³Ô¹ÏÍø

How donors have helped build and enrich UVic Libraries over its 60-year history.

The philanthropic story of UVic Libraries can be traced right down to its foundations. Back in the early 1960s, Victoria entrepreneur Thomas Shanks McPherson pioneered the establishment of UVic, believing the growth of a university was the “single most important factor in the progress of a city.” After his death in 1962, his bequest of $2.25 million enabled the construction of the first library on the Gordon Head campus—the McPherson Library.

William C. Mearns was also an important figure in UVic’s creation and a member of the founding Board of Governors. In 2005, his family made a gift of $5 million to honour him. This helped fund the William C. Mearns Centre for Learning, an expansion to the original library building that dramatically enhanced UVic’s learning environment. Alongside generous contributions from many donors, the Mearns family gift created improved study areas, classrooms, computer workstations, multimedia stations and much more. It even included a coffee shop, the BiblioCafé, for library users to get their caffeine top-ups during study breaks.

Student awards

Not all donations were designated towards construction—some went to support students’ use of library resources. Over time, awards like the David Harris Flaherty Undergraduate Student Library Scholarship, the Peter and Ana Lowens Student Fellowship, the Gladys Nipp and Stephen Mah Family Award, and the William Petrie Graduate Student Library Scholarship have recognized the extraordinary achievements of UVic students in using library resources or special collections for academic success.

Special Collections

From rare books to oral history interviews, the university’s special collections are an indispensable resource which help us understand our past and give context to current events. Many private collections were donated to UVic for long-term preservation and access to students, scholars at UVic and the wider communities it serves. Some of the most surprising or valuable gifts include the Saul Holiff Archives of Johnny Cash memorabilia, the Transgender archives, and the field notes and photographs of the “father of Canadian ecology” Ian McTaggart-Cowan, along with an extensive collection of early printed books and illuminated medieval manuscripts.

Several donors have created specific endowments to fund acquisitions for collections or preservation or conservation. The Library Enrichment Fund, which many donors contribute to annually, has also allowed the library to acquire rare and unique books and archives that might otherwise have been out of reach. 

Digitized collections

The libraries’ digitized collections are also a rich source of knowledge. Donations to the Digital Initiatives Fund support the vital work of the creation and access of online digital collections, preserving information for future generations. For example, when the village of Lytton, BC was devastated by a wildfire in 2022, many of the municipal records that were destroyed are still available through UVic Libraries web archiving tool, Archive-It.

Digitization, too, entails more than the scanning of books or old documents. With the advancement of 3D scanners, the Mearns – McPherson Library Digitization Centre can create 3D renderings of any object that needs to be preserved for future study, no matter how fragile it might be. These objects can range from a 4000-year-old ancient cuneiform tablet to a modern ceremonial naval sword. 

Donor support extends student access to digital content by helping fund the costs of licensing agreements and streaming content. UVic Libraries also uses annual donations to offer additional technology training and resources through workshops to students and community members. As recent UVic grad, Kalea, shares below, all these enhancements work together to improve a student’s experience and help them achieve their goals.

The 60th anniversary of UVic Libraries in 2024 is an opportune time to reflect on how past gifts, combined with current support, dynamically contribute to the present-day experience of library users like Kalea. Through the decades, donations large and small, financial and in-kind, have helped transform UVic Libraries into the vital academic and community resource that it is today.