The Irving K. Barber Learning Centre (IKBLC) is a facility at the Vancouver campus of the University of British Columbia. The learning centre is built around the refurbished core of the 1925 UBC Main Library. The Centre is named for Irving. K. Barber, a philanthropist and graduate of UBC.

Programs and services

The IKBLC provides library systems, education centre, library and a conduit of knowledge for lifelong learners and space for UBC Library's print collection and collections of rare and special materials.

BC History Digitization Program

Started in 2006, the goal of the digitization program is to promote access to British Columbia's historical resources, with free online access to provincial historical materials.

Indigitization

The Indigitization program supports Indigenous communities and organizations in British Columbia to digitize their cultural heritage materials by providing grant funding and digitization training. The program is unique as it prioritizes communities' needs and ensures that communities retain copyright and control over their cultural heritage materials. Indigitization is a joint project of IKBLC, the Museum of Anthropology, the iSchool at UBC, and Northern BC Archives (at UNBC), and continuously receives feedback from Indigenous project partners and grantees through initiatives such as the Indigenous Futures Forum held in 2016.

Multimedia repository

Webcasts of lectures are archived and accessible through the Webcasts Portal.

Chapman Learning Commons

The Chapman Learning Commons, in a refurbished central section of the Learning Centre, provides space for group work as well as seating for individual study. It provides support and services for research and information literacy instruction, writing assistance, learning skills programs and technology through one-to-one help, workshops, peer mentoring and virtual resources and services.

Facilities