Information for researchers
As we move into our transformative building renovation, physical access to Glenbow’s collections will be temporarily limited. Access requests will take longer to fulfill or may need to be delayed.
If the documents or photographs you are looking for have been previously digitized we will be able to share that material with you relatively quickly. In the case of material that is not yet digitized, our ability to access it will be very limited during construction, and we may not be able to provide the information you are looking for until the renovation of our collections facilities is closer to completion.
We realize that this access interruption is inconvenient and will have an impact on your research. We look forward to being able to offer increasing access sometime in 2025 In the meantime we will respond to specific inquiries as best we can.
If you have any questions please don’t hesitate to contact Daryl Betenia, Director, Collections at dbetenia@glenbow.org.
The Glenbow Western Research Centre
Glenbow has transferred much of its physical Archive and Library collections to the Glenbow Western Research Centre at the University of Calgary. At our downtown museum location, we have retained records pertaining to art and artists, and to some First Nations communities.
The GWRC has extensive holdings of unpublished documents and photographs related to the history of Western Canada. This includes approximately 22 million pages of textual records, two million photographs, 125,000 books, 15,000 maps, 600 hours of audio recordings, as well as 4,000 videos and films. You can search the digital collection on their website.
The purpose-built GWRC research centre opened in 2020 and is located at the high-tech Taylor Family Digital Library building. It is easily accessible by public transit and is free to access for the general public, as well as students and academic researchers.
Contact the Glenbow Western Research Centre at asc@ucalgary.libanswers.com.
At Glenbow’s downtown museum location, we hold library and archives material (documents, journals and photographs) related to some First Nations communities, Alberta community art and cultural organizations, Canadian art history, as well as artist’s files, art books, photography and other material that enhances Glenbow’s unique role as a significant research centre for western Canadian culture and art.
Glenbow is home to research collections for several prominent artists including: Sybil Andrews, Henry George Glyde, Laurence Hyde, Walter J. Phillips, Carl Rungius and Margaret Shelton.
To learn more about Glenbow’s library and archive collection, contact us at archives@glenbow.org
More about Glenbow’s Library & Archives
For over 50 years, Glenbow has been a major research centre for historians, writers, students, genealogists, filmmakers, and the media. The library and archives collection houses a wide-ranging collection of unpublished archival records (such as diaries, letters, minute books, photographs, scrapbooks, speeches, membership lists, films, and sound recordings) for over 3,000 individuals, families, clubs, businesses, schools, and organizations in Calgary, southern Alberta and Western Canada. The records, which take up five kilometres of shelf space, date from the 1860s to the 1990s, and document not only the people who created them, but also the broader social, political, and economic history of this region. Areas of specialty include First Nations and Indigenous history (especially Blackfoot), Mounted Police, pioneer life, ranching and agriculture, the petroleum industry, politics (especially the farmers’ movement), labour and unions, women, the arts (especially theatre), and businesses.
