives. The framework emphasizes selective preservation, clear documentation, sustainability and adherence to best practices and standards.

Digital preservation mandate

We are committed to the rigorous application of scholarly principles and best practices. At UVic Libraries, we ensure the longevity, accessibility and authenticity of digital materials entrusted to our care. This work requires meticulous curation, robust archival strategies and adherence to international standards. Our work is part of a broader mission to safeguard the integrity of our cultural record. We aim to facilitate scholarly inquiry for generations to come.

Consultation services

We support digital preservation initiatives for UVic researchers. We can provide advice on how to craft and preserve digital content to ensure its integrity for future generations. Contact Corey Davis, Digital Preservation Librarian to discuss your preservation project. Visit our grants menu learn more about in-kind research support.

Web archiving

We partner with the Internet Archive to harvest, build and preserve collections of digital content relevant to our community. An increasing amount of information, including cultural and scholarly information, can only be found in digital form on websites. If it is not archived, it may be lost. Read our Web Archiving Policy.

We select sites for archiving based on their alignment with our thematic and event-based collections. Learn more about what it means if your website is selected for archiving, and what your options are:

Web archiving FAQs for site owners

 As a website owner, you can opt out of web archiving.

Collaborative preservation efforts

UVic Libraries actively participates in various collaborative preservation initiatives, which include:

Digitization

The Digitization Centre supports the production and delivery of a large array of online digital collections.

We have expertise in digitizing a variety of media, including:

  • books and manuscripts
  • photographs and artwork
  • microforms
  • maps and posters

We work with the library’s cataloguing unit to apply standardized metadata. This metadata ensures high visibility in search engines and scholarly indexes.

UVic Libraries has a strong commitment to public access. Nearly all our digitized collections are freely and openly available for research, teaching and personal use.

Research partnerships

We have partnered on several successful grant applications. We welcome collaborations with faculty, students and community partners.

To suggest a project, please complete our Digitization Project Request Form. Consult our grants menu to learn more about in-kind research support.

We are especially interested in creating collections of materials that:

  • have historical, scholarly or cultural significance
  • are unique or rare, and are not yet available online
  • are held in UVic Libraries’ collections
  • do not face copyright restrictions or privacy concerns
  • are at-risk or in need of preservation

Special consideration will be given to materials originating from:

  • Victoria
  • Vancouver Island
  • British Columbia
  • Canada

The most local materials will be given the highest priority.

Please contact digitization@uvic.ca if you have questions.