Books in Glenbow's art library.

Library & Archives

Supporting art and history research

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Glenbow Western Research Centre 

Most of Glenbow’s physical library and archive collections are held by the Glenbow Western Research Centre at the University of Calgary. The Centre has extensive holdings of unpublished documents and photographs related to the history of Western Canada. This includes approximately: 

  • 22,000,000 pages of textual records
  • 2,000,000 photographs
  • 125,000 books
  • 15,000 maps
  • 4,000 videos and films
  • 600 hours of audio recordings

Search the Glenbow Western Research Centre digital collection.

Contact the Glenbow Western Research Centre at asc@ucalgary.libanswers.com

Glenbow Art Library 

While much of Glenbow’s library and archives have moved to U of C, Glenbow’s extensive art library remains on site. This includes a variety of media covering a wide range of artworks, styles, artists, and more. 

Archival Research at Glenbow 

Glenbow has retained archival material related to art and artists, as well as related to some First Nations, Inuit, and Métis communities. Should you require access to this material, please contact collections@glenbow.org.

If the material you are requesting has been digitized, we will be able to share it with you relatively quickly. If it has not been digitized, we will provide physical access as quickly as we are able.

Please note: Glenbow is currently under construction as we transform the museum through the Glenbow Reimagined project. Because of this, access to collections involves passing through an active construction environment.

When visiting, all visitors to Glenbow are required to wear PPE, including a hard hat, vest, and steel-toed boots. These items will be provided to visitors upon their pre-arranged arrival. Additionally, visitors must wear long-sleeved shirts, pants, and socks, and are required to complete a waiver. For safety reasons, we are not able to accommodate the use of walkers, wheelchairs, and canes at this time.

We will do our best to fulfill all requests to visit, but at times it may not be possible due to changing conditions.

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