Non-Vancouver Residents
Resources for Chinese-Canadian genealogical research are available in various formats, primarily print, microfilm, and web. Many of these resources can be found at the Vancouver Public Library. Links to VPL catalogue records for such items are provided throughout the site.
Researchers who do not live in Vancouver may also be able to access many of these items, in some cases by directly visiting repositories where original records are held, such as Library and Archives Canada and the B.C. Archives. Otherwise, there are several options available:
Your Local Library
Your own local library may own some of the print and microfilm resources cited. Check with your librarian. Click here for a list of other libraries.
Residents of the Lower Mainland (B.C.) can visit the Cloverdale Branch - Surrey Public Library, which has a strong Canadian genealogy collection, including Chinese-Canadian genealogical resources.
Inter-Library Loan
If you are unable to visit the Vancouver Public Library and the materials you want are not available at your local library, it is often possible to obtain them via inter-library loan (ILL). For example, Library and Archives Canada holds large numbers of microfilmed records of interest to Chinese-Canadian genealogists. These are available to Canadians across the country through inter-library loan.
Check with your local library about making an ILL request. If the material you want to see is not available through the ILL process, sometimes the institution that owns the material will provide a fee-for-service option to search the records on your behalf. Check the owning institution's website for this information.
InfoAction
InfoAction is the Vancouver Public Library's fee-for-service department. For a charge, they will undertake personalized research in the VPL collections on your behalf. For example, InfoAction can follow a specific name through a run of city directories, search for an individual in the General Register of Chinese Immigration (based on a C.I.-5 number and date), or locate birth, marriage and death registrations using references from the online B.C. vital event indexes. Contact InfoAction for an estimate.
Photo banner: Detail from VPL Historical Photograph 78362
