The mandate of the Northern BC Archives is to acquire, preserve and provide access to  materials of permanent value related to the institutional history and development of UNBC and its institutes and to acquire, preserve and provide public access to archival materials of value related to the history and culture of Northern British Columbia.  The Archives serves research and scholarship by making these records available to researchers, university personnel, students, faculty and the general public. 

Northern BC Archives & Special Collections is an administrative unit of the Geoffrey Weller Library located on the 4th floor of the Library Building.  In February 1992 informal discussions began regarding the establishment of an archives to preserve the University’s history. In 1996 a committee drafted “The Plan for a UNBC Archives” that expanded on these ideas and outlined the need to establish an archives of Northern BC that would preserve, acquire and provide access to public and private records related to the history and culture of Northern BC. The position of Archivist was created and the Northern BC Archives was officially opened on November 22, 2000.