Searching by subject heading ensures that you are able to pull up all of the materials associated with a given subject. Each and every book in the library has a predetermined subject heading assigned to them. These subject headings indicate the different subjects or topics being dealt with in a particular book. Each of the subject headings found in the catalogue is hyperlinked to other materials dealing with the same subject matter.
For Northern British Columbia history the two subject headings that you want to start with are British Columbia, Northern and History. From there you can branch out into specific place names or topics in Northern B.C. It's recommended that you first search the Library of Congress Subject Headings and Library of Congress Name Authorities list to find out how the place or topic you are interested in is formatted as a subject. You can also narrow your search temporally by century using the format xxth Century (example: 18th Century).
Searching by a book's call number is one of the most efficient ways to search for materials! Searching this way allows you to go directly to a book's bibliographic record, while gaining the ability to search the shelves virtually from the comfort of your own desk or home!
Every item in the library has been assigned a call number. These numbers tell us the subject area of the material, the location of the item in the library, and the physical order of the books on the shelf. It is these numbers that allow you to see all of the titles of the books located next to the searched item on the shelf.
British Columbia history ranges between FC3801-3850. There is no specific range for Northern British Columbia, but cities in towns are within FC3849.A-Z with the letter indicating the first letter of the specific location, followed by a short string of numbers. For example, materials related to Prince George would be within and around FC3849.P7.
If the library does not have the material you are looking for, it may be possible to order through inter-library loan. See here for more details.
Geoffrey R. Weller Library
University of Northern British Columbia
3333 University Way
Prince George, B.C. V2N 4Z9
Circulation: (250) 960-6613
Reference: (250) 960-6475
Regional Services: 1-888-440-3440
(toll free within 250 area code)