January / February 2001 Vol. 33, no. 1

Canadiana Turns 50 on January 15, 2001

André Paul, Acquisitions and Bibliographic Services

January 15, 1951, was a memorable date: on that day, the first issue of Canadiana, the national bibliography, saw the light of day. With a simple cover page made of green paper, which also served as a title page, without fancy graphics or attractive illustrations, and appearing very spare and sober, almost monastic, Canadiana took its first steps into the arena of Canadian bibliography. It had no introduction or preface to indicate its birth or origins. Only the bibliographic references on the other side of the cover page provided a hint of its genesis. The content provided what libraries and researchers in the country wanted and had been demanding for many years: this initial issue comprised eight pages detailing the first 78 records of commercial, private and federal government publications.

Despite its sober appearance, it is very interesting to note that the content was diverse and already demonstrated universality, gathering together information on all publications published in Canada, or by a Canadian author, regardless of the subject or place of publication. It may only have been by chance, but on the first page of the issue were found James Ford Bell’s work on Jesuit relations, other Americana, and the publications of the Canadian Social Science Research Council and the Central Mortgage and Housing Corporation, together with the work of Robertson Davies, an author whose writing and reputation would become very well known over the coming decades.

Developed and prepared by the Canadian Bibliographic Centre, the brand-new federal organization that was a precursor to the National Library of Canada, Canadiana took over from the Canadian Catalogue of Books, which had been published by the Toronto Public Library since 1923. During its first year, from January to December 1951, Canadiana appeared twice a month, on the 1st and 15th of each month (except in December). The first and second issues did not have an index. It was only with the third issue, which came out on February 15, 1951, that yellow or pink index pages began to appear, to provide easy access to the content. In fact, the first issue of the month had no index, whereas the second issue of the month included a cumulative index for both issues as well as for previous issues.

Happy birthday, Canadiana, and many happy returns!